Genomatica celebrated winning the prestigious 2020 Green Chemistry Challenge Award given by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its Brontide natural butylene glycol.
Honouring groundbreaking scientific solutions to real-world environmental problems, the win for Brontide natural butylene glycol marks the third EPA award held by Genomatica and makes them one of only four companies to win the award three times in the programme’s 25-year history.
Recognised for the greener synthetic pathways category, Genomatica’s Brontide natural butylene glycol replaces petroleum-derived butylene glycol (BG) in personal care products, slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 51 percent compared to traditional production.
“Innovation is at the heart of solving the challenges faced by our planet and our society. This award is another testament to the power of biotechnology as a force to reimagine and redesign carbon-based supply chains. It’s an incredible accomplishment for Genomatica scientists to bring home a ‘three-peat’ of the prestigious EPA award,” said Genomatica CEO Christophe Schilling. “For myself and all our engineers and scientists, it’s personally meaningful to be nationally recognised for making a positive environmental impact. It reaffirms our passion and commitment to developing cleaner manufacturing processes that result in more sustainable ingredients for everyday products.”
Genomatica’s Brontide natural butylene glycol has the potential to reduce global greenhouse gases by nearly 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year and eliminate the use of 50,000 tonnes of acetaldehyde, a carcinogenic and mutagenic ingredient used in conventional production methods.
