Firmenich in joint participation with sustainable investment firm Quadia has made an investment in TerraCycle’s green packaging pioneer Loop’s Series A equity round.
WHO: Founded by hard-to-recycle materials pioneer TerraCycle and the environmental services company Suez, Loop is a new disruptive e-commerce and retail distribution service based on reusable packaging that modernizes the traditional milkman model in an efficient and durable way by tackling the issue of single-use plastic waste.
Firmenich is the world’s largest privately owned perfume and taste company, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, each year, Firmenich invests 10% of its turnover in R&D to understand and share the best that nature has to offer responsibly. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 3.9 billion Swiss francs at end June 2019.
WHY: This investment demonstrates Firmenich’s commitment to the circular economy and addressing sustainability in a single-use era.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “As a global environmental leader with a unique legacy in responsible business, we are firmly committed to eliminating non-recycled plastics in our operations and supply chains,” said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO, Firmenich. “Our participation in Loop’s pioneering model to remove waste marks a new milestone in our journey to foster sustainable production and our active support for the circular and regenerative economy.”
“Single-use waste is a growing environmental issue that no company can ignore. We need innovative businesses like Loop and collaboration between multiple stakeholders to tackle such a global challenge,” said Dr. Bérangère Magarinos-Ruchat, Chief Sustainability Officer, Firmenich. “We are delighted to contribute to Loop’s growth and the acceleration of sustainable lifestyles.”
Daniel von Moltke, Managing Partner of Quadia and member of Loop’s Advisory Board, comments: “After having been announced at Davos in 2019 and supported by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Loop has already garnered the interest of the largest consumer brands on the planet thanks to its consumer-facing and logistics innovation tackling one of the largest environmental issues we are facing today: single-use plastics pollution in household products. The positive impact of Loop is directly linked to the durable packaging and zero-waste purchasing model. We are pleased to be part of this pioneering initiative promoting a more sustainable production and consumption system.”
Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle and Loop, adds: “In approaching potential founding investors for Loop Global Holdings, we sought to prioritize a diverse group of highly capable investors that could bring a range of capacities and stakeholder perspectives. In addition to having one each of the world’s largest and most successful consumer products, media and packaging companies, we were particularly keen to have Quadia join, one of the most reputable, thoughtful and thorough impact investing firms we know. I look forward to working with the Quadia community as we build out Loop globally.”
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