Amyris spotlights advancements in sustainable beauty chemistry in latest ESG report

31 Aug 2022 --- Amyris has published its second annual impact report on environmental, social and governance (ESG), spotlighting developments in greening up the production of its chemistry solutions for the beauty and fragrances sector. These include producing squalene – an anti-inflammatory compound for skincare products – from sugarcane, rather than sourcing it from sharks.

The growing focus on health and wellness “is more than a trend – it is a way of life,” underscores John Melo, president and CEO at Amyris.

In 2021, Amyris took environmentally sustainable initiatives by including in-depth greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and forming an ESG Council. 

Sourcing from sugarcane instead of sharks
As a member of the UN Global Compact, Amyris has expanded its sustainable portfolio with the developed new molecules under good health and well-being. Additionally, it focuses on creating holistic healthier ingredients across health, nutrition, wellness, beauty and flavors and fragrances spaces.Up to 95% of hazardous waste from Emeryville labs are being recycled or incinerated for energy recovery. Credit: Amyris  

It has developed alternatives to fossil fuel-derived and environmentally destructive chemicals to conserve life below water, such as producing squalane from sugarcane instead of sharks, for instance. Additionally, the company’s squalane is noted as highly scalable and affordable. The company estimates that it avoids killing more than 2.7 million sharks annually.

To protect life on land, Amyris uses renewable Bonsucro-certified sugarcane feedstock, which uses less land and avoids using endangered resources. 

The manufacturer uses sugarcane waste, or bagasse, as a renewable fuel. Fermentation waste, or vinasse, is used as a crop fertilizer and water supplement. 

Continual clean chemistry
Amyris leverages its proprietary Lab-to-Market technology platform, fermentation and manufacturing process to promote the responsible consumption and production of ingredients that would otherwise rely on destructive practices. 

Amyris’s Lab-to-Market technology platform showed a 90% reduction in the cost of product development and an 80% reduction in time-to-market when comparing 2020 and 2021. This has helped the company to improve its speed in identifying and commercializing new molecules. 

“We produce and distribute specialty ingredients made from our molecules for use in over 20,000 products from brands in the large addressable markets of clean beauty, health and wellness and flavors and fragrances, reaching more than 300 million consumers globally,” continues the report.

The Lab-to-Market technology for clean chemistry has also been used in engineering the genetics of yeast strains, which are fermented into sugarcane syrup, converting the plant sugars into molecules for clean ingredients. 

Carbon reduction and clean energy
Amyris’ Barra Bonita fermentation plant can generate all 13 of the company’s chemicals, and its patented design allows for swift and seamless transitions from one molecule to another. The company anticipates that demand for its sustainable and high-performance ingredients will stay robust.

“Moreover, the plant is built to improve operational efficiencies and utilizes renewable energy to supply steam and electricity to power the plant,” explains Amyris. The facility is also replacing its light bulbs with LED bulbs. Amyris uses sugarcane waste, or bagasse, as a renewable fuel. Fermentation waste, or vinasse, is used as a crop fertilizer and water supplement. Credit: Amyris. 

To reduce the company’s ingredient carbon footprint, the company invested in a software program to assist process development teams in identifying more energy-efficient processes. 

The company’s actions for the climate also include maximizing the use of its buildings and facilities through renewable energy capture, as well as targeting carbon-neutral customer shipping for all its direct-to-consumer brands.

Amyris also shares that it met its waste goals in 2021, with 95% of the hazardous waste produced in Emeryville laboratory facilities being recycled or incinerated for energy recovery. 

Sugarcane pulp-based packaging
Amyris shares that its clean beauty brands have banned over 2,000 ingredients from their formulations, including many restricted by the EU and identified on the Environmental Working Group (EWG) restricted list. 

Last year the company launched five new personal care brands: Costa Brazil, JVN, Olika, Rose and Tera.

“Moreover, our consumer brands, including Biossance and Pipette, have worked to replace non-recyclable materials used in bottles, tubes, caps and other packaging with recyclable materials, including post-consumer recycled plastics and bottles manufactured using sugarcane ethanol instead of petroleum derived energy sources,” outlines the report. 

The outer boxes for various products are made from sugarcane pulp, a byproduct of sugarcane processing, to reduce paper use. 

Edited by Venya Patel