element6 Dynamics and Ingram Content Group Announce Strategic Supplier Relationship for Industrial Hemp-Based Paper
The relationship includes an agreement to source industrial-hemp-based pulp, an equity investment, and the appointment of Ingram Content CEO and President Shawn Morin to the element6 Dynamics Board of Directors.
LONGMONT, Colo. February 1, 2023 /3BL Media/ - element6 Dynamics, an AgTech company that has developed a renewable and sustainable alternative to tree-based pulp for use in paper, packaging and other related products, today announced that Shawn Morin has joined the company’s board of directors. Morin is Chief Executive Officer and President of Ingram Content Group overseeing the strategic direction of the Nashville-based company’s global operations.
Morin’s joining the element6 Dynamics board follows the establishment of a strategic supplier agreement between the companies through which element6 Dynamics will provide pulp derived from industrial hemp as a paper-manufacturing feedstock. Ingram Content Group’s services include digital and physical book distribution, print-on-demand, and other comprehensive services for publishers, retailers, libraries, and educators, and is a part of Ingram Industries, Inc. Ingram has also made a strategic investment in element6 Dynamics.
“One of the main takeaways we had from this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair was how the physical publishing industry was addressing environmental sustainability concerns,” said Shawn Morin, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ingram Content Group. “Our strategic relationship with element6 Dynamics is a key part of our strategy to address this important issue.”
“Industrial hemp has been a historical source of pulp for the manufacture of paper; however, no company has yet established a process to provide pulp at the scale required for today’s consumer uses,” said Kim Kovacs, Chief Executive Officer of element6 Dynamics. “Our first-to-market pulp is a cost-competitive, scalable solution that works within the existing paper mill facilities and their infrastructure. This is truly a game-changer for paper and packaging producers and consumers.”
Collaboration with industry leaders such as Ingram Content Group leverages element6 Dynamics’ domestically grown industrial hemp to address significant environmental imbalances, supply chain challenges, rising material costs, and Scope 3 emissions for the paper and packaging industries.
Industrial hemp is a regenerative and renewable replacement ingredient for pulp in paper and packaging. Most notably, due to the high cost of deforestation and the limited supply of tree-based pulp, industrial hemp (at scale) is also economically more attractive than the softwood or hardwood pulp it replaces. Deforestation accounts for 25 percent of annual global CO2 emissions, equal to all cars, trucks and airplanes combined. Sixty-eight million trees are cut down annually in the US, the equivalent of 10 football fields every minute, with 50 percent of those trees harvested for pulp in paper, packaging, and tissue products.
About Ingram
The world is reading, and Ingram Content Group (“Ingram”) connects people with content in all forms. Providing comprehensive services for publishers, retailers, libraries, and educators, Ingram makes these services seamless and accessible through technology, innovation, and creativity. With an expansive global network of offices and facilities, Ingram’s services include digital and physical book distribution, print-on-demand, and digital learning. Ingram Content Group is a part of Ingram Industries Inc. and includes Ingram Book Group LLC, Ingram Publisher Services LLC, Lightning Source LLC, Ingram Library Services LLC, Tennessee Book Company LLC, Ingram Content Group UK Ltd. and Ingram Content Group Australia Pty Ltd. For more information, visit www.ingramcontent.com.
About element6 Dynamics
element6 Dynamics is an AgTech company that provides nature-based solutions to industry that accelerate the regeneration of the planet by addressing its serious carbon imbalance. Its large-scale cultivation of industrial hemp will sequester vast amounts of carbon and be processed into essential, value-added, hemp-derived materials for major paper/pulp manufacturers that further impact the planet by reducing tree harvesting. The company will also be both a net-negative carbon business and an important source of nature-based carbon offsets used by enterprises seeking to reduce their carbon footprint to meet their ESG goals and/or regulatory requirements. For more information, visit www.element6dynamics.com.
