FROM RENEWABLE INGREDIENTS TO EMISSION REDUCTION: CLR'S JOURNEY TO SUSTAINABLE COSMETIC ACTIVE INGREDIENTS

Sustainability in cosmetics is a multi-layered approach that requires overcoming environmental, social and economic challenges. Depending on the perspective of the addressee, the focus is sometimes more on renewable and environmentally friendly ingredients or the upstream value chain, sometimes on energy efficiency and emission reduction, on packaging and waste reduction or even on sustainability standards and regulatory challenges.

At CLR, we have always focused on natural, renewable raw materials, but of course that is not enough. Because no matter how natural and renewable a raw material is, its cultivation, processing and transportation always have impacts on the environment and society. The term “sustainable” should therefore also be seen in relative terms, as a 100% sustainable (cosmetic) product is extremely challenging to achieve on an industrial scale, if it can be achieved at all. It is therefore primarily a question of dealing with these negative effects and eliminating them as far as possible without creating new ones elsewhere.

In this context, green chemistry has been a scientific approach aimed at developing environmentally friendly products and processes since the 1990s. The focus is on developing safer chemicals and processes while avoiding the use of hazardous substances. Impacts on the environment and health should be minimized throughout the entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to disposal at the end of the life cycle. The principles of green chemistry are also being applied in the cosmetics industry to drive change towards a more sustainable future. This is realized, for example, through the use of renewable raw materials such as plant-based ingredients, the development of biodegradable products and the optimization of processes to reduce energy intensity and emissions. Material and energy efficiency can also be improved through biotechnological processes: Biotechnology enables the production of cosmetic ingredients e.g. through microbial fermentation and often requires fewer resources and generates less waste compared to conventional methods.

At CLR we therefore also use biotechnological processes to produce natural ingredients without having to harvest large quantities of plants from nature. Such ingredients are also generally more biodegradable than synthetic chemicals and biotechnological processes can produce ingredients with consistent quality ensuring that cosmetic products are safe and effective for the consumer. This reduces the variability and potential contamination associated with the extraction of natural ingredients.

Circular approaches also help to improve material efficiency: The cosmetics industry is increasingly turning to the food industry to find innovative ways to reuse by-products or unsaleable food, reducing waste and creating valuable ingredients.

However, natural raw materials and sustainable production processes are just two aspects of our business activities and the basis for reducing our negative impact on the environment and society is the creation of a reliable database. We are continuously working on this challenge and have already made good progress with regard to our corporate carbon footprint.

The regular successful participation in CDP and Ecovadis assessments and the establishment of a science-based emission reduction target (SBTi) in 2021 certainly helped in this regard. To achieve this target, we started planning and installing several photovoltaic systems on our buildings in 2022. Now, we can proudly state that a total of three systems are in operation, which can supply us with up to 40% of our annual electrical energy requirements in the future. We purchase the remaining share externally as green electricity.

The natural gas on which we still depend on to generate heat is offset. To provide even more certainty, we have had our GHG balance verified externally since 2023 (ISO 14064). For transportation to the customer, we have been offering the option of sea freight since 2019 and as part of our ISO14001 management system, we constantly scrutinize whether improvements in energy efficiency can be made within our processes on site, as well as minimizing waste and improving resource efficiency.

As a supplier of active ingredients for industrial customers, our packaging has functional rather than decorative value, which is why we have always reduced our packaging to a functional minimum. Using a monomaterial for primary packaging makes recycling easier and more efficient. Challenges for the use of recyclate in primary packaging are the risk of migration of unwanted substances and the availability of suitable recyclate. We have not yet been able to find a more sustainable solution that meets the high quality requirements of our customers, but the issue will continue to occupy us. The requirements for secondary packaging are mainly determined by transport safety regulations. So, what we can do here and what we already realized is the use of certified cardboard and pallets from sustainable forestry for secondary packaging.

When we talk about sustainability in cosmetics, we must not forget the importance of sustainability standards and eco-labels and, above all, the regulatory environment in these days.

When it comes to transparency at product level, eco-labeling schemes (COSMOS, NaTrue) continue to play an important role, setting high standards for ingredient sourcing, product formulation or packaging. The criteria for eco-labels and certifications will likely become more comprehensive, covering a wider range of environmental and social impacts.

At company level, standards for environmental management systems like the ISO 14001 standard as well as standards for social and responsible corporate governance like the SA8000 standard can support companies in fulfilling their obligations. Corporate responsibility will certainly become more important in the future:

When thinking about emerging regulation, the European Green Deal hovers over everything, which has a significant regulatory impact on companies, including those in the cosmetics industry. This comprehensive plan aims to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050 and includes numerous strategies and measures aimed at reducing environmental impact and promoting sustainable practices, e.g. climate neutrality and emissions reduction, circular economy and waste management or biodiversity and sustainable procurement.

Within this framework the CSRD is a pivotal regulation promoting sustainability by setting stringent reporting requirements for much more companies operating in the EU than in the past. By enhancing transparency, standardizing sustainability disclosures, and ensuring accountability, the CSRD drives companies towards more sustainable and responsible business practices, which to a certain extent compensates for the enormous amount of work that this regulation means for many companies.