Ask me anything series 3.0 Part B – Krishna Manda

Q: Why is it so important for our generation and future generations to address climate change?

Krishna: If you look at the current state of the world, glaciers are melting, there are severe floods, forest fires, hurricanes with huge intensity, and their frequency is increasing. Not only are people losing lives in these events, they are also losing their livelihoods. And if you look at all these things, we only have a very brief window of opportunity to create change. It's a beautiful world out there, the forests are amazing, but still, we are deforesting, to feed the animals for our food. And we are doing this at a rapid scale. Climate change is actually a defining moment for the current generation. If we want to thrive and have the same standards, we cannot neglect climate change, we have to focus on it, and take action that will mitigate climate change.

Q: What kind of ways can Lenzing consumers support the #ItsInOurHands initiative?

Krishna: When consumers are buying something, they need to look at it and think whether they really need it. Once you know that you really need it, you need to go to the next level, is it a sustainable product? Can I buy it to meet my needs? That may be difficult for many people. With the #ItsInOurHands initiative, we would like to support consumers in finding out what other options they have and what products are sustainable.

For example, if you're using products for your kids, like my daughter, you also want to ensure that the product should not harm her in any way. Whether it's chemicals, materials that are not friendly to the skin or not soft, we want to ensure that she doesn't get any rashes. If we use wipes or diapers, softness to the skin is really important and we don't want to compromise on the functional things, but at the same time they should be sustainably made. For example, our VEOCEL™ branded lyocell fibers of botanic origin are gentle on skin and don’t contribute to water pollution or the microplastic problem due to their biodegradability. You might also consider reusable products wherever possible.

That is the way you can consume and consume less wherever possible. In some cases, you can extend the life of products, if they are durable goods. You can also help other people to consume well, from a thoughtful and understanding perspective. You can empathetically have a conversation with other people and ask questions, but also understand their point of view.

Q: How is Lenzing aiming for a carbon neutral future?

Krishna: Lenzing has a strong commitment as a corporation to mitigate climate change. We have set a science-based target that meets our climate goals which has been approved by a third party, to ensure what we are doing is ambitious enough. Once you have the target, you need to take concrete action to actually reduce your impact on the climate and meet your targets.

We’re pursuing renewable electricity in our facilities and we're also moving from coal to natural gas in some facilities, which are less carbon emission intensive. We are actively collaborating with our stakeholders like policymakers and NGOs to drive the industry's action. We are also working with our partners, such as suppliers, brands, retailers and manufacturers to improve awareness in the industry, and with our consumers to help them change their behaviors and consumption patterns.

We can’t do all this alone, and we do hope that policymakers create more finance-related funding opportunities for innovation and even provide incentives to the consumers such as making sustainable products cheaper by removing VAT on reuse, repair and recycled products or tax polluting alternatives. Then, consumers will naturally gravitate to the option which is not causing any microfiber pollution and less climate change impact.

Q: What is a circular economy and how do you plan to achieve it in the future?

Krishna: To simply explain the circular economy concept, it is basically the concept that resources are limited, and they should be used for as long as possible to create value and to avoid waste. At Lenzing, we are fortunate to have a circular economy model inherently embedded. Our entire business model is based on a circular economy as we take renewable resources which are sustainably grown. We take sustainable wood from nature and then at the end of a fiber’s life span it can go back to nature in terms of composting/biodegradability. We have a bio-refinery for turning wood into pulp, and this also creates co-products such as chemicals and bio-energy. Similarly, our lyocell fiber production is closed-loop, making the solvent recyclable, which leads to lower use of resources and water. Therefore, you are not wasting anything. In addition, we have an ambition to use 50% alternative resources or recycled content in our fibers by 2025. We are not there yet, however, we are making good progress.