IFF’s LMR Naturals unveils method to accurately measure total carbon in fragrance ingredients

16 Jan 2023 --- International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) has rolled out a new system to precisely calculate the carbon footprint of natural ingredients for perfume manufacturers. Since 2020, the company’s bio-based ingredients subsidiary LMR Naturals has taken steps to develop this methodology with aims to establish an efficient carbon dioxide reduction strategy and support customers in their reduction objectives.

“We see this data enabling perfumers both within IFF and from perfume brands to make mindful decisions in the development of new fragrances and identify areas for improvement within an existing fragrance,” Bertrand de Préville, general manager at LMR Naturals, tells PersonalCareInsights.

“The key is to look at the fragrance holistically, understanding use rates of individual ingredients within the fragrance and understanding the olfactive performance they enable,” he continues. Thus, the environmental performance of a fragrance can be improved through the perfumer’s choice.

“This is achieved either by rebalancing the formula, replacing specific ingredients or by identifying ingredients that are critical to the olfactive performance of the fragrance. This could further benefit from innovations in manufacturing or extraction,” continues de Préville.

The primary extraction process – which is mainly distillation – is more carbon-intensive as a step in the manufacturing chain, as opposed to the actual plant cultivation, notes de Préville.Significantly, he highlights that there is a high degree of variability across the carbon footprints of natural ingredients, which can vary by a factor of 1,000.

“The future most certainly lies in an increased collaboration between brands and producers, who will be able to support locally identified partners. Unique, reliable and constantly improving, this method is a stepping stone toward lasting change.”

Zeroing in on ingredients’ carbon impact
To evaluate the carbon footprint of ingredients, IFF’s LMR Naturals team followed a life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach to generate a matrix filled with data such as flow inventories for agricultural practices, extraction, transport and purification practices, among others. 

The study identifies high-volume ingredients such as patchouli or clove, as well as specific areas of importance to reduce carbon footprint. It also outlines the large burden of first transformation – in most cases distillation or solvent extraction – in the total footprint, as well as the ways to reduce it.

“We can take the example of sandalwood essential oil,” highlights de Préville, highlighting another use case. 

“The classic Indian sandalwood is extracted using fuel or gas. Its distillation is particularly energy intensive. On the other hand, LMR’s New Caledonian sandalwood is distilled using renewable firewood as energy. Its carbon footprint is then divided by a factor of five.”

The primary extraction process – which is mainly distillation – is more carbon-intensive as a step in the manufacturing chain, as opposed to the actual plant cultivation, notes de Préville.

Looking at the finer details
The carbon footprint of fragrance ingredients may vary by three orders of magnitude, which is why LMR conducted an exercise for each of its ingredients, they highlight. 

The team suggests significant greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions are possible through modernizing production units, improving yields and by ensuring sustainably harvested fuelwood is used during extraction.

“Comparison on an absolute level per kilogram of ingredient, however, misses the true point to this effort,” adds Todd Krieger, senior lead LCA scientist at IFF. “The goal is to provide lower-impact fragrances in use. Therefore, a fragrance’s dose rate and olfactory performance need to be included.”

“But, having data on an ingredient basis allows a customer to calculate the carbon footprint of a perfume or aroma formula, thanks to the precision of this unique approach. This data allows clients to assess the impact of an LMR Naturals by IFF product in its formula.”

Going beyond Scope 1 and 2 emissions
Working with a team at Carbone 4 – a consulting firm which specializes in low-carbon strategy and climate change adaptation – IFF is still expanding its LCA data for its synthetic ingredients catalog.

This process is “still challenging at a fragrance level” and poses uncertainty, as Préville shares. But, with this additional data, he anticipates automating these calculations for perfumers in the future, similar to how they evaluate factors of renewability, biodegradability and cost. This will allow perfumers to better compare their creative solutions.

The increasing use of natural extracts in perfumery and food flavors mandated a study of their footprint, notes de Préville.The LCA study has gone beyond evaluating only Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, which are direct emissions and indirect emissions from purchased energy. Instead, it offers a holistic perspective – integrating Scope 3 emissions – which refer to the indirect emissions across the entire value chain.

“Scope 3 burden, and particularly upstream activities (purchases) represent more than 90% of our global carbon footprint,” explains de Préville. “This shows the necessity to include indirect emissions to have a thorough vision of impact.”

“Indeed, 95% of LMR’s carbon footprint can be traced to Scope 3 activities,” specifies Bernard Toulemonde, consultant and natural ingredients expert. “It’s then easy to understand the breadth of the gap between the data published until now, limited to Scopes 1 and 2, versus the reality of the actual footprint encompassing the full value chain.”

Streamlining transition to a bio-based industry
The increasing use of natural extracts in perfumery and food flavors mandated a study of their footprint, notes de Préville. “However, there are huge variations which depend on the nature of biomass, its origin and its extraction process. We needed a reliable, reproducible methodology, based on a detailed understanding of our ingredients.”

A Sensegen fragrance survey previously delved into consumer understandings and perceptions of personal care and beauty products concerning scent – highlighting that the “era of natural perfumery is here.” Its study reveals 74% of consumers prefer natural over synthetic scents.

PersonalCareInsights recently explored the growing potential of bio-based ingredients as a whole, ranging across the spectrum of cosmetic ingredients to packaging solutions. We also recently caught up with experts at Conagen and Amyris, who revealed the latest developments in fermentation technologies to accelerate this new class of clean ingredients.

By Benjamin Ferrer