The University of Northampton, through its Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT), alongside the Scottish Leather Group, won the prestigious Technical Excellence award at the Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Awards.

The accolade recognises the university’s collaborative project with the Scottish Leather Group, which focused on using forestry industry waste to extract vegetable tannins for tanning and retanning processes.

The project advanced sustainability by replacing bisphenol-containing chemicals with bio-based alternatives and contributing to the development of ISO method 11936 for bisphenol testing. This achievement highlights the university’s leadership in innovative and sustainable leather production methods.

The KTP Awards celebrate exceptional collaborations between academia and industry, showcasing impactful innovations across various categories.