The Senai Institute of Innovation in Biomass (ISI Biomass), located in Três Lagoas, has established a new partnership leveraged by EMBRAPII, with Natura, a leading beauty and personal care company in Brazil and Latin America and a pioneer in various sustainable and regenerative innovations. The partnership aims to add value to the productive chains in the Amazon, generating more socioeconomic and environmental benefits, by utilizing agricultural and agro-industrial waste for new technological developments.
According to Romulo Zamberlan, director of Advanced Research and Open Innovation at Natura, the partnership with research institutions is a fundamental strategy for positive transformation through science and technology. “For Natura, regeneration is part of our business model. We aim to enhance the bioeconomy of the Amazon through nature-based solutions, with productive inclusion.” After investing in ecological alternatives for the expansion of Agroforestry Systems with Dendê (SAF Dendê), the new partnership now seeks to expand microbiological innovation.
For the director of ISI Biomass, João Gabriel Marini da Silva, the new research represents Natura's recognition of the work developed by Senai. “Natura was born innovating and valuing Brazilian biodiversity. The hiring of this new project shows that ISI Biomass is on the right track, meeting the company's expectations.”
Natura's scientific manager, responsible for the research, Débora Castellani, emphasizes that “this is a key technology to improve field production, in addition to the potential to generate new products from this system and expand into new local productive chains.”
The research coordinator at ISI Biomass, Layssa Okamura, comments that the project aims to transform biomass into other materials and transfer the developed technology for local production in the northern region of the country, specifically Tomé-Açu, in Pará. “The execution of this project aims at the development and validation of an innovative process for obtaining biomass from agricultural waste from Natura's productive chain, focusing on the transfer of technology for local production in the northern region of Brazil,” she explained.
According to industrial researcher Jessica Carolina Medina Gallardo, the project will be carried out in two interdependent phases, each with specific objectives that will contribute to the implementation and expansion of production, promoting sustainability and innovation.
“The execution of this project is not only an opportunity to insert Brazil into a promising global market but also a solution to local issues related to sustainability, waste utilization, and strengthening the bioeconomy, particularly in the northern region.”
In addition to Natura, the Mixed Agricultural Cooperative of Tomé-Açu (Camta), a long-time partner of the company, is also involved in the project. Camta provides various products such as butters and oils for Natura's cosmetics production chain and will participate in the entire research, contributing to the necessary local support and better decision-making throughout the process.
Camta was also a partner in the previous project, carried out in 2023, with Senai, which aimed to develop consortia of microorganisms for use in diversified systems like SAF Dendê. In this productive system, the cultivation of dendê for palm oil extraction occurs alongside trees, agricultural crops, and cover plants, promoting soil, water, and biodiversity conservation, as well as the production of food and raw materials for cosmetic use. The development of bioinputs for agroforestry systems is innovative and, in this case, contributes to the sustainability of the productive chain of dendê, cocoa, and açaí from the nursery phase, potentially making these crops more profitable and more resilient to climate change.
