Microalgae for health

Duty of transparency

The growing increase in demand for effective and natural ingredients is manifested in a climate of deep distrust of the consumer towards products derived from chemistry, suspected of being harmful or dangerous for our health.

This duty of transparency is all the more crucial when health products and ingredients are concerned (supportive or preventive care). For these and, in particular, for those claiming a high degree of natural origin, exhaustive and clear information on the composition, conditions of production and packaging is a prerequisite.

Among the elements to be transmitted to its customers, the highest requirement for transparency concerns the life cycle of products: their impact on the environment from the time they are produced and the conditions of production (including consumption of fluids) until they are recycled, must appear among the primary indicators of the purchasing decision.

Thanks to the expertise of its teams, AlgoSource is positioned at the forefront of knowledge, description and control of the life cycle of its products.

It is also equipped with powerful tools to be able to execute a demanding Quality policy and guarantee its customers ongoing excellence. Its products and ingredients represent natural and effective opportunities to benefit from bioactive properties of high added value.

The growing increase in demand for effective and natural ingredients is manifested in a climate of deep distrust of the consumer towards products derived from chemistry, suspected of being harmful or dangerous for our health.

This duty of transparency is all the more crucial when health products and ingredients are concerned (supportive or preventive care). For these and, in particular, for those claiming a high degree of natural origin, exhaustive and clear information on the composition, conditions of production and packaging is a prerequisite.

Among the elements to be transmitted to its customers, the highest requirement for transparency concerns the life cycle of products: their impact on the environment from the time they are produced and the conditions of production (including consumption of fluids) until they are recycled, must appear among the primary indicators of the purchasing decision.

Thanks to the expertise of its teams, AlgoSource is positioned at the forefront of knowledge, description and control of the life cycle of its products.

It is also equipped with powerful tools to be able to execute a demanding Quality policy and guarantee its customers ongoing excellence. Its products and ingredients represent natural and effective opportunities to benefit from bioactive properties of high added value.

At the heart of environmental issues

AlgoSource acts to respond responsibly to the fundamental challenges of our society, which include preservation of the environment and preservation of the health of living beings (human, animal, plant). The development of natural resources that can be added to existing resources is, for AlgoSource, an essential element in the orientation of its research and development for products.

In a very practical way, this means a progressive approach aimed at:
– precisely measuring the impact of our activity on our environment, to know and quantify it before taking action,
– demonstrating the effectiveness of our products, to determine their scope of application and limits, in order to best respond to the needs of society,
– acting on the basis of precise knowledge about our impact and our objective.

Like all human activity, the production of microalgae has an impact on our environment, mobilizes resources and generates CO2 and waste which must be recycled.

With the support of the University of Nantes, AlgoSource has developed life cycle analysis tools for its products. This work was funded and validated by the ADEME as part of a project to set up a microalgae culture demonstrator, by recycling CO2 from an industrial cement plant, the Cimentalg project.

These tools make it possible to measure, using 10 precise criteria, the environmental impacts at each stage of production of our products:

• growing spirulina in the greenhouse pools in Assérac
• harvesting, storing and transporting this biomass to the Guérande extraction site
• production of extracts, packaging in vials, cases, transport to points of sale.
• Recycling of the elements used throughout the production chain
• water culture, cleaning products, electricity
• extraction electricity, cleaning water, filtration equipment, analysis equipment
• packaging: boxes, vials, stands, labels
• The elements consumed as well as the elements necessary for infrastructure are taken into account: the greenhouse, basin and sieving elements.

At the heart of environmental issues

AlgoSource acts to respond responsibly to the fundamental challenges of our society, which include preservation of the environment and preservation of the health of living beings (human, animal, plant). The development of natural resources that can be added to existing resources is, for AlgoSource, an essential element in the orientation of its research and development for products.

In a very practical way, this means a progressive approach aimed at:
– precisely measuring the impact of our activity on our environment, to know and quantify it before taking action,
– demonstrating the effectiveness of our products, to determine their scope of application and limits, in order to best respond to the needs of society,
– acting on the basis of precise knowledge about our impact and our objective.

Like all human activity, the production of microalgae has an impact on our environment, mobilizes resources and generates CO2 and waste which must be recycled.

With the support of the University of Nantes, AlgoSource has developed life cycle analysis tools for its products. This work was funded and validated by the ADEME as part of a project to set up a microalgae culture demonstrator, by recycling CO2 from an industrial cement plant, the Cimentalg project.

These tools make it possible to measure, using 10 precise criteria, the environmental impacts at each stage of production of our products:

• growing spirulina in the greenhouse pools in Assérac
• harvesting, storing and transporting this biomass to the Guérande extraction site
• production of extracts, packaging in vials, cases, transport to points of sale.
• Recycling of the elements used throughout the production chain
• water culture, cleaning products, electricity
• extraction electricity, cleaning water, filtration equipment, analysis equipment
• packaging: boxes, vials, stands, labels
• The elements consumed as well as the elements necessary for infrastructure are taken into account: the greenhouse, basin and sieving elements.

Significant figures:
– production of a kg of dry spirulina (in dry equivalent) requires approximately 1 m3 of water,
– this generates approximately 15 kg of CO2.

• 20% of this consumption comes from the electricity used
• 50% comes from the construction and maintenance of facilities
• 30% comes from the nitrogen source and cleaning products

AlgoSource has been working with the Solution Recyclage group for 5 years to monitor the consumption of its waste and collection of this waste: from plastics to glass, including toner and cardboard, AlgoSource tracks, sorts and recycles over fifteen different types of waste.

Each year, the company precisely measures its environmental impact and acts by setting permanent improvement objectives:
– AlgoSource has set itself the objective of reducing its CO2 emissions by a third by 2022, as part of the organic certification in progress at its production site. It is expected that this certification will be obtained within the next two years. (Link to Spirubio)

– Reduce its releases per production unit by at least 10% per year, in accordance with international objectives before the Paris climate conference

– In close collaboration with ADEME, (ANR?) develop industrial ecology processes so that AlgoSource customers can reduce their CO2 impact. Thus, AlgoSource has demonstrated that a gain of 5 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of microalgae produced is attainable. As part of the Cimentalg project supported by ADEME, the company has set the objective of avoiding 10 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of microalgae produced. (link to ADEME – Cimentalg)

– Share and disseminate the results obtained to the professional community so that they, too, can act and improve their environmental performance.

AlgoSource, regional ambassador of the biodiversity strategy

In 2018, AlgoSource signed the Pays de la Loire Region Biodiversity Charter, becoming Ambassador of the Regional Strategy for Biodiversity. It is the only private company to sign this charter, which aims to promote biodiversity the Loire region and which can be summarized as follows: “Biodiversity must, in the future, be an opportunity for cohesion and territorial development”.

AlgoSource is particularly concerned with a central point of this regional ambition: the promotion of economic competitiveness linked to biodiversity in order to develop research, innovation and product outlets.

AlgoSource wants to be a committed entrepreneurial citizen in its territory. With this in mind, it’s natural for it to position itself as an actor in for protection of the environment, biodiversity and protection of our common natural heritage. This is the meaning of its commitment to this Regional Charter.

AlgoSource, regional ambassador of the biodiversity strategy

In 2018, AlgoSource signed the Pays de la Loire Region Biodiversity Charter, becoming Ambassador of the Regional Strategy for Biodiversity. It is the only private company to sign this charter, which aims to promote biodiversity the Loire region and which can be summarized as follows: “Biodiversity must, in the future, be an opportunity for cohesion and territorial development”.

AlgoSource is particularly concerned with a central point of this regional ambition: the promotion of economic competitiveness linked to biodiversity in order to develop research, innovation and product outlets.

AlgoSource wants to be a committed entrepreneurial citizen in its territory. With this in mind, it’s natural for it to position itself as an actor in for protection of the environment, biodiversity and protection of our common natural heritage. This is the meaning of its commitment to this Regional Charter.