By launching the RTC protocol in Tanning Chemicals, it will rigorously evaluate the principle of sustainability and the environmental impact of suppliers.
JBS Couros, the largest processor of bovine hides and a global leader in the leather industry, has launched a pioneering Responsible Tanning Chemicals (RTC) protocol. The proprietary indicator assesses chemicals against four sustainability criteria: biodegradability, use of hazardous substances, presence of biogenic carbon, and overall environmental impact. It will be used collaboratively by JBS Couros and it suppliers to further reduce the environmental impact of the leather supply chain.
According to Ramon Torres, JBS Couros Technical Director, the new indicator will standardize how the environmental impacts of tanning agents are evaluated, enabling the technical team to focus on solutions that make today’s leather always better than yesterday’s. “We have always been dedicated to analyzing and optimizing production processes, generating indicators that continuously seek to reduce environmental impact,” he explains.
In a joint leadership approach with supply chain partners, the evaluation starts with the chemical industry. All new products must provide environmental data for assessment against the RTC sustainability criteria. The company evaluates these results, applying the RTC metrics, with final review by a Technical Council, which will approve or reject the new chemical product.
“There is no sustainability without collaboration, and it is up to industry to build these bridges. When customers and suppliers work together, the results are exponential. Working together with the chemical industry aiming for increasingly sustainable products has huge potential. With the RTC, we hope to see concrete medium-term results in the continuous reduction of environmental impacts in the leather production chain,” adds Kim Sena, Sustainability Director at JBS Couros.
Pioneering Methodology
The methodology, composed of the four metrics, is applied to the chemical product considered for use. The evaluation compares the formulation in which the new chemical will be applied against the existing formulation. The evaluation is also carried out in the development of new items, through comparison with a reference used by the JBS Couros Research and Development team.
Each metric has a different weight in the final score, with 50% for environmental impact, 20% for biodegradability, 15% for hazardous substances, and 15% for biogenic carbon. For each metric, the result of the chemical performance is multiplied by its dosage in the formulation. If the result presents a negative value, it implies that inclusion of the new chemical product reduced the average environmental impact of the formulation. On the other hand, if the result is a positive value, it means that the introduction of the chemical product increased the negative environmental impact and it will be rejected.
