UNIQUELY
SUSTAINABLE
Following our vision of a world without pollution and waste, we designed our materials to be completely bio-circular, natural and plastic-free. Not only do they help to solve plastic pollution, but they leave a holistically positive footprint by also reducing climate emissions, fossil energy demand, land and water use and avoiding pollutants.
So how big is this impact we can create together? To find out, we assessed traceless’ footprint on different aspects using science-based impact forecasting - looking at the whole lifecycle, from raw material to disposal. Scroll down to discover the results!
PREVENTS
PLASTIC POLLUTION.
Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, and unfortunately the problem is even bigger than the eye can see, as plastics degrade into microplastics over time.
Since traceless is completely plastic-free, our material does not become plastic waste after its use, and is guaranteed not to contribute to plastic pollution. Instead, it can be composted and turned into nutrients for new plants to grow, this way closing the biological cycle. Not leaving any traces, for a thriving environment!
SAVES
FOSSIL ENERGY.
The production of plastic is an energy intensive process that is predominantly supplied using fossil energy carriers. In addition, conventional plastics itself are made of fossil energy resources. Taken together, plastic production is by far the largest industrial oil, gas, and electricity user in the EU. The transition towards a responsible use of energy and a biobased economy is more urgent than ever.
As traceless is completely plant-based, and produced using an efficient technology that makes use of renewable energy, it saves Ø58,91 GJ/t of fossil energy demand compared to virgin plastics.
COMBATS
CLIMATE CHANGE
Plastics are one of the largest and fastest-growing contributors to industrial carbon commissions. Until 2040, plastics alone use around 19% of the carbon budget for staying below 1.5°C global warming.
Being fully bio-based, traceless® puts an end to using fossils as raw material. The plants we use are a fast-growing renewable resource and take CO2 out of the atmosphere. And since we use a very resource efficient technology and make use of renewable energy, we save even more CO2 emissions during production!
PROTECTS
LAND & WATER RESOURCES.
When driving a sustainable biobased economy, there is something important to consider: We have to make sure the biobased resources we use do not conflict with food production, as hereby we preserve biodiversity and use our earth’s limited natural resources in a responsible way.
It is for this reason we are not only using 100% plant-based raw materials, but even make use of the residues of the agricultural industry - hereby our materials are not demanding more land or water resources than conventional plastics and bioplastics.
AVOIDS
HARMFUL CHEMICALS.
Conventional plastics contain additives that are suspected of having harmful effects on health. Did you know that for the production of many plastics and bioplastics aggressive chemicals are needed, which can result in harmful waste water? Even though there is still a lot unknown about the long-term effects, researchers agree chemical pollution is a thread to people and our planet.
At traceless we do without, during production and in our material! Instead it consists solely of safe, natural ingredients - meaning zero harmful chemicals are inside!
ECO-FRIENDLY
END-OF-LIFE.
traceless materials are naturally compostable - not only in an industrial plant, but also on a home compost, leaving behind nothing but high-nutrient compost. Ending in other waste streams, they won't affect recycling streams but will get incinerated, this way forming a source of renewable energy. Even though our materials are harmless in the environment, we never promote littering, as this could lead to unwanted side-effects like imitation behaviour.
In all scenarios, traceless is a sustainable and harmless choice - a crucial resilience advantage regarding the dysfunctionalities in our global treatment system.
harmless in all
end-of-life scenarios
NEW UPDATE
NEW
UPDATE
SCIENCE-BASED
IMPACT ASSESSMENT
We love numbers and facts! Not surprising if you consider we are a science-rooted startup. Therefore the only logical choice for measuring our impact potential was to carry out a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA), which assesses the impact potential of traceless over the whole life-cycle, from raw materials to disposal.
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In order to even better anticipate the overall change that traceless will bring, we have chosen for a consequential approach of the LCA. Meaning it compares the business as usual scenario (so, a world without traceless) to a world where every kilogram of traceless material replaces a kilogram of conventional plastic.
Compared to other methods of impact assessments (e.g. using the GHG protocol method), this consequential approach goes beyond the company perspective and offers a more holistic picture of the overall environmental net change in impact. Furthermore, in contrast to a Cradle-to-Gate approach, the evaluation includes the full life cycle from raw material over production to disposal.
The analysis was conducted according to the LCA standards ISO 14040/14044, evaluating the impact potential of our first small-scale industry production. It was undertaken by our impact investor Planet A as a basis for their investment decision. The first version was published in June 2021, while the second and updated version was published in November 2022.
Why updated versions? In this way, we are able to constantly incorporate innovations that arise in our technology development, aiming to forecast our impact as precisely as possible, and constantly identify and realize potential for improvement.
You're interested in diving deeper? Great! Because there is so much more to discover: All details, including information about the applied methodology and the different assessed scenarios, can be found in the summary of the full report, available on Planet A website!