Coty Inc. has announced it has started production of the world’s first globally distributed fragrances made using carbon-captured ethanol. The first Coty fragrances made using this new ethanol will reach stores in the coming months. Coty announced its sustainable fragrance technology ambitions with LanzaTech back in March 2021.
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Production began at Coty’s manufacturing facility in Granollers, Spain in mid-January. Coty’s scientists worked alongside LanzaTech and production partners over two years to develop high-purity sustainable ethanol that is suitable for use in fragrances.
Coty is making these fragrances using CarbonSmart* ethanol produced by LanzaTech, a supplier of sustainable ingredients that manufactures ethanol by capturing and fermenting carbon emitted by industrial activity before it is released to the atmosphere. Coty’s Granollers plant received over 20 metric tons of LanzaTech’s carbon-captured ethanol in mid-January.
Ethanol is a key ingredient in the production of fragrances and is Coty’s top fragrance ingredient by volume. By transforming carbon into a new source of ethanol, Coty and LanzaTech are progressing innovative solutions to reduce the beauty industry’s environmental impact.
Carbon-captured ethanol involves nearly zero water consumption and reduces the need for agricultural land, per the companies, in turn limiting Coty’s impact on biodiversity and lowering Coty's carbon emissions related to fragrance production. With this innovation, the company reports that it is ahead of schedule on its goal to integrate sustainable ethanol into a majority of its fragrance portfolio by 2023.
Coty’s sustainability efforts, including its partnership with LanzaTech and the deployment of carbon-captured ethanol, are led by chief scientific officer Shimei Fan, who joined the Company in January 2022.
Fan shared, “Coty’s accelerated release of fragrances made using carbon-captured ethanol represents the groundbreaking sustainability progress that I joined Coty to lead. This exciting step forward in Coty’s sustainability journey demonstrates our ability to meet and exceed the ambitious clean and green roadmaps we have set for the future. We are now on course to integrate carbon-captured ethanol into a majority of our fragrance portfolio ahead of our ambitious 2023 goal, putting Coty on the leading edge of sustainable fragrance innovation. I look forward to many further accomplishments to come, as we continue to deliver on our Beauty That Lasts sustainability strategy.”
Jennifer Holmgren, Ph.D., chief executive officer of LanzaTech, said, “LanzaTech is proud to have made our first delivery of carbon-captured ethanol to Coty ahead of schedule. After two years of working side by side with Coty scientists to develop high-purity ethanol suitable for use in fine fragrances, we are excited to see Coty bring the first globally distributed fragrances made from CarbonSmart ethanol to market, so consumers can choose products made from recycled carbon.”
*CarbonSmart is a trademark of LanzaTech.
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