While the participants agreed that compaction, use of more biodegradable and eco-efficient ingredients, improved packaging, and other production-related process changes are helping and will continue to help improve the sustainability profile of detergents, they recognized that it is the consumer that currently accounts for the greater part of the CO2 footprint.
Consequently, one of the main challenges facing the industry is to educate consumers on how to make sustainable laundry choices. One of the most important eco-friendly choices consumers can make today is to reduce the wash temperature. But the summit participants agreed that it is easier said than done changing the consumer mindset that hot equates to cleaner.
While trends show that the market share of environmentally friendly detergents is increasing, several of the industry's leaders explained that consumers are hesitant to choose these detergents because they believe that "green" does not clean. The summit participants therefore agreed that high performance is the key to gaining market share for environmentally friendly detergents.
Environmental targets
Up until now, individual companies have set their own environmental targets for cutting emissions. However, to get the greatest impact in the future, it was asserted that value chain-based targets are required. Novozymes suggested a shared visionary target of reducing the CO2 footprint in the detergent value chain by 80% over the next decade. All the industry's leaders agreed that, although they may be fierce competitors, it will require an intense level of cooperation and innovation throughout the value chain to drive sustainable solutions and behavior that in the years to come can bring the world closer to a low-carbon everyday life.