Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 4th June 2026 Issue no. 1213
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Former Unilever R&D leader joins Viridi to support CO2 chemistry scale-up
Viridi, the UK-based deep-tech company pioneering CO2-to-chemicals innovation, has announced the appointment of Alastair Sanderson CChem, FRSC, formerly of Unilever, as a strategic advisor, as it enters the critical scale-up phase of its CO2-based chemistry platform.
Alastair brings more than three decades of experience in Unilever Research & Development, where he led the development and commercialisation of next-generation home care technologies, with a particular focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building new, sustainable raw material value chains.
His appointment marks a significant milestone for Viridi as the company moves its CO2-based chemistry from laboratory and pilot stages towards commercial deployment and industrial partnerships.
At Unilever, Sanderson was responsible for creating the Carbon Rainbow, a novel framework to diversify the carbon sources used in consumer product formulations. He also served as project leader for Flue2Chem, an award-winning Innovate UK-funded collaboration involving 17 partners, which explored the full value chain for converting captured industrial CO2 into commodity surfactants for use in commercial products and received a Net-Zero Industries Award at COP30 2025. This experience is directly relevant to Viridi's focus on CO2-based surfactants and other essential ingredients, where translating novel chemistry into scalable, reliable manufacturing processes is critical.
"Viridi has reached a point where the underlying science is solid, and the focus is now on delivery," says Alastair. "What appealed to me is that the technology has moved beyond proof-of-concept. The questions now are about scale, manufacturability and how it fits into existing industrial systems, which is often where promising chemistry either succeeds or fails. I've spent much of my career working on that transition from research into real products. Viridi is at exactly that stage, and that's where I think the work becomes most interesting and impactful for CO2-based materials."
Alastair’s decision to join Viridi as an advisor, alongside his move into consultancy, reflects growing industry confidence in carbon utilisation as a viable route to decarbonising everyday products, particularly in sectors such as personal care, home care and speciality chemicals. It also comes at a time of increasing regulatory pressure and supply chain volatility, driving demand for solutions that can be deployed quickly within existing manufacturing infrastructure.
Alongside Alastair’s appointment, Viridi welcomed Kostas Papanikolaou as process chemist. Kostas brings a strong background in chemical reactor design, catalyst manufacturing and scale-up, with previous experience at SABIC, Johnson Matthey and CO2-utilisation company OXCCU. At Viridi, he will support the scale-up of both applications and catalyst manufacturing to ensure the company's technology is ready for industrial deployment and can be implemented reliably by commercial partners.
Dr Daniel Stewart, CEO of Viridi, comments:
"These hires reflect where Viridi is as a company today. The early work was about proving the chemistry; the focus now is on scale-up, manufacturing readiness and working with commercial partners who need technologies that perform reliably in real manufacturing environments. Bringing in people with experience of taking new materials through that transition is an important step as we prepare for broader industrial adoption."
Viridi recently launched Vireya, its CO2-based anionic surfactant, marking a key milestone as the company moves from technology development into market engagement. The company is now collaborating with major organisations across the surfactant manufacturing and consumer brands, including its partnership with Zschimmer & Schwarz, with projects progressing toward deployment. With a strengthened team and growing market traction, the company's focus is now on supporting commercial readiness and laying the foundations for wider industrial adoption of CO2-derived chemistry.
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