It all started with a bold question

What if we could create a plastic alternative that is commercially viable and holistically sustainable?

In a world grappling with environmental crises, the urgency of sustainability has never been more apparent. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and the pervasive harm caused by conventional plastics underscore the need for change. This is the backdrop against which we started our journey as CAMM in 2019 to design a global solution to tackle (micro)plastic and packaging waste.

TRUE SUSTAINABILITY - A HOLISTIC VISION

From the start, we wanted to do things right. As experts and longstanding sustainability practitioners, we stand for impact and scale. We are careful not to create another “green” solution with lofty words but little substance. Sustainability, for us, goes beyond checkboxes and standard practices. It's about recognizing the intricate interdependencies between environmental concerns, human rights, health, and business conduct. Our approach considers the complexity of sustainability, delving into climate change, biodiversity preservation, natural habitat protection, responsible raw material use, efficient production, labor rights, workers' welfare, and social and climate justice along our supply chain. In a nutshell, we strive to conduct business holistically and strike equitable balances that benefit both people and the planet, all with a global perspective. 

INNOVATION AS OUR CATALYST

If it were that easy, many before us would have already come up with great solutions. But real solutions require thinking outside the box, not only in terms of science but also in terms of ensuring such a solution can persist in the market where sustainable and conventional business models still compete. This is why we strongly emphasize innovative thinking in our work. “This is not possible” is a no-go in our company culture.  

Our science innovation:

One of our groundbreaking innovations is the way we've been able to blend PVOH (polyvinyl alcohol) into our CAMM material. PVOH is a great building block because it is biodegradable, water-soluble, and non-toxic. It’s been around for decades, but nobody was able to harness its great sustainability qualities. By stacking together different material technologies and processing technologies we managed to harness the full potential of PVOH. Blending it with eco-conscious fibers and materials was key and created material applications that are stable, affordable, and holistically sustainable. The one last piece to work on - transitioning the PVOH part of CAMM - that until today is only available fossil-based - is another of the innovations we are focusing on.  

Our carbon innovation:

PVOH only exists fossil-based today, though the carbon is bound back into the soil or water if in contact with humidity. Nevertheless, our vision is for CAMM to become a carbon storage. Together with partners, we are building the first green PVOH supply chains out of agricultural waste (of course with no food competition or deforestation involved). This will transform the last non-biobased piece of CAMM and make CAMM a carbon storage starting in 2025. 

Our business model innovation:

Realizing the material works and is as sustainable as can be imagined, we have been building together an ecosystem of partners that are enabling CAMM to scale production, processing, and distribution, recognizing that the greatest sustainable solutions do not succeed if there is no consciously designed enabling environment around them. 

In fact, while we love disruption, we believe that impact is more important. We know we need big players on board for maximum scale. Therefore, we don’t aim to replace traditional businesses; we want to enrich them with our solution, supporting their respective transformations towards sustainability. This will bring CAMM onto a much broader platform than we could achieve by ourselves. 

THE RIGHT COLLABORATIONS TO LEVERAGE CAMM 

We welcome customers and partners who share the mindset of a joint responsibility towards tackling the (micro)plastic challenge. This means being willing to co-invest in the ramp-up phase and participate in jointly tackling the challenges we may encounter in the building phase. Speed, impact, and an entrepreneurial way of working together are important for us. But most of all, we are seeking out those who want to make the solution available for all. Focus on scale, not on exclusivity.

LOOKING FORWARD

We are continuously upgrading the company, so CAMM is the best possible version of itself. The CAMM solution is larger than just us, and we can’t wait for it to scale to the maximum impact possible.  

In fact, we made a bold calculation recently. We were curious what we could achieve if we were able to replicate the CAMM production everywhere. This is not a matter of technology but “only” access to finance and the right partners.  

What we found out was astounding: The CAMM technology could replace 50% of global plastic waste!