Private equity firms ramp up sustainability focus

The latest episode sees edie’s senior reporter Sarah George speaking with the Coca-Cola Company’s sustainability director for Europe, Therese Noorlander. 

Noorlander discusses how the company is working with its bottlers and suppliers to accelerate the net-zero transition. The Coca-Cola Company’s largest bottle in Western Europe, CCEP, notably set a 2040 net-zero target in 2020.

She also outlines the business’s plans on water stewardship and plastics – two of its most material topics – in 2021, in line with changing consumer and investor demands and improved scientific research. 

India’s first biomaterial startup, and fragrance-focussed wellness brand Phool.co, has raised $8 million (Rs60.5 crore) in a Series A round from Sixth Sense Ventures, a consumer-centric venture fund. The round also saw participation from existing investors Alia Bhatt and IAN fund.  Founded in 2017 by engineering graduates Ankit Agarwal and Prateek Kumar, Phool.co is a flower recycling technology startup. It uses floral waste—collected from dumping temple waste in rivers—to make patented organic fertiliser and charcoal-free luxury incense products.  The Kanpur-based startup currently accumulates floral waste from three Indian cities, which includes one of the biggest temples (Kashi Vishwanath), averting 13 tonnes of waste flowers and toxic chemicals from reaching into the river every day. Self-help women groups handcraft the waste into patented charcoal free incense sticks and essential oils through the ‘flower cycling’ technology.