Corporate transformer

CLEAN cows sound like an oxymoron, in environmental terms. The burping animals are heavy emitters of methane - a greenhouse gas with greater warming consequences than carbon dioxide. But meat lovers will rejoice to know that a recent creation by Dutch biotechnology company Royal DSM could reduce methane emissions from cows by over 25 per cent when added to cow feed. More than helping to slow climate change, the feed additive - aptly named Clean Cow - belies the transformation of a 115-year-old company from a coal miner to a biotechnology firm that is lauded for its sustainability credentials.

Among other accolades, it has been included in Fortune's "Change the World" list, which highlights 50 top companies that are innovating to solve the world's biggest challenges. It has also been named the global leader in the materials industry group in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.

Many companies today are in a state of existential crisis, as new technologies confront them with tough choices: take drastic actions and seize new business opportunities for survival - and risk failure in these ventures - or drift slowly to death. Dimitri de Vreeze, member of the three-person managing board of Royal DSM, fully understands these challenges. After all, Royal DSM has had to transform itself not once but twice.