A technological innovation created by researchers from Natura and the Institute of Technological Research (IPT) received the first Green Patent dedicated to a cosmetics company in Brazil. It involves the use of waste from the biodiversity of the Amazon, obtained from the extraction of oil from oilseeds such as murumuru, andiroba, and Brazil nuts, as production inputs for the company.
Previously, the biomass generated as waste was used for soil composting, and now it completes its course within the logic of the circular economy. Rich in carbohydrates, fibers, and lipids, the material is now being incorporated into a new product with proven benefits for the skin, thanks to the new biotechnological active ingredient. The novelty will be launched to consumers in 2020.
By creating a new biotechnological ingredient, the supplier cooperatives of Natura in the Amazon region also gain a new business model.
The innovation enabled the company to use the organic matter that remains from its production as an input. With the partnership of IPT from São Paulo, researchers from Natura in Cajamar, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, and in Benevides, Pará, developed a technique to utilize the waste in a project supported by Embrapii-Pilot (CNI, Finep, and MCTIC).
The registration – in turn – is granted by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), linked to the Ministry of Economy, and guarantees Natura exclusivity in the commercial use of the innovation during the first years. The Green Patents program prioritizes the analysis of registration requests related to technologies that help combat climate change.
"It is a significant achievement related to the circular economy, as we developed a technique for the complete use of seeds from Brazilian biodiversity. What used to become fertilizer now generates an opportunity in another productive chain," explains Roseli Mello, Innovation Director at Natura.
The innovation is part of the guidelines released by the company in the document Sustainability Vision 2050, which states that the waste generated should be reused in its own production process or become high-quality input for another industrial or natural cycle.
Check out the article published in Estadão.
