Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) is now offering carbon-neutral hydrogen peroxide to customers in Europe. This has been enabled through an independently certified approach wherein hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is sold together with a so-called “Way to GO2” certificate. Using the certified hydrogen peroxide helps customers reduce Scope 3 emissions in their value chain. In return, the purchase of these certificates supports the ongoing sustainable transformation of Evonik’s peroxide production.
“Way to GO2” refers to the sustainability strategy announced by Evonik’s Active Oxygens business line in 2022. The strategy includes a concrete roadmap to climate-neutral production through, for example, the switch to renewable energy and green hydrogen — steps which are already helping transform several production plants across the globe. By using a book-and-claim approach (“insetting”) to calculate its current carbon footprint, Active Oxygens can assign Way to GO2 sustainability certificates to a certain proportion of its portfolio. The approach and calculation have been independently audited, monitored, and certified by rigorous testing expert TÜV Rheinland.
“The benefit for customers is that there is no change in product quality, regulations, or logistics: It is the same high-quality H2O2 specialty grade, except that we are supporting our customers’ decarbonization strategies,” says Christoph Batz-Sohn, Marketing Director for Environmental & Life Science at Evonik Active Oxygens. “In return, the purchase of Way to GO2 certificates helps us to further implement sustainability measures in our production network. In this way, the proportion of carbon-neutral hydrogen peroxide will increase over time as we progress along the Way to GO2 roadmap.”
Global beauty leader Wella Company is one of the first to apply Evonik’s certified hydrogen peroxide, using the H2O2 for its latest hair color developer product as part of its continuous efforts to reduce negative impact on the environment. “Wella Company is committed to sustainability and pursues a comprehensive approach focusing on all aspects of our product offer from A-Z: packaging and recycling, manufacturing and distribution, the use phase, and of course, ingredients. We continuously work across our supplier network for new solutions to drive positive change,” says Dr. Joachim Klimeck, Vice President of R&D at Wella Company. “For this new product, we have not only taken measures such as 100% recyclable packaging and replaced up to 70% of virgin plastic with recycled material, we have also developed a more sustainable formula with zero impact on performance that contains certified hydrogen peroxide from Evonik to reduce carbon emissions versus the previously-used H2O2.”
Evonik’s hydrogen peroxide is not only increasingly sustainable in terms of its production footprint. The application of hydrogen peroxide can also help increase the sustainability of processes further downstream: Unlike some alternative chemistries, hydrogen peroxide is a naturally occurring substance that breaks down into only water and oxygen, leaving little trace on the environment.