Creating a Sustainable Pipeline Technology and expertise are the keys to facing aerosol industry challenges By Grant Coupland Marketing & Innovation Director, Colep (One Asia Network); Chairman, the British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association This paper was recently presented at the Aerosol & Dispensing Forum in Paris along with Hidetoshi Miyamoto, Head of Research & Development at Daizo (One Asia Network) 20 SPRAY July 2014 SPRAY At Colep and the One Asia Network, we want to be our customers’ preferred sustainability partner. This is engrained in our strategy and our dedication to creating a sustainable product pipeline. According the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations. Today, more and more consumers are waking up to sustainability issues, and retailers and marketers understand that it makes good business sense to be sustainable. Colep and the One Asia Network are proactively tackling sustainability and are setting a standard to ensure that everyone throughout our organizations adopts this mindset. We began our journey by working with independent, non-profit sustainability expert Forum for the Future, who is working globally with businesses, government and other organizations. We recognize that part of the sustainability challenge for consumer goods companies is embodied in the product itself. To that effect, part of our sustainability strategy is to engage with our customers and to ask the question: What can we do to support your brand to ensure the sustainability of that brand in the future? Legislation will soon come into effect that will force the aerosol industry to become more sustainable. The European Commission has adopted the EU Clean Air Policy Package, which includes national emissions reduction expressed in percentages, compared to 2005 (i.e. an EU-28 volatile organic compound VOC reduction of 27% by 2020 and an EU- 28 VOC reduction of 50% by 2030). As the spotlight increasingly focuses on aerosols, they could represent a mere 10% of the VOC emissions in the EU by 2020. Many corporate firms have introduced sustainability as a main strategic platform and many dynamic emerging companies are pushing forward with totally sustainable platforms that are resonating with customers and consumers. People intrinsically want to be good! It is this fact that will be one of the main drivers of sustainability in our industry. Following successful launches by leading brand owners, there is a focus on concentrated aerosols that deliver the same amount of product in smaller sized packaging (e.g a new 75mL container that contains the same amount of product that used to fit into a 150mL container). Colep and the One Asia Network have also been working together with suppliers to create ready-to-go concentrated aerosol offers. The focus is initially on antiperspirant and deodorant products, but the scope will grow to include other sectors. Significant effort and expertise is channelled into the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of products Colep manufactures in order to make better, more informed decisions about what raw materials and components are used. Ideally, this will help ensure that we are addressing our own sustainability goals, as well as our customers’. Life Cycle Analysis methods are demonstrated by the concept of reducing a product from a 450mL standard aerosol to a 25mL metered dose concentrate aerosol, wherein the carbon footprint is reduced significantly. It has been verified that the compact aerosol emits 74% less CO2 compared to the 450mL. It is important to note that concentrated aerosols are not necessarily limited to half the size (e.g. 75mL = 150mL or 100mL =200mL). What the study shows is that a 25mL product offers the same level of efficiency and durability as a 450mL product. Formulation expertise and supplier collaboration helps put contract manufacturers such as Colep in an excellent position to work with customers on custom projects and offer ready-to-go solutions. Another innovation is the specialized Eco-Valve, a new valve technology that enables spraying with the use of compressed-air, created in joint development between Colep and technology experts Salford Valve Co. (Salvalco). It can achieve delivery of actives, as well as break-up of a wide range of aerosol product types from deodorants and anti-perspirants to sun care. The team is working together to achieve commercial status for Eco- Valve. Ultimately, there are a number of drivers and challenges for the aerosol industry from legislature and elsewhere; we recognize that technology can address these challenges.
SprayJuly2014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above