Page 39 - Forbes - Asia (September 2018)

PROMOTION
DSM project Clean Cow is focused on developing a safe animal feed additive that
reduces methane emissions created through the digestive process of cattle.
DSM’s evolution into a nutrition, health
and sustainable living company contin-
ues to keep the 116-year old organization
ahead of the competition. The company
started off as a small, coal-mining outfit
before moving onto petrochemicals. When
it was privatized in 1985, DSM shifted from
chemicals to specialty chemicals. Over the
past 15 years, the Euronext-listed group
expanded its scope, adding nutrition
and life sciences businesses to its market
line-up.
De Vreeze has been part of that jour-
ney for 27 years, having worked across the
world in countries that included Italy, Swit- to have insufficient nutritional value,” said
zerland and Hong Kong in addition to the
Netherlands, as DSM embarked on new
challenges every two to three years.
He is a firm believer in transforming DSM
into a purpose-led business, or a company
where corporate decisions are based on
a purpose beyond profit and are aimed
at improving the world, through the three
focus areas of sustainability: nutrition, cli-
mate change and renewable energy, and
the circular economy. These, according
to de Vreeze, are the critical points where
DSM can make a difference.
Future-Proofing
Much of the world’s population suffers from
too much or too little food, which has led
to nutrition becoming a key sustainability
focus area for DSM.
About 500 million people in Asia suffer
from malnutrition, which poses a severe
threat to global health. At the other
extreme, there has been a worldwide surge
in obesity-linked diseases such as cardio-
vascular conditions and cancers, which
have been linked to processed food with
low nutritional value.
‘’Among the solutions DSM has devel-
oped to address malnutrition is fortified
rice. While rice is a staple food across many
regions, when consumed by itself, it tends
de Vreeze. DSM provided the technology
to fortify rice kernels, where rice is blended
with essential nutrients, as a solution to
meet nutritional requirements, and have
seen improvements in the health of migrant
workers in Singapore. One serving of forti-
fied rice is estimated to have 10 times the
nutritional value of regular rice.
DSM is also working on introducing for-
tified rice to other parts of Asia, plugging
nutritional gaps in school-age children
in China, India and Cambodia as well
as Indonesia.
With its unique science-based compe-
tencies, DSM is working with its associate
firm, digital health company Mixfit, on a
device that analyzes an individual’s diet
with personalized health goals. The result-
ing data recommend prepared drinks
needed to meet nutrition requirements
throughout the day.
Beyond human nutrition, DSM also
produces animal feed—but with a differ-
ence. Targeted at markets with high dairy
production, it is developing a safe animal
feed additive to reduce methane emis-
sions from cow eructation (burps) by as
much as 30%.
As part of the sustainability initiative
around climate change and renewable
energy, DSM’s efforts toward reducing
the world’s carbon footprint involves low-
ering greenhouse gas emissions across
its value chain.
The company’s focus on using renewable
energy can be seen in several investments
with wind farms and solar plants. In India,
DSM will utilize a solar plant to meet a quar-
ter of its Pune plastics facility’s electricity
upkeep. This aligns with the country’s exist-
ing plans to have renewable power account
for 40% of its total installed capacity by
2030, up from the present 20%.
China is even further ahead in sustain-
ability efforts as the nation harnesses solar
power. The country was accountable for
almost half of the world’s investments in
renewable energy last year, according to
Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance forecast.
The company also produces Dyneema
—a fiber several times stronger than steel
with a low carbon footprint. Dyneema is
a core material in manufacturing electric
vehicles, playing a significant role toward
reducing global emissions.
The third pillar of its sustainability
focuses on a circular economy, aiming to
reduce new waste creation through smarter
product design, and reusing and recycling
of base materials.
Carpets are a major source of landfill
around the world, but new technology
from DSM-Niaga allows for recycling, de
Vreeze said. The product and technology
behind DSM-Niaga produces carpets that
are recyclable, in part by reducing the
number of materials used.
With several, intricate steps taken to
ensure sustainability today and tomor-
row, the company’s future looks bright. At
the same time Asia is leading the way in
advocating for sustainability for firms and
end-users through planet-friendly initia-
tives. DSM hopes to create further signifi-
cant value for its partners and end-users
through organic growth, with a coherent
set of business activities toward sustain-
able living.