Given your role as Chief Sustainability Officer at IFF as well as position as Adjunct Professor of Marketing at New York University (NYU), why do you believe the intersection of marketing and sustainability is so important right now?
The importance of the intersection between marketing and sustainability has evolved significantly over the past decades. Initially, sustainability efforts were focused on minimizing the negative environmental impacts of business operations, especially within the chemical sector. This approach has shifted from merely doing less harm to actively doing more good and aspiring to become net positive, rather than just carbon neutral. This transformation reflects an internal focus towards enhancing environmental responsibility.
In recent years, the focus has expanded beyond internal operations to include the entire value chain, from suppliers to end consumers. For companies like IFF, the challenge has shifted to not only reducing their own environmental footprint but also innovating to help customers and the broader value chain reduce theirs. Marketing plays a crucial role in this context, as it involves communicating the value proposition of sustainable products. This is not only about the product's performance but also its environmental benefits. Importantly, today's consumers, including younger generations like Gen X and Gen Z, increasingly demand transparency and sustainability from the brands they support, making the role of marketing in sustainability more critical than ever.
Why is it difficult to scale innovative technologies like IFF’s Designed Enzymatic Biomaterials (DEB) quickly across the wider industry?
The difficulty to quickly bring innovative technologies such as Designed Enzymatic Biomaterials to the wider industry can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, there is a need for increased awareness and marketing of these innovations to ensure potential adopters are aware of their existence and benefits. Once awareness is raised, companies face typical business challenges, including economic considerations, integration into existing processes, and ensuring the new products meet performance expectations. Additionally, the cost-effectiveness of sustainable solutions is a significant factor; most consumers and businesses are not willing to pay a premium for sustainability alone without additional benefits.
Further complicating the adoption of innovative technologies are the challenges of scaling up. Many promising solutions remain in the R&D phase, and scaling them to make a measurable impact requires significant capital and resources. This is particularly challenging for small and medium-sized enterprises. For larger companies like IFF, while there are resources available, the journey from a novel idea to a scalable solution that can positively impact the environment and society is complex.
As the industry and regulators strive to meet climate goals, what can be done to accelerate the creation of sustainable solutions?
Addressing climate change and meeting sustainability goals require a multifaceted approach. While consumers express a desire for sustainable products, their willingness to make sacrifices or pay more for these products is limited. To accelerate the adoption of sustainable solutions, businesses, regulators, and consumers must commit to making significant changes. Regulatory pressures can play a pivotal role in this process, pushing companies to adopt more sustainable practices even when there are easier, less sustainable options available.
Companies must also be bold and willing to accept the potential consequences of prioritizing sustainability. This includes facing economic and supply chain pressures head-on and working through the value chain to demand and create more sustainable options. Additionally, creating a level playing field for sustainable solutions, which often face higher costs and regulatory hurdles compared to less sustainable alternatives, is essential. Governments and industries must address these challenges to facilitate a faster transition to sustainability.
Can you discuss a promising biotech innovation from IFF that has potential for wide-scale application?
One of IFF's most promising biotech innovations is the DEB technology platform, which has been in development for over 15 years. This technology stands out due to its simplicity and the breadth of its potential applications, making it a game-changing solution in sustainability and performance. DEB technology is considered a new-to-the-world material, reflecting its unique value proposition and its potential to revolutionize various industries.
Beyond its current applications, DEB technology has the potential to penetrate industries beyond IFF's traditional focus areas, including industrial applications and beyond. Partnerships with companies outside the typical market for IFF, such as Kemira, are exploring applications of DEB technology in new sectors. This demonstrates the technology's versatility and its potential to contribute significantly to sustainability across a wide range of industries. Do you want to add more info about IFF applications beyond HPC?
This is in addition to the substantial advancements IFF is making in areas such as transforming our Scent catalog to offer the most sustainable choices in fragrance design, developing new plant-based proteins, offering flavorings using upcycled ingredients and advancing enzyme technology to enable cold and quick wash cycles.
Are you optimistic about the industry's current position given the significant challenges posed by climate change?
Absolutely, I am optimistic. Despite the considerable tasks ahead, every effort we make in sustainability represents progress, even if it's just one step at a time. In every industry that IFF operates, there's an ongoing dialogue about addressing and solving these issues. Though we may not be moving as quickly as we'd like and still searching for all the solutions, the critical step is that the conversation is happening. Nearly every one of our customers is engaged in discussions on how to make advancements in sustainability. This widespread engagement marks a significant shift from a decade ago, indicating progress and a reason for my optimism.
What do you see as the greatest challenge facing IFF today, particularly in terms of sustainability?
The primary challenge is the pace at which we can implement sustainable practices, especially when considering the complexity of supply chains. We've made great progress in areas like reducing emissions from our manufacturing processes, but extending these efforts throughout the supply chain, especially with small farmers and suppliers in developing countries, remains a challenge across most companies and industries. These stakeholders face their own unique challenges and driving a sustainability agenda within their operations will be new to some. Yet, we have found them to be eager to learn and receptive to working together to advance their practices towards sustainability.
The expectation from our customers to enhance our environmental footprint necessitates a broader look into our supply chain; making this an area of urgency and priority..
How important is collaboration within the industry for advancing sustainability goals?
Collaboration is crucial. There's a strong desire within the industry for sharing best practices and advancements in areas such as biodiversity, regenerative agriculture and social well-being. Despite the competitive nature of our business, companies are increasingly working together on sustainability initiatives such as these. This cooperation extends to advocating for policies that support innovation and sustainability. My involvement with the American Cleaning Institute, for example, highlights the collaborative efforts among companies to navigate pre-competitive, non-antitrust discussions focused on sustainability and advancing the cleaning industry. This collaborative spirit is essential for tackling the industry's challenges and driving meaningful progress.
Can you share some of the key milestones and innovations IFF is looking forward to in the next few years?
Looking ahead, we're excited about leveraging biotechnology to catalyze innovation across different sectors, such as food and fragrance. Biotechnology offers new ways to advance traditional formulations, creating more sustainable solutions. Additionally, our upcycling initiatives in the food and personal care sectors represent a significant opportunity to transform waste into valuable products. This approach not only benefits the environment but also aligns with our customers' growing demand for sustainability. These efforts, among others, are pivotal in our journey toward fully biodegradable products and transparent practices.
Could you explain the concept of upcycling for those unfamiliar with it?
Upcycling involves repurposing by-products or waste materials into new, valuable products. Through this approach, we give a second life to byproducts or unused materials: from discarded harvest byproducts, such as seeds, spent extraction material, such as pulp, or side streams from processing facilities, such as wastewater. Examples in our collection include: Cinnamon Bark Essential, Rose Essential, and the re-purposing of fresh orange peels that would otherwise be discarded from retail settings, transforming them into value-added materials. This approach not only minimizes waste but also enhances sustainability across our operations. By finding innovative uses for what would otherwise be discarded, we're able to create additional value and contribute positively to our environmental footprint.
Is there anything else about IFF's sustainability efforts that we haven't covered yet?
IFF's focus on sustainable solutions—the “+” piece of our ESG+ program—is fundamental to our operations. Our commitment extends beyond environmental stewardship to include products that enable our customers to reduce their energy, water, and emissions footprint.
Innovation is at the heart of our sustainability efforts, and we're setting high standards for our new developments to ensure they surpass the sustainability benchmarks of their predecessors.
We're proud to publicly commit our goal that by 2030, 100% of our new innovations will feature a sustainability value proposition, underscoring our dedication to making a significant impact on global sustainability.
