Many companies and funds rushed to associate themselves with the environmental, social, and governance trend that swept through markets in recent years. Criticisms for a lack of standards and accountability have been just as swift.
Synthetic biology pioneer Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA) has focused heavily on its ESG scorecard. Quite obviously, the potential to replace less sustainable tools and products with those capable of being grown could benefit the environment. The company also thinks deeply about non-market factors for deploying its technology platform, encourages stewardship of biological technologies broadly, and champions social issues such as gender equality and diversity.
There can be no doubt about the company's public commitment to ESG. Its 2021 sustainability report states, "We believe that caring about people and the planet now requires being able to imagine a better world."
That's what makes the company's most recent announcement so curious. Ginkgo Bioworks and the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia, representing the kingdom, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop key biotechnology capabilities.
Considering Saudi Arabia isn't exactly a bastion for human rights, finalizing this technology partnership would call the company's ESG claims into question.
An Internet for Biosecurity
Ginkgo Bioworks operates two business segments: foundry and biosecurity. The core foundry business operates automated biology labs and sells cell-programming-as-a-service to biotech companies. Customers tap the company to responsibly engineer viruses, bacteria, fungi, and cell cultures with the goal of manufacturing improved therapeutics, cosmetics, materials, foods, and more. Not many programs have been commercialized, but it remains early.
The biosecurity segment was born during the coronavirus pandemic to process high volumes of coronavirus test samples. It will be responsible for the majority of the company's full-year 2022 revenue, but the segment's contributions are expected to decline as the pandemic fades.
However, Ginkgo Bioworks thinks it can leverage the infrastructure built during the pandemic to create a global biosecurity surveillance and monitoring network. Instead of processing coronavirus tests it may screen airport passengers, wastewater, and other samples to find emerging biological threats. A global biosecurity network could act as a real-world firewall to detect and respond to threats sooner.
It may not stand out to most investors, but the strategy appears to be taking a page out of the playbook for building the internet. That's no coincidence; Ginkgo Bioworks co-founder Dr. Tom Knight is an electrical engineer who helped build some of the first nodes, or points of contact and transmission, for the early internet.
Biosecurity nodes may work in a similar manner. If Ginkgo Bioworks can build infrastructure at key regional and global points--major transportation hubs, for example--then it could passively screen a meaningful share of humans to increase preparedness for emerging biological threats.
This is why Ginkgo Bioworks is interested in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is becoming a key global hub for transport and travel thanks to being centrally located between Europe, Africa, and Asia. It's also in a region where MERS virus outbreaks have originated in animal populations, which is high on the list for the next potential pandemic. A biosecurity node in Riyadh could be a valuable part of the network.
A Thorny Ethical Debate (Or Is It?)
The glaring problem is that the kingdom could use biotechnology infrastructure for malevolent purposes. Much like the internet, biosecurity infrastructure is neutral. It requires safeguards. Ginkgo Bioworks would have little control legally and perhaps physically, and potentially misaligned incentives, for such uses of the infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia is far from a champion for human rights. The kingdom orchestrated the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The killing occurred three weeks before the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference, held every year in Riyadh. Ginkgo Bioworks' announcement coincided with the event this year.
That only briefly dampened enthusiasm for foreign investment, as evidenced by this year's list of attendees. Although Saudi Arabia has plenty of money to throw at attracting business and improving its public image, investors shouldn't ignore the kingdom's long list of misdeeds by international standards. For example:
- Capital punishment (executions) is prevalent in Saudi Arabia, usually in the form of public beheadings, according to Amnesty International. A Washington Post report found 120 people were executed in the first half of 2022, including 81 individuals during a mass execution.
- Torture is an acceptable punishment for crimes in Saudi Arabia. It has been conducted for crimes such as retweeting women's rights activists, blogging, and encouraging political debate. A United Nations report in 2018 found the kingdom routinely tortures peaceful citizens under the guise of anti-terror laws.
- Children can be sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia, a practice that is prohibited by international law.
- The World Economic Forum, which hosts the annual Davos meeting that Ginkgo Bioworks CEO Jason Kelly has spoken at, ranks Saudi Arabia 141 out of 149 nations for gender equality.
In order to build a biosecurity node in Saudi Arabia, Gingko Bioworks needs to build lab automation, next-generation sequencing, and modern biotechnology capabilities in the kingdom. The infrastructure could be used for ill intent, such as tracking, monitoring, and punishing citizens or those critical of the kingdom.
The dilemma is this: Does the potential good from installing a biosecurity node in Riyadh outweigh ongoing violations of human rights and international law? Should investors or executives overlook misdeeds or the potential for infrastructure to be used for human rights violations?
A MOU does not equate to a formal collaboration and doesn't bind Gingko Bioworks or Saudi Arabia to proceed. Nonetheless, the company should make clear what safeguards are in place to ensure its infrastructure isn't used against Saudi citizens and international laws, and clarify how a partnership with the kingdom squares with its ESG claims.
No company or business is perfect, and Ginkgo Bioworks has done seriously great work to responsibly develop synthetic biology. Laws and morals differ across cultures. The world is a big, messy, and complicated place. But some things aren't that complicated. Respecting and valuing all humans is a core value for our species that doesn't require mental gymnastics and justifications.
The announcement between Ginkgo Bioworks and Saudi Arabia highlights the problems with ESG scorecards. It should also trigger a much-needed conversation within the synthetic biology community about what, exactly, we're trying to build – and how do we measure success.
