In February 2020, Ethical Consumer viewed Beiersdorf’s 2018 Sustainability Review document.
The report detailed how the company had taken steps to reduce its environmental impact in relation to packaging materials, the use of harmful chemicals in products, energy use, logistics, waste, palm oil and water use-listing the steps it had taken in relation to Sustainable Development Goals. The company was considered to have demonstrated reasonable understanding of its main impacts.
The report contained disclosure of the company’s carbon emissions broken down by source and scope.
The report contained at least two dated and quantified future environmental targets, as stated below. In addition, the report stated an intention to publish new ‘ambitious’ targets in its 2019 report, which was due for publication in March 2020, according to a questionnaire sent to Ethical Consumer by the company.
The stated targets were:
Reducing energy-related CO2 emissions (Scope 1 and 2) per product manufactured by 70% by 2025, compared to base year of 2014
Reducing specific waste volume per metric ton of end product by 2020 by two percentage points from 2015 base year.
The report was independently verified by Ernst & Young; this was stated to include the “inspection of […] systems and processes for compiling, analysing and aggregating relevant data." This was interpreted to mean that all the quantifiable data in the report was subject to an independent auditing process.
Overall, the company received Ethical Consumer’s best rating for Environmental Reporting.
Reference:
Sustainability Review 2018 (12 February 2020)