Sustainable sourcing

COSSMA: What was your first thought when you were appointed head of the personal care Europe business unit?

Tatiana Kalman: I am grateful to have the opportunity to be back to this amazing market and business. Some time ago, I had the opportunity to lead personal care in South America for three years. This experience enriched my perspectives on the business.

Did moving to Europe give you different perspectives on sustainability?

I think Europe is ahead of the other regions in the world when we talk about sustainability. It goes from very small things in our daily life to the strategy implementation in our business. I am extremely impressed and happy to see the developments over the past few years. Sustainability plays a central role in all activities of the personal care business as well.

Why is responsible sourcing important for the personal care industry?

As sustainability claims become more important within the personal care industry, there is increasing attention to sustainability aspects of the whole value chain. Moving towards more renewable raw materials usually comes with more diversified and often more complex supply chains. Renewable raw materials provide significant positive effects like reducing greenhouse gas emissions; however, it is important to also be mindful of the impact on the areas in which the materials are sourced, such as on  biodiversity, land use, and working conditions. Therefore, we carefully weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of using renewable resources and utilise recognised certification standards such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). 

What are your recent achievements in responsible sourcing?

We have been vocal about our comprehensive activities in connection with our commitment on sustainable palm and palm kernel oil through working with the RSPO organisation and through additional NDPE (No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation) efforts. In 2021 100% of our palm (kernel) oil was RSPO-certified and almost 96% of our global oil palm footprint traced back to the oil mill. Beyond a current certified sustainable sourcing of palm, argan, and rambutan, we have extended our sourcing to the co-development and utilisation of newly established standards for certified sustainable castor and coconut oil.

What is coconut oil used for in cosmetics?

Lauric oils (e.g., coconut oil, palm kernel oil) are used as raw materials to produce home and personal care ingredients and, to a lesser extent, food ingredients. The first products we are launching using certified sustainable coconut oil are personal care ingredients suitable for rinse-off formulations like shampoos, shower and bath preparations and skin cleansers.

How do you see the chances for sustainable sourced coconut oil to expand? 

At the beginning, the volumes are small, but we are optimistic about the success of offering Rainforest Alliance Certified ingredients. In partnership with several important market players and institutions from 2015 to 2019 it was possible to establish a certified coconut oil supply chain and improve the livelihood of coconut farmers in the Philippines and Indonesia. This joint project has delivered an important output by training coconut smallholders in sustainable agricultural practices and certifying them according to the Rainforest Alliance standard. Once other regions and farms implement the standard and can provide Rainforest Alliance certified coconut products, certified coconut oil will be available on a larger scale. 

How did sustainable castor oil develop?

In 2016, Project Pragati launched as a joint initative in the region of Gujarat, India. The aim is to train farmers in good agricultural, social, and environmental practices for sustainable castor farming by emphasising on improving social impact (female empowerment, child education) and increasing project outcomes (increased castor yield, reduction in water consumption, fertiliser and crop protection usage, improvement in waste management practices). The Sustainable Castor Association and the certification Code Success (Sustainable Castor Caring Environmental & Social Standards) is designed by multiple partners and stakeholders as a continuation of this project to ensure the objective of project Pragati and to develop sustainability principles for castor seeds that will guide and further allow castor producers to offer certified sustainable castor in the global market. Only ‘Success’-certified Sustainable Castor Association (SCA) members can claim to supply sustainable castor products. The company already certified a production site in Germany.

What are the next steps for you regarding sustainable sourcing?

As a global business, we have a responsibility to manage our supply chain carefully. Our ‘Supplier Code of Conduct’ as well as the ‘Together for Sustainability’ initiative play an important role for the integration and development of sustainability in procurement. The suppliers are an important part of our value chain. We actively promote sustainability in the supply chain and have set ourselves ambitious targets for this: by 2025, we aim to have conducted sustainability evaluations for 90% of the group’s relevant spending and will develop action plans where improvement is necessary. We will work towards having 80% of suppliers improve their sustainability performance upon re-evaluation. The global targets are embedded in the personal goals of people responsible for procurement