Bugaboo, DSM Engineering Materials, Fibrant, and Neste have announced that their cross-value chain partnership has successfully enabled an industry-first launch of an entire Bugaboo stroller portfolio made with bio-based materials.
Earlier in 2022, the Netherlands-headed baby stroller and allied baby-care accessories brand Bugaboo International B.V (Bugaboo) announced ambitious targets to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2035.
As most of Bugaboo’s impact derives from its Scope 3 emissions, a transition toward lower fossil carbon materials is a key element of the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy.
Cross-value supply chain partnership
Bugaboo, together with DSM Engineering Materials, a business group of the Netherlands-headed global bioscience major Royal DSM; Fibrant, a part of Highsun Group China (HSCC), the world’s largest caprolactam and ammonium sulfate producer; and Finland-headed oil refiner and renewable products producer Neste Oyj, has now announced that their cross-value chain partnership has successfully enabled the launch of an entire Bugaboo stroller portfolio made with bio-based materials.
Tackling the imminent climate crisis and all its consequences requires companies to take responsibility now – but no company can achieve a circular economy alone. By partnering along the value chain, we can benefit from innovative low-carbon emission solutions like bio-based PA6, which enable companies like Bugaboo to achieve our ESG goals, stick to our Paris Agreement targets, and move toward a circular, low-carbon economy, said Adriaan Thiery, CEO at Bugaboo.
Cross-value collaboration key
Used in the entire stroller line, the new material was developed by DSM Engineering Materials in collaboration Fibrant and Neste.
This aligns closely with the ambitions of DSM Engineering Materials’ ongoing ambition of a full alternative portfolio of bio-based and circular solutions, helping to defossilize the economy as part of its “SimplyCircular” initiative, Fibrant’s commitment to make the entire value chain more sustainable and Neste’s offering of “Neste RE” feedstock for polymers and chemicals.
As Bugaboo becomes one of the earliest pioneers of bio-based PA6, we’re very proud that our collaboration with Fibrant and Neste has produced such an innovative material, said Roeland Polet, President of DSM Engineering Materials.
Specifically, the majority of the strollers’ plastic parts are made using DSM Engineering Materials’ “Akulon” 100 percent bio-based B-MB polyamide 6 (PA6), which in turn is made using bio-based feedstock from both Fibrant and Neste.
While conventional Akulon PA6 is already an excellent-in-class for carbon footprint, switching to Akulon 100 percent bio-based B-MB PA6 offers a significant carbon footprint reduction compared to conventional PA6 and helps to further de-fossilize the value chain.
Collaboration remains key as we work toward the sustainable economy that consumers know we need, and sustainable circular solutions like our bio-based PA6 are practical ways for our partners to get ahead by realizing their environmental ambitions while making positive impacts at scale. We’re looking forward to supporting many more of our partners as they follow Bugaboo’s example and lead the way toward a more sustainable society, Roeland Polet said.
ISCC-PLUS mass-balance
Neste provided renewable “Neste RE”, a feedstock for polymers made 100 percent from bio-based materials such as waste and residues, which was used to replace fossil feedstock in the value chain.
DSM Engineering Materials uses a mass-balancing approach with renewable waste and residue raw material to enable a ~75 percent PA6 carbon footprint reduction compared to conventional PA6 and up to 24 percent of the entire stroller.
All three companies are International Sustainability, and Carbon Certification Plus (ISCC-PLUS) certified.
Acting now is at the core of Fibrants’ commitment to climate neutrality. We are proud that by applying our EcoLactam® Bio in this cross-value-chain collaboration, we are enabling a significant and excellent-in-class carbon footprint reduction. This confirms our view that innovation and partnership lead the way to a sustainable future, said Martijn Amory, CEO Fibrant.
With identical mechanical performance and characteristics to conventional Akulon grades, this mass-balanced bio-based Akulon PA6 offers the quality and durability necessary to comply with Bugaboo’s strict safety standards, making it a drop-in substitution while enabling a CO2 reduction of up to 24 percent per stroller in line with the company’s ambitious ESG targets.
This first line of strollers will be gradually available online and in stores worldwide in the coming period. In addition, over the course of 2023, Bugaboo will transition its entire stroller portfolio to production with bio-based materials.
The cooperation with Bugaboo, DSM, and Fibrant shows what joint efforts can achieve in our industry: a high-quality, yet more sustainable product leading to significant reductions in our industry’s dependence on fossil resources. It shows once more that where there is a will to cooperate, there is change and it also is another example that change is possible in all kinds of industries and applications: Industry-wise, there are no limits when it comes to making polymers more sustainable, ended Mercedes Alonso, EVP at Neste Renewable Polymers and Chemicals.
