FMCG companies banking on specialty chemicals to achieve sustainability

Everybody is familiar with Shahrukh Khan featuring 'No VOC No Gadbad' ad of Nerolac paints educating the consumers about the side effects of VOC (volatile organic component) in paints. This is one of many such examples wherein consumer product manufacturers are redrawing their marketing plans with emphasise on the eco-friendly theme. FMCG companies are living no stone unturned in their quest to reduce carbon footprint in their supply chain. It is here that specialty chemicals play a big role. Be it fabrics that requires less water to wash, powered shampoo, or paints with low VOC, etc all require new processes and raw material (ie, specialty chemicals) which can be help these companies achieve their sustainability goals.
 
Growing awareness about the environment has made consumers conscious about importance of eco-friendly products and they are ready to pay the premium. As a result, product manufacturers are incorporating changes to suit the consumer demand. “Today, the customer awareness on health consciousness and eco-friendly products has gone up. Manufacturing companies are looking at specialty chemical additives that help in improving the functionality of the product as well as reduce the environmental load either by achieving the same end product in minimum number of steps or consuming less amount of chemicals than before,” says K Jayaraman, Executive Director (Operations Consulting), PwC in India.

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Understanding the customers’ demand, chemical companies are developing products that meet their requirements. “At Dow Corning, sustainability is an essential fibre of our future success. It helps us meet the needs of our customers, employees and communities around the world. That’s why sustainability is one of our corporate values and part of our vision. We help our customers in achieving their sustainability goals by innovating products and services,” said Diane Kelly, Regional President for Dow Corning India/ASEAN/ANZ.
 
Bio-based ingredients in demand
Demand for natural ingredients (especially in food and personal care products) is growing, driving FMCG companies to source bio-based specialty chemicals. This allows companies to reduce their environment footprint and emerge as green producers – thanks to specialty chemicals. “In that way speciality chemicals have a very large or if I may say one of the most significant role for companies across industries to move towards and achieve their sustainable goals. They act as additives, accelerators, catalysts in various products and processes thus helping to achieve more with less. They enhance performance and reduce consumption of scarce resources. Some of the companies are looking at biomass route with specialty additives to develop products,” added Jayaraman.
 
For example, DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products (DuPont Tate & Lyle), a joint venture between DuPont and agrobusiness firm Tate & Lyle, has partnered with preservatives and personal-care ingredient maker RML (Sandy Hook, CT) to create a new line of alternative preservatives using DuPont Tate & Lyle's Zemea propanediol. Zemea is a 100% percent bio-based ingredient for use in the cosmetics and personal-care market.
 
According to Jayaraman, Clariant’s industry standard-setting innovation EasyWhite Tan provides an environmentally compatible, safe and simplified tanning process that will have major benefits for tanners supplying almost every sector, from automotive leather to footwear. This technology has been developed using Clariant’s Granofin® Easy F-90 Liquid, an organic compound that is not based on chrome, phenols or aldehydes. It removes the need to add salt during the tanning process as well as reducing the number of stages in the tanning process itself. “In the Indian context, recent Eco Clean paint from Kansei Nerolac Paints odourless paint with no VOC is another example where products are developed with special additives for changing customer needs,” he said.
 
Following the mega trends
Specialty chemical makers are undertaking product innovations that addresses global challenges (megatrends associated with energy consumption, the environmental impact of global warming, the challenges of urbanisation to health, safety and quality of life, etc). “The company believes that, by paying attention to and focusing on world-scale challenges that influence the quality of life, it would be able to deliver innovative products and solutions that can create economic and social value, as well as help our customers to achieve sustainability goals. By helping customers invent the future today, we ensure a better tomorrow for people everywhere,” added Kelly.
 
Green building or energy efficient electronic products, chemicals that add sustainability in their functionality are in demand. For example, more and more buildings are built using adhesives instead of metal bolts & nuts. “In construction, our silicon technologies play an important role in green building, including sealants and adhesives used in engineering, building and coatings; vacuum insulated panelling; glass insulation; weather-sealants; and window and door manufacturing. Silicones last longer and need to be replaced less often than many organic materials, which reduces lifetime costs and contributes to sustainability,” claimed Kelly.

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Silicones are play key role in the development of technologies for solar energy production, thus helping make renewable energy economically competitive with traditional energy sources. Silicon technologies play an important role in greener transportation, for example, tyre additives that increase gas efficiency without sacrificing safety. “Silica-reinforced ‘green tyres’ can reduce rolling resistance up to 20%, reducing fuel requirements by as much as 5%,” stated Kelly.
 
Recognising green efforts
FMCG companies are aiming to foster better relation with their suppliers for adopting green processes right up to the final link in their supply chain network. These companies are also recognising the contribution of suppliers of chemicals by honouring them with green awards. For example, in July 2013, Tata Chemicals was felicitated with the prestigious Unilever’s ‘Partner to Win’ Award for Winning Sustainability in recognition of its effort in aiding Unilever to significantly reduce the environmental impact of laundry powders and their business association to create traceability for mined chemicals.
 
So is ‘sustainable’ or ‘eco-friendly’ chemical an effective marketing tool for special chemical manufacturers to sell their products to end-user industries? Jayaraman commented, “Considering the changing need of the customers, those parameters will no more become ‘Order Winners’ but will become the ‘Order Qualifiers’ of the future.”