How Unilever is Investing in Biotech to Help Sustainability
Unilever and Nufarm, a global agriculture innovator, are partnering to develop and commercialise a crop of the future.
The aim, to cultivate a crop with significant biomass to produce sustainable oils, derived from plant material, including the leaves and stems – will be a source of fatty acids, a vital base ingredient for its laundry detergents, as well as beauty and personal care products.
Plant oils like sunflower and rapeseed (canola) are typically made in the seeds and fruits.
The breakthrough in this technology is that the oil will be grown using the entire plant – including the leaves – in crops like sugarcane and sorghum (a cereal grain).
New, commercially viable variety
Nufarm has previously developed and commercialised a variety of sugarcane called energy cane, a sustainable crop which generates significantly more plant matter and sugar than traditional sugarcane.
Unilever's investment will leverage recent breakthroughs in biotechnology to develop a new, commercially viable variety of energy cane that can also produce biomass oil.
Future ambitions
The aim of this technology is to reduce the reliance on petrochemical-based ingredients – as well as marking the first time a biomass crop has been optimised to produce the plant-based oil which, if successfully grown, will be used as an ingredient in consumer goods products.
Within the current form, energy cane already has a number of sustainability benefits, such as climate stress tolerance, drought resistance and more efficient protection of soil against erosion. It also has harvesting benefits for farmers and the environment. The project aims to replicate and build on these traits in the new crop which would contribute to Unilever's greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction ambitions in ingredient sourcing.
Unlocking the power of nature
Not only will it become more robust, the aim is for none of the crop to go to waste. As well as the oil, the plant will also continue to produce sugar, which Unilever hopes could be used in other biotechnology processes to generate specialty ingredients such as fragrances and enzymes.
There are also plans to explore if the leftover plant fibre can be used to produce paper and board for packaging.
"By continuing to invest in biotechnology, we aim to further unlock the power of nature and build a more sustainable and diverse supply chain for the future," says Neil Parry, Head of Biotechnology at Unilever.
"This partnership enables us to identify alternative ingredients for our household, beauty and personal care brands which will further support our ambition to reach net zero emissions across our value chain by 2039."
Utilising biotechnology
Raw materials and ingredients account for approximately 52% of Unilever's GHG emissions in scope of its net zero ambition and represent the largest emissions source.
This partnership is one way in which Unilever is utilising biotechnology to advance sustainable sourcing of critical raw materials.
The first phase of the project is primarily being used to support the research and development of the plant biotechnology.
Explore the latest edition of Procurement Magazine and be part of the conversation at our global conference series, Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE.
Discover all our upcoming events and secure your tickets today.
Procurement Magazine is a BizClik brand
