Sagentia Innovation recently attended the Innovation Roundtable Summit in Copenhagen - the world’s largest gathering of corporate innovators from around 250 multinational organisations and more than 600 innovation executives.

Michele Turitto, Managing Partner Industrial, Chemicals and Energy, had the privilege of hosting a roundtable discussion on: “How to ensure innovation initiatives are fully aligned with declared decarbonisation goals?” 

The session was attended by representatives across a range of industries, including consumer, industrial, oil and gas, chemical and financial services. To facilitate the discussion, Michele used the Net Zero Playbook, which Science Group - Sustainability has recently produced in collaboration with a CTO Forum,  which Sagentia Innovation is a member of, alongside CTOs of several global companies.

Despite the breadth of industries represented, all attendees confirmed that their companies have some form of long-term goals for decarbonisation and, more broadly, sustainability.

Some key themes emerged from the session:

• Decarbonisation is an imperative, not just because it is the correct route to follow to safeguard our planet for current and future generations, but because it has become a business and economic must. In the near future, organisations that lag behind and see their sustainability ratings being downgraded will struggle to get funding and access to finances.
• There is an urgency to act now to remain competitive and keep on meeting market and customers’ expectations.
• Customers have a strong appetite for products and services that maintain current levels of functionalities and costs whilst associated emissions are brought down. This can often be a tricky trade-off to achieve.
• Decarbonisation adds one dimension against which innovation and R&D projects have to be assessed together with more traditional KPIs.
• Decarbonisation/sustainability should not be an afterthought but be embedded into product/services design.
• It is key to maintain a lifecycle perspective that includes Scope 3 emissions – often the most significant portion of a company’s emissions footprint. Organisations should be aware of the active role they play in embedding decarbonisation in their suppliers’ and customers’ activities.
• To stimulate an efficient drive towards decarbonisation and sustainability, there is a need to create a common language across organisations on these themes. Launching upskilling and education activities to unlock the potential value to be gleaned from different divisions working in unison.

The discussion confirmed the complex nature of the decarbonisation challenge and outlined the direction of travel for many. Sagentia Innovation has built expertise in advising clients on how to decode this challenge and devises approaches tailored to their specific needs. We help generate or maintain momentum for organisations’ decarbonisation initiatives, acting as trusted advisors from a technical, commercial and regulatory perspective.

Examples of this work include (click links to view):

• Developing a roadmap for the capture and re-use of waste heat and water from multiple product lines to enable water and emissions reduction
• Assessing technology options for the conversion of CO₂ waste streams with a recommended route to market for shortlisted opportunities

We are always thrilled to hear about your challenges and discuss ways in which we can support your company’s sustainability ambitions.