Protecting the environment without compromising on performance
As consumer trends shift and the market moves towards natural and circular materials, beauty and detergent companies must switch to more sustainable feedstocks. However, this switch is technically challenging due to the lack of direct replacements and the limited availability of natural feedstocks. To achieve global sustainability goals, a new approach is possible through circular economy and a circular mass balance approach.
Syensqo offers circular mass balance solutions, utilizing upcycled raw materials, which have a positive sustainability impact beyond carbon footprint and meet performance requirements. These solutions are now part of Syensqo's UP product line.
Upcycling with Performance
“Upcycling with Performance” summarises our approach of proposing products that are identical to optimised fossil-feedstock-based products while using circular raw material and thus bringing:
- Significant CO2 footprint reduction
- An overall positive impact on other life cycle analysis aspects such as lower land use, reduced water consumption…
- Final product specifications are unchanged enabling a “drop-in” replacement
Discover Mirataine ® CBS UP
Syensqo’s UP range means we can now provide customers with our existing high-performance products with a significantly improved environmental footprint. Mirataine® CBS UP, used in several key home and beauty care applications such as hand dish washes and body washes, is Syensqo’s first commercially available range manufactured according to our new Upcycling with Performance principle.
Environmental footprint of circular sultaine compared to original sultaine*
- Using circular DMAPA combined with green epichlorohydrin and RSPO fatty acids we manufacture fully circular cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine.
- Net CO2 footprint reduced by 33% versus standard cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine.
- It uses less virgin carbon resources and is a 100% natural product according to the mass balance principle.
Leveraging the circular mass-balance carbon approach
We integrate circular feedstocks with standard feedstocks in our manufacturing stream, following the mass-balance principle. This allows us to account for the sustainability benefits throughout the manufacturing chain up to our UP Bio-Circular solutions. Our approach enables the production of mixed renewable and fossil feedstocks without requiring new processing equipment. The traceability of renewable feedstock is ensured through a set of rules.
Principle of the circular mass balance approach along the manufacturing chain
Our technologies improve the environmental profile of fossil-based ingredients by replacing part of the fossil feedstock with natural or circular feedstock. We also enhance the environmental impact of natural raw materials by utilizing oleo waste streams such as used cooking oil. We prioritize sustainability by carefully examining the origin of substitution feedstocks to ensure we achieve not only a CO2 footprint improvement but also that the overall sustainability impact is positive. For this, we are supported by circular mass balance system certification, such as ISCC PLUS for our China Zhangjiagang plant, and make use of the collected data to carry out detailed life cycle analyses (LCA) of our upcycled ingredients.
Life Cycle Analysis to measure the overall environmental impact
To ensure sustainability improvement, it's crucial to assess the overall positive impact on ecosystems beyond the CO2 footprint when switching from fossil to circular/natural raw materials.
Product life cycle and Syensqo's focus for life cycle analysis
Syensqo's approach to circular mass balance involves conducting detailed life cycle analyses for each ingredient being considered for the switch. We evaluate not only greenhouse gas emissions but also factors like land use, acidification, eutrophication, and water consumption. Changes are implemented if they result in a holistic positive environmental impact.
*This evaluation is based on a review of recent composition data and information supplied by the vendors. The information and the LCA results hereinabove are provided “as is”, at the discretion of the disclosing company, without guarantee, warranty or representation of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to, as to (i) their accuracy or completeness, (ii) their fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement of third parties’ intellectual property rights, and (iii) their use. The Syensqo Group companies shall incur no liabilities in connection with the foregoing. According to ISO 14040-44 standards, the use of LCA results to support comparative assertions intended to be disclosed raises special concerns and requires specific critical review.
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