Biotech as a winner in a low carbon economy

Had an inspiring meeting in Copenhagen with Novozymes, a very interesting company that have begun to position themselves as a winner in a low carbon economy. According to their own rough calculations their products have reduced global CO2 emissions by about 20 million tons in 2007 alone, mostly because using enzymes saves energy in comparison to traditional processes.

Obviously they should also work with their own emissions (and they do), but they belong to the group of companies that can play a key role in providing society with low carbon solutions and where their impact through their core business (selling enzymes and microorganisms) is much greater than anything they can do with their internal emissions.

Novozymes is also very interesting as they represent the kind of company that often is forgotten. They are not a big emitter and they don’t have any products that are directly visible to end consumers. This is something that must change and I hope that 2009 will the year when companies like Novozymes that are potential winners in a low carbon economy move into the centre of the climate discussion.

There are many similarities between the IT sector and the biotech sector and it is clear that much of the work in the IT area can be used in the biotech area. Some process such as development of new reporting guidelines for “Climate Positive” contributions are almost identical.

I’m sure we will see more from the biotech sector and Novozymes in a not too distant future.