100% honesty. 100% transparency
Skincare company Beiersdorf strives to be transparent about its sustainability progress, and one way of doing this is by offering its consumers comprehensive information on the ingredients it uses.
“As transparency is becoming more important for consumers when purchasing cosmetic products, our colleagues at NIVEA have developed an ‘ingredient glossary’,” says Julia Beier, Sustainability Manager for Responsible Sourcing & Human Rights at Beiersdorf. “It is anchored on the NIVEA website and provides simple yet detailed information on nearly 600 ingredients used in our product formulations. The information includes what the ingredients are made of, and what their function is within our skincare products. The goal of our approach: 100% honesty. 100% transparency.”
Sustainable cultivation of palm oil
Additionally, Julia points out that being transparent also includes looking at the entire supply chain of products and ingredients. “We are using palm-oil-based derivatives in the cosmetic industry. Palm crops have a high yield compared to other plant-based oils like olive oil or sunflower oil, so we invest in the sustainable cultivation of palm oil to avoid deforestation,” explains Julia. Beiersdorf reached its milestone of sourcing 100% sustainable palm-(kernel-)oil-based raw materials by the end of 2020, according to the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) Mass Balance supply chain model.
To increase transparency in the palm-oil supply chain, the company also initiated a project in 2018 to trace palm-based raw materials back to the level of refineries, mills and plantations. “Today, we already know the origin of 92% of our purchasing volume for palm-based raw materials; as a founding member of the ‘Action for Sustainable Derivates’ initiative, we want to further increase this number,” says Julia. By 2025, the company aims to source sustainably-certified key raw materials such as soy, coconut, and shea butter. Here, as in the case of palm (kernel) oil, Beiersdorf is focusing on projects that economically support the local communities and empower them to make more sustainable decisions when handling their lands.