ROUEN, FRANCE — French ingredients supplier Nexira has achieved carbon neutrality with its inavea line of acacia ingredients. 

Launched in 2019, Nexira’s inavea line features pure acacia and baobab acacia. The ingredients offer a prebiotic effect, high fiber content and are FODMAP-friendly. They may be used in a range of functional food and beverage applications, including dairy products, cereal bars and drinks, and in supplements like ready-to-use powders or stick packs, the company said.

Nexira partnered with EcoAct, a company focused on environmental and carbon strategies, to measure and reduce the range’s carbon emissions, 45% of which come from energy-related emissions. It pursued several energy-saving programs, including green electricity for its manufacturing plants, to reduce the range’s overall carbon footprint.

It also compensates for residual emissions by promoting carbon offset projects, like the Victoria Water Project in Uganda, which provides access to drinkable water through the distribution of ceramic water filters.

The amount of carbon saved through those efforts is equal to the amount of carbon emitted from sourcing and distributing the ingredients, Nexira said.

“To contain global warming, we must reduce our emissions,” said Simon Levesque, business development director at Nexira. “Agri-food companies will be forced to do so. They are our clients. We now know from the Paris Agreement that manufacturers will sooner or later have to label the environmental value of their product in order to offer consumers a new criterion of choice.”