More than 50 companies have stepped forward to show their shared commitment as part of the ‘Sharm El Sheikh to Kunming Action Agenda for Nature and People’ in support of the Global Biodiversity Framework expected to be adopted in October 2021, Kunming , China, at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15). The shared commitment is centred on sourcing ingredients from biodiversity in a way that respects people and nature. Each company is committing to assess their ingredient sourcing practices, set clear targets to promote positive impact for people and biodiversity, monitor and communicate on their progress, and continuously improve these actions over time.
Large luxury brands and smaller specialty companies are included in the list that was shared today along with the text of the commitment that has been submitted to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. The list includes well-known brands, including Natura & Co (parent company of the Body Shop, Natura Cosmetics and Avon), Weleda, Liz Earle, LVMH research division, Parfums Christian Dior, Parfums Givenchy, Kenzo Parfums, Fresh, and Guerlain. The commitment also includes leading fragrance and flavour companies Firmenich and Symrise, and the botanicals leader Martin Bauer Group.
In the run-up to the launch of the CBD COP15 these companies are showing that they are committed to ‘bend the curve’ of nature loss by slowing down or halting biodiversity loss and restoring nature through smart nature-based solutions. The Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT), an international non-profit organization, gathered these business sector’s voices over the last several weeks and submitted the joint commitment today. Commitments made to the Action Agenda for Nature and People represent UEBT’s contribution to the Convention on Biological Diversity’s process to develop a ‘post-2020 global biodiversity framework’ that will be adopted at the COP15 and will guide action on biodiversity for the next decade and beyond.
“We are at a critical and decisive point in history, where all of society needs to reconnect to nature and contribute towards a shared vision: to Live in Harmony with Nature by 2050. Every actor from society, government and the productive and financial sectors has a vital part to play in realizing this vision for the health of our planet and our future. We are delighted to profile the transformative commitment from the business sector on the Sharm El Sheikh to Kunming Action Agenda for Nature and People platform and to witness the momentum building in the business sector, to assess impacts and dependencies on biodiversity, set targets to improve and align actions in support of the post 2020 global biodiversity framework.” said Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The commitment follows from the Economist Intelligence Unit’s report last month called ‘Eco-wakening’ that showed that over the last five years, Internet searches by the public for sustainable goods had increased more than 70%, including during the pandemic. The research looked at 54 countries (more than 80% of the world’s population) and Internet searches across 27 languages. The report also noted that the natural beauty and pharmaceuticals sectors had clearly responded to this trend, citing the 45% growth in the number of companies working with UEBT on ethical sourcing over that same period.
“Consumers are increasingly demanding that businesses demonstrate a genuine commitment to ethical sourcing. We at UEBT are so pleased to see more than 50 companies stand up for nature with this shared commitment. In the coming years we will be supporting these businesses in reaching their time-bound targets on the ground in farms and wild plant collection sites all over the world,” said Rik Kutsch Lojenga, Executive Director at UEBT.
Text of the commitment:
The companies listed below, in coordination with the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT), commit to cultivating, collecting or procuring ingredients from biodiversity with respect for all people and biodiversity. This means we set time-bound targets and take measures towards gradually improving our company policies and practices (both on the ground in farms and wild plant collection sites, and in our processing, R&D, manufacturing or procurement areas).
Specifically, we will:
1. Assess our sourcing policies and practices at the corporate level and in our supply chains
2. Set targets for continuous improvement. These will be time-bound and focus not only on due diligence but also on positive impact.
3. Manage risks for people and biodiversity, focused on the cultivation and wild collection practices in our natural raw materials supply chains.
4. Promote positive impact for people and biodiversity, by improving our practices in cultivation and wild collection in our strategic natural raw materials.
5. Monitor, report and communicate our work, including monitoring our impact.
As part of this, UEBT will send aggregated information on the following KPIs across the group of companies listed here:
– Total number of Biodiversity Action Plans implemented
– Total number of supply chains in which we are taking measures to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity
– Total number of ingredients from biodiversity verified or certified in line with the UEBT Ethical BioTrade Standard
QUOTES FROM COMPANIES YOU MAY USE:
“For us, nature has been part of our company’s ethos for almost two hundred years Naturals by IFFs and we know we have to preserve our precious world for the next generations. These commitments we have made in line with other companies who are part of UEBT, focus on rigorous requirements about biodiversity. We commit to continually seek to improve our sourcing of ingredients from the natural world.” said Cécile Lochard, Chief Sustainability Officer at Guerlain, one of the newest members of UEBT that also joined the shared commitment.
“The trends are unmistakable, and we must take positive action for biodiversity to protect it for current and future generations. Over much of the last year, policy makers around the globe have been working on the global plan to drive actions for the coming decade and more. The private sector has been working hard as well, and through these commitments we are showing that we will be part of the solution, by putting global plans into practice in the areas where we source from nature for our products” said Bas Schneiders, Head of International Strategic Sourcing at Weleda, one of the companies committing to the Action Agenda.
“Both as a botanical company and citizens of this planet we are committed to protecting the environment and our most valuable resources. Officially committing to the Action Agenda for Nature and People is therefore a natural consequence,“ said Sebastian Sieben, CEO of Martin Bauer Group Europe.
“Since our creation more than 20 years ago, CODIF has been involved in biodiversity protection using high-end technologies to minimize the pressure on wild marine resources by cultivating plants and seaweeds and sometimes re-introducing them to the wild. Today, what is sometimes called ‘trendy’ is a need, a ‘must do’ – we all must work together on protecting our planet because even one species disappearing from the fragile equilibrium is one too many. So being part of this agenda for nature and people was, for us, obvious,” said Romuald Vallée, Director of CODIF Technologie Naturelle.
