CREATING TRANSPARENCY ON SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH DIGITAL SOLUTIONS

People today have a growing awareness of their personal carbon footprint. To make informed choices, consumers desire detailed knowledge about the origins and sourcing of raw materials, and are keenly interested in understanding a product’s effects on climate issues. However, the personal care industry faces significant challenges in developing methods and standards for measuring the environmental impact as it offers a wide range of products used by millions of people every day, and companies rely on complex global supply chains for raw materials and ingredients. To enable our customers to calculate their overall emissions, we provide CO₂ transparency on product level via Product Carbon Footprints (PCF). We developed a proprietary digital solution to calculate cradle-to-gate PCFs, encompassing processes from resource extraction to product delivery. Our calculation system combines primary data from our own processes with high-quality average data from databases or third parties for the energy and materials we purchase. We follow a bottom-up approach and adhere to the ISO14067 standard in our methodology. Additionally, our calculation is aligned with the Together for Sustainability (TfS) PCF guideline, which incorporates the GHG Protocol Standard or the WRI and WBCSD. We have integrated PCFs for our personal care portfolio into our digital service platform, D’lite, allowing manufacturers to track the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the products they buy.

However, there is some room for interpretation within the existing standards, which can result in different PCF values for the same product. To address this issue, various initiatives have been launched to provide clearer guidelines and consistent methodologies for calculating and reporting PCFs. One such initiative is the Together for Sustainability (TfS) program, which offers a unique approach to calculating PCFs for chemicals. This program is based on principles from the UN Global Compact and Responsible Care, and adheres to internationally recognized standards such as ISO and GHG Protocol accounting. This ensures that the data produced is not only accurate, but also comparable across the industry.

Another initiative, called the Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT), aims to bring stakeholders from different industries together to address the challenge of scope 3 emissions (indirect GHG emissions). PACT seeks to establish a global methodology and technical infrastructure for exchanging and measuring primary and verified GHG emission data.

In addition to our involvement in these initiatives, we have also decided to make our IT tool for calculating the PCF data of our product portfolio available through software partners. This allows other companies to integrate or implement the tool into their operations, contributing to greater standardization and harmonization in the practical calculation of data.

Sustainable and high-performing products – possible or not?

Another challenge that we as an industry face are stricter regulations, especially in the EU. Volatile silicones, as an example, are on their way out of the cosmetics industry and microplastics including synthetic polymers are under debate, too. Both silicones and polymers are high-performing product groups with unique properties and widely used in the personal care industry. As sustainability reaches this new level of importance, ingredient suppliers are challenged to find alternatives that are biodegradable, natural-based, and responsibly sourced. However, these sustainable alternatives must still deliver the high performance and attractive sensory properties of traditional ingredients.

Here we come to the crux of the matter as the sustainable alternatives do not show their full potential that easily. Often, they cannot simply replace conventional ingredients one-to-one in a formulation, which makes it challenging for cosmetic manufacturers to develop high-performing and appealing products. To overcome the individual limitations of alternative ingredients and exploit their full potential, we offer our deep knowledge in formulation design.

For our biopolymer portfolio, we built a comprehensive test set-up to study various binary and ternary combinations in aqueous systems and emulsions. Thickening performance, viscosity, texture, rheology behavior, and sensory properties were put to the test. For each application, the most appropriate biopolymer combination was identified, including a recommended usage ratio.

Digital services can be of great help to tackle the complex task of creating environmentally conscious, renewable-based products. For our silicone alternatives, we used an AI-based digital tool as a starting point to search for renewable-based alternatives. It calculates ideal emollient mixtures, facilitating the replacement of industry standards such as cyclopentasiloxane and dimethicone. Depending on the user’s needs, it takes into account sensory and physico-chemical properties, the naturalness index according to ISO 16128, and common eco-labels such as COSMOS, NATRUE and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. This produces a nice side-effect: by using natural alternatives, cosmetic manufacturers can significantly reduce the Product Carbon Footprint of their formulations, as silicones in particular are known as main emission drivers.

The described service is part of a digital platform, D’lite, designed for the personal care industry. Its latest feature “Ingredients Revealed”, which had been developed particularly for formulators, allows for the identification of ingredients and formulations that meet specific sustainability criteria, such as standards and labels. This tool functions as a digital lab, providing the flexibility to select from pre-existing formulations or to create custom formulations from scratch. As ingredients are added or removed, the tool updates sustainability metrics such as biodegradability and renewable carbon content in real-time.

The platform serves as an enabler for industry professionals to navigate the complex demands of regulators, consumers, retailers, and certifying bodies. By facilitating the early identification of suitable ingredients, D’lite aids in accelerating the product development process. This not only saves time but also reduces costs, without replacing the essential expertise of formulation professionals. It is a strategic asset in the industry’s shift towards more sustainable practices.

Shaping the future

We are convinced that the transformation of the industry will continue to gather pace and it is crucial for cosmetic manufacturers to stay ahead of increasingly stringent regulations while meeting consumer demands. By combining high-performing alternative ingredients with a full know-how in formulation design, and smart digital services, we can shape the industry transformation together and really make an impact.