Rethink Tomorrow
Novozymes’ purpose and long-term targets are inspired by the SDGs. The sustainable nature of our solutions means that we contribute to achieving the SDGs every day. We assess the potential impact on the SDGs of all the projects in our innovation pipeline. This enables us to advance solutions that have the potential to have a high impact on the SDGs. In 2018, Novozymes set up the SDG Governance Board to build a shared understanding of SDG opportunities and risks, and to ensure that this knowledge is embedded in corporate strategy and targets.
Below are six examples where Novozymes’ technology and actions can deliver significant contributions to the SDGs.
Many of Novozymes’ solutions contribute to enabling sustainable food production and resilient agricultural practices. Together with our partners, we help farmers around the world to make their production more sustainable and increase their productivity. Through The BioAg Alliance, Novozymes works to improve crop harvests using products containing naturally occurring microbes. We also provide animal health and nutrition products that enable the world’s poultry and swine farmers to produce more from less in a sustainable way. Many of our Food & Beverages solutions address specific food and nutrition challenges, for example lactose intolerance and nutritious infant foods.
Education is a high priority for Novozymes. We believe that raising awareness about biology, biotechnology and the environment will lead to more people adopting and developing sustainable solutions in the future. Novozymes aims to educate 1 million people about the potential of biology by 2020. Since 2015, Novozymes has educated more than 612,000 people about biology and how it enables a sustainable future, by engaging with local schools, universities and communities. In 2018, we conducted several educational activities aimed at external audiences. One example is the Mobile Science Lab, which was set up by Novozymes as a step toward making quality education accessible to remote schools and communities in the vicinity of Bangalore, India.
Many of Novozymes’ solutions help customers to save water and reduce wastewater, for example in the production of textiles, leather and pulp & paper. We develop biological solutions for wastewater treatment and sludge reduction for municipal and industrial applications. Through our open innovation platform HelloScience, Novozymes and pump manufacturer Grundfos explore the development of new solutions and partnerships to address water challenges. In 2018, Novozymes launched BioSec®, which targets sludge dewatering in wastewater treatment.
Novozymes supports the development of and actively promotes the increased use of renewable energy. Our solutions enable the development of low-carbon fuels in transportation, which represents a significant share of the global energy mix. Novozymes is an active member of the UN Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative. In collaboration with WBCSD and other partners, we helped launch below50 – a partnership to promote the use of more sustainable low-carbon transportation fuels. Our vision is to bring together green technologies in a synergistic energy matrix. Read more about our vision and pathway for a global green energy matrix in the sustainability report. In 2018, through our engagement with the Brazilian Association of Industrial Biotechnology (ABBI), we provided input for RenovaBio – a program designed to stimulate biofuel production and use in Brazil to help meet the country's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Novozymes is committed to increasing the use of renewable energy in our own operations. In 2018, 23% of our energy came from renewable sources.
Novozymes’ solutions help address climate change by enabling our customers to reduce their CO2 emissions. We have set a target of saving 100 million tons of CO2 in 2020 through the application of our solutions. In 2018, our customers avoided an estimated 88 million tons of CO2 emissions by applying our products – equivalent to taking approximately 37 million cars off the road. Novozymes invests in increasing the share of renewable energy in our energy mix. We have said goodbye to coal-based energy at our largest production plant in Kalundborg, Denmark. In addition, we have set an internal carbon price to evaluate our global portfolio of operational eco-efficiency projects and drive decarbonization in our operations.
As part of our strategy Partnering for Impact, we partner with global and regional influencers, policymakers, industry organizations, academia and NGOs to promote the development of sustainable solutions. One of our long-term sustainability targets is to catalyze 5 global partnerships for change. This means that we aim to form five high-impact partnerships by 2020 with public or private organizations that share our agenda and support Novozymes’ commercial activities. Novozymes also actively engages in other partnerships aimed at developing sustainable solutions, for example the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) initiative and the Bio-Based Industries partnership in Europe. In 2018, Novozymes joined heads of state and leaders from business and civil society for the inaugural P4G summit convened to promote partnerships delivering inclusive growth and measurable progress on the SDGs.
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