For Henkel´s Adhesive Technologies business unit, the introduction of solutions like the Technomelt Supra ECO range are a natural step into the future. The companies´ experts have the unique advantage to be able to fuse their knowledge and views as supplier for the packaging industry, as a brand owner and of course as consumers themselves to work on innovations that help bring packaging to new levels of sustainability. The industry has a responsibility to work on new solutions directly benefitting society and helping preserve the environment. This however can only be done when all members of the value chain embrace their respective role. Hence, Henkel is proud to supply solutions that find their origin in the company’s purposeful growth strategy, to not only enhance the value for the customers, but also for society at large.

Pioneering bio-based high-performance hot melt solutions for packaging

In many cases conventional hot melt adhesives for packaging applications already have a formulation of up to 50 percent bio-based raw material. This has been industry standard for adhesive manufacturers for years now. Until this point, when the bio-based share of raw material was exceeding the threshold, process inefficiencies for producers like slower line speeds or shorter equipment cleaning cycles made it impractical to go further down this road. However, the expert teams at Henkel Adhesive Technologies were very confident that they are able to achieve a solution that will enable a far higher sustainability rating without having to compromise on the process performance in production. At the end of this trail of thought the Technomelt Supra ECO range was the outcome the research and development team came up with.

“This completely new line of hot melts eclipses every solution currently available,” explains Sergio Mattos, Head of Product Development hot melt adhesives North America at Henkel. “With possibilities to exceed more than 80 percent of bio-based raw material input, without having to pull back on performance, we were able to create an innovative technology that will lead our industry into the future, as this is just the beginning. We put a clear focus on the maximum overall impact we can have for our partners, customers and the consumer with this new adhesive solution. In this way we are also able to push our partners along the value chain in the right direction of investing in these solutions as demand for this kind of adhesives will rise, especially against the background of the mass balance concept in which we strongly believe for the future of procurement” he adds. And the numbers speak a clear language: during lifecycle analysis the Technomelt Supra ECO range has already proven to be not only highly efficient, but also very sustainable. “As we had a very close look at the values we can deliver, we found out that our solutions are not only able to reduce CO2 output during procurement and production, but furthermore bind CO2 if you look at the overall balance for the global warming potential in 100 years (GWP100). We were very happy when we saw the results of the calculations – a negative cradle-to-gate product carbon footprint is the best possible outcome,” Sergio Mattos concludes.

Supporting the packaging industry to become more sustainable

The whole packaging industry is going through a change, where sustainability and the set up and reach of necessary targets on this topic are becoming decisive for overall business success. “We have seen in the recent past that many industry players make the importance of sustainability a non-negotiable factor within their business goals,” explains Stephan Hähnert, Business Development Manager Sustainability for Consumer Goods Adhesives. “At Henkel we welcome this development very much as we anticipate this within our research and development, and customer approach. We see ourselves as process partner for our customers who helps them to achieve their goals for renewable sourcing and CO2 reduction, not just as supplier. When we as adhesive manufacturer are involved in the packaging design process early, we are able to contribute decisively to enable the development of new products, that think about circular economy targets like recycling right from the start as well,” he explains. With this approach to modern adhesive solutions Henkel wants to spark the development towards a change within the industry.

“We are all consumers, and we can all clearly see which solutions are needed to meet our expectations for sustainability. After all, demand is the factor that guides the industry, and we see a clear need for holistic and more sustainable thinking along the value chain and ultimately deriving this into products. With our bio-based hot melt Technomelt Supra ECO range we have the goal to motivate further innovation and establish a new standard in packaging,” Stephan Hähnert explains. “And we will lead by positive example as we do everything to implement the mass balance concept at Henkel’s manufacturing plants and have our processes certified by ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification). This ensures traceability of bio-based material throughout the supply chain and assures its sustainable sourcing.”