Sustainovations... By Thomas Forster Corporate VP - R&D Beauty Care Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Germany A way forward for the aerosol industry... This paper was originally presented at the FEA 28th International Aerosol Congress & 17th Exhibition. “Sustainovations” is an artificial combination of two words: sustainability and innovations. Is this simply another confusing word combination or is there more behind it? The 1987 Brundtland Report1 stated, “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainability is a holistic concept combining environmental, economic and social wellbeing for today and tomorrow—or, as defined by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in its Vision 20503, it’s about “People living well, within the resource limits of the planet.” 2 Very often, people associate sustainability with sacrificing quality of life and consumption, or to use regulatory language, with bans or restrictions. Rarely do they associate it with opportunity or a better quality of life. Looking back at history, sustainability was often linked with limits, restrictions and threats. In 1972, the Club of Rome published Limits to Growth, predicting a scarcity of natural resources that fortunately has not come true. In 1989, the Montreal Treaty banned chlorofluorocarbons, followed in 1993 by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulation in the U.S., restricting volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was signed, restricting greenhouse gas emissions. However, sustainability is not just about environmental challenges. In 1987, the previously mentioned Brundtland Report gave a much more holistic view on sustainable development, stating that sustainability is also about finding ways to meet peoples’ needs. Within this holistic picture, innovations play a fundamental role. Henkel’s sustainability strategy—“People living well, within the resource limits of the planet”—is based on Vision 2050.2,3 20 Spray March 2014
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