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Upcycling
Towards a more sustainable approach to formulations
A valuable addition to our Fragrance and Flavor Ingredients portfolio
At dsm-firmenich, we are committed to reducing our impact on the planet through big and small actions. From salvaged orange peels to leftover woodchips, our Upcycling commitment is aimed at maximizing existing resources while repurposing and reducing waste.
Our complete range of Upcycled ingredients drives us towards more sustainable and differentiated formulations across a diverse range of fragrance and flavor applications. In utilizing these good-for-the-planet resources, we can better meet the expectations of our like-minded customers and consumers.
A sustainable circular approach to natural sourcing
We define upcycling as the way to valorize by-products, recaptured industrial carbon emissions, waste materials, or unused products into new materials or products of higher value for a positive impact on the environment.
Upcycled materials can come from natural, renewable, or synthetic origins, and we use a calculation based on Carbon atoms, in line with the same method we use to determine Renewable Carbon percentages.
Firmenich classifies an ingredient as “upcycled” when it is obtained by valorizing:
Profound effect on the 3 main pillars of sustainability
Upcycling as a solution for the circular movement through a reduction of emissions and waste while caring for nature and our future.
Recovery
Protecting nature’s resources - Upcycling existing resources means that we can avoid to use new raw materials in production.
Recovery
Protection
Reduce Carbon footprint – Upcycling reduces the need to produce new raw materials. This elimination helps cut down on air pollution, water pollution, energy consumed.
Protection
Consumption
Towards Zero waste - Upcycling helps reduce waste in landfills, oceans, parks, food markets, and waste management facilities.
Consumption
The upcycling process behind our ingredients
COLD PRESSED OIL FROM JUICE INDUSTRY
For citrus fruits, both the juice and the peel serve as critical sources for natural extracts that deliver olfaction and taste experiences. Our citrus oils are the byproducts of the fresh juice industry, extracted from the zest of the fruits being processed using a cold pressed technique.
The resulting juice is filtered for the juice industry, and the oil, separated through centrifugation, is utilized by the fragrance & flavors industry.
CITRUS ESSENCE OIL FROM JUICE INDUSTRY
When large quantities of fresh juice need to be shipped long distances, a concentrate of the juice is prepared. The water is extracted and a very small quantity of essence oil, with exceptional quality, is collected.
As this material comes from the juice it has a very special profile and plays a very important role in Flavors and Fragrance formulations.
UPCYCLED FRUITS FROM FRUIT INDUSTRY
Our Naturome fruit ingredients are the by-products of fresh fruit puree production, performed by our longstanding Natural Together™ partner Trade Solutions.
When Trade Solutions produce their fruit puree, they recover part of the volatiles otherwise lost during the pasteurization step to produce the Naturomes. The pasteurized fruit puree corresponds to their main stream, while the retrieved Naturomes ensure zero waste and loss.
TURPENTINE DERIVATIVES
Firmenich uses the upcycled Turpentine extracted from the paper industry, often those that use softwood to manufacture cardboard. Derived originally from softwoods, this turpentine is valorized through a fractionation process in which we retrieve alpha and beta pinene, the two main Molecules obtained from fractionated turpentine.
The majority of these extracts come directly from Firmenich’s integration with DRT, an expert in plant-based chemistry and whose portfolio is a leading force in the production of pine derivative ingredients.
WOOD ROSIN DERIVATIVES
Firmenich uses the upcycled Wood Rosin extracted from leftover Pine tree stumps, originally cut for the wood industry. An extraction of the stumps is performed to produce Upcycled Wood Rosin, which we process to create derivatives such as ABALYN® and HERCOLYN® DW.
CEDARWOOD VIRGINIA FROM THE FURNITURE INDUSTRY
In the USA, the Cedarwood Virginia is primarily employed to build closets that keeps bugs away naturally due to their scent. The sawdust or the small parts of wood left after the confection of these closets are then used for distillation.
WHITE CEDAR FROM THE FURNITURE INDUSTRY
Thuja occidentalis, also known as "White Cedar" or "Cedar," is native to the Northeast region of the United States and the Southeastern part of Canada. It is widely used as an ornamental tree, particularly for screens and hedges in gardens and parks. Each year in Canada, when these trees are pruned, the branches are collected to be distilled instead of being thrown away.
CEDAR ALASKA FROM THE FURNITURE INDUSTRY
Cedar Alaska Canada is a byproduct of sawdust that has been sustainably produced by the forest industry. Starting from the Pacific Rainforest, the younger trees (between 50 and 75 years) are cut using sustainable forestry practices.
In this process of turning logs into lumber, a tremendous amount of sawdust is produced. In fact, as much as 30% of a tree can end up as sawdust. Our partners take the sawdust and processes it at their site. The result is a collection of unique, sustainably sourced essential oils.
Then they return the "spent sawdust" to the mills. The sawmills use giant "tippers" to dump the transported sawdust into collection piles, and it is then sent to pulp and paper mills on huge barges where it is used as a source of clean, renewable energy. This then completes the process.
UPCYCLED EUCALYPTUS FROM THE PAPER INDUSTRY
Firmenich’s Eucalyptus Globulus oil is made using eucalyptus leaves and twigs leftover from the wood cut for paper or timber. The trees are used to their full potential by revalorizing the by-products of the harvest, and for the production of 1kg of eucalyptus oil, Firmenich saves 100kg of eucalyptus leaves and twigs that would otherwise have gone to waste.
Once the essential oil is distilled, the remaining by-product, called bagasse, is repurposed and given a new lease of life by being used as a natural fertilizer for the eucalyptus plantations.
UPCYCLED FLOWERS FROM THE FRESH FLOWER MARKET
In India, 95% of the flowers are used for ornamental or religious ceremonies, mainly including tuberose and jasmine. At the end of the day, when sacred flowers remain unsold at the flowers markets, and are due to be thrown away, Jasmine Concrete EPL purchases them. This strategy is perfectly integrated into local traditions: Jasmine Concrete’s sourcing strategy helps to ensure flowers do not go to waste, growers still receive a return on what they have sourced, and flowers are not thrown away.
UPCYCLED CINNAMON BARK FROM THE SPICE INDUSTRY
The barks of cinnamon trees are peeled and air-dried for 24 hours before taking the form of hollow sticks. The most beautiful sticks are sold to the spice market while the less uniform sticks, or the chips, that are not considered “valuable” enough for the spice market, are valorized and distilled to create cinnamon essential oil.
Moreover, while the branches are cut to extract the valuable bark on them, the leaves can also be extracted as a by-product to create cinnamon leaf essential oil, rich in Eugenol.
CARDAMOM FROM THE SPICE & SEASONING INDUSTRY
Cardamom is most commonly sold as a whole pod at spice markets around the world. However, some seeds are “rejected’, those in particular that are not suitable for this route of sale based on visual quality or other irregular features. These pods remain just as interesting for their olfactive qualities as the rest, so we purchase them, avoiding waste, and begin their new complex and beautiful olfactive journey.
EUGENOL
When leaves fall from the Clove tree, they are collected and valorized to create Clove leaf essential oil. From this oil we perform a distillation to obtain Eugenol, followed by multiple chemical transformations that enable us to obtain a variety of fascinating Natural or Renewable Molecules.
UPCYCLED HONEYCOMB FROM THE BEESWAX INDUSTRY
Each year, beekeepers renew 20% of the hives’ frames, recurringly melting them for the duration of a year while reusing the wax and obtaining new frames. However, once this material become too old for reuse, Firmenich purchases it for extraction. After extraction, the remaining beeswax is subsequently sold to create candles for other industries.
