Natura, the Brazilian cosmetics company, in yet another initiative in favor of research and innovation, has just signed a partnership and cooperation agreement with Embrapa. The goal is to carry out studies and research projects aimed at deepening technical-scientific knowledge and generating new technologies.
This is not the first time that Embrapa and Natura have joined forces for the development of scientific research. About three years ago, the companies have been working together on a project co-financed by FINEP to develop innovations in palm cultivation, traditionally done in a monoculture process, so that it can be cultivated in an agroforestry system. The project already has important results and will begin to be applied by Natura in the production of palm oil used in the manufacture of soaps.
The great differential of the partnership will be the focus on the viability and practical application of the generated knowledge, boosting the transformation of scientific research into benefits for society as a whole. Natura believes that, with this cooperation, in the coming years, it can develop technological innovations not only in its products but also in processes and supply chains beyond the company’s environment.
With the signing of the partnership contract, the institutions reinforce scientific cooperation in the pursuit of the connection between knowledge and innovation and initiate a new cycle of research in different areas. “The partnership represents a gain in favor of collaborative network innovation, something we consider fundamental in the development of our projects,” explains Luciana Hashiba, manager of management and innovation networks at Natura. According to her, collaboration with science institutions should serve as an example for other companies, as it generates mutual gains and more practical applications of research results.
For the head of the Technological Innovation area at Embrapa, Filipe Teixeira, the Embrapa-Natura partnership is established in the current context of open innovation, where public and private institutions act in an integrated manner to meet the demand for technological and process innovations in dynamic environments. “It is gratifying to see two companies from such different segments coming together through research, in search of products with better quality and environmentally sustainable,” concludes Teixeira.
