Sprouting innovation
- Congratulations to 500-backed MYCL for being selected as one of 15 finalists for The Earthshot Prize! This prestigious initiative was launched by Prince William in 2020 to search for and scale the most innovative solutions to the world’s greatest environmental challenges.
- The team was recognized under the Clean Our Air category, for using palm oil waste to grow a low carbon, sustainable leather alternative.
- MYCL was founded in Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of palm oil, where leftover fiber and shells of the palm fruit are usually burnt, creating severe air pollution that threatens the health and lives of people in nearby communities.
- By buying this crop waste, MYCL incentivizes farmers to stop burning while making extra income. The waste is transformed into fine substrate sheets to cultivate mycelium, which are then processed using bio-engineering techniques to produce MYLEA, a sustainable leather-like material.
- MYLEA has a wide range of applications, from clothes and shoes to cars to furniture. It can also be grown on different crop wastes, such as rice and cocoa, making the solution scalable.
- To date, MYCL has saved 21 tonnes per year of agricultural waste, preventing over 4 million kg emissions – for comparison, a flight from London-Jakarta-London emits 4.69 tonnes CO2.
- The team has also created 65 new green jobs, improved the lives of 195 farmers, and aims to work with 500 farmers this year. They’re also collaborating with fashion designers and a car manufacturer.
- By 2030, MYCL aims to expand across Asia and Europe to turn 20,000 tonnes of crop waste into mycelium leather per year, cutting carbon emissions by around 7 million tonnes annually.
- Learn more about MYCL here.
