Beiersdorf: Our sustainability pledges for 2020/2025
Beiersdorf: Our sustainability pledges for 2020/2025
Our sustainability approach is primarily aimed at enabling us to respond better to change and create a forward-looking corporate culture. We have identified those issues that matter to our stakeholders, contribute to the long-term success of our business, and help address global challenges. Our ambitious pledges for 2020/2025 are designed to ensure that we focus on those areas of focus where we as a company can create the greatest impact. These pledges give us a clear direction and require us to continuously strive for better performance.
Promise for our Products
Our goal is to generate at least 50% of our income from products with a reduced environmental impact by 2020. (Starting year 2011)
In 2017, more than 23% of our revenues came from products with a reduced environmental impact. (Starting year 2011)
Environmental tax assessment is built into every level of our product development process. We take a critical look at all aspects of a product throughout its lifecycle, from the selection of raw materials and packaging, through the production and transportation processes, to how the product is ultimately destroyed.
Our Product Sustainability Scorecard enables us to assess the environmental impact of our product packaging and formulations. Some of the important factors we monitor at Beiersdorf include the quantity of raw materials certified as sustainable, the impact on water toxicity levels, the achieved reduction in packaging materials and the use of recycled materials. The results of the above life cycle assessments for products are also included in the scorecard.
In order to be labelled as having a ‘reduced environmental impact’, a product must have a better overall score than the product(s) it replaces. In the case of new products for which we do not yet have a reference score, we use comparable existing products as a yardstick.
Promise for the Planet
We are going to reduce our energy-related CO2 emissions per product made by 70% by 2025. (Starting year 2014)
We will also switch to 100% renewable energy sources for our electricity by 2020.
27% less energy-related CO2 emissions per made product. (Starting year 2014) 45% of our electricity consumption in 2017 came from renewable energy sources.
Our climate targets will help us to reduce our CO2 emissions consistently and structurally across all three focus areas. The measures we have formulated for reducing our energy-related CO2 emissions (focus areas 1 and 2) include energy-saving measures for our production centres and a transition to renewable energy sources for the electricity supply of all our locations around the world.
To help us reduce emissions from the goods and services (focus area 3) we purchase also by 2025, we will set specific reduction targets in 2018 and plan detailed measures in the areas of packaging, raw materials, transportation, business travel, and the suppliers of our ready-made products.
We are also in the process of streamlining our global data collection system to improve our data coverage across all categories and regions. This will help us optimise our control, performance management and external reporting processes. In order to obtain unbiased, highly comparable data, we measure our CO2 emissions against the requirements of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
Promise for People
Our goal is to touch and improve the lives of one million families by 2020. (Starting year 2013)
Since 2013, we have already supported 840,695 families through our global social commitments.
Our pledge to improve the living conditions of one million families consists of a qualitative and a quantitative dimension. To pay for the actual social impact of our projects, we take into account global criteria and local conditions and needs in equal measure.
We focus primarily on socially disadvantaged families beyond our value chain, which we achieve through corporate level donation programs and through our brands’ social sponsorship initiatives.
By supporting individual family members (e.g. sending children to school or empowering mothers), our projects contribute to the overall wellbeing of the whole family. We ensure an impact on sustainability by focusing on long-term projects with trusted local partners and by putting the quality of our projects above their quantity.
