High Requirements on the Material
The project began with a comprehensive analysis of the market for alternative plastics. The requirements on the material were high, since Beiersdorf aims to become more sustainable without any compromise on its quality brands and products. 'Our excellent skin care products obviously include a high-quality packaging, which has to fulfill many requirements,' says
Sustainable Selection of Supplier
Beiersdorf has also taken a new approach to the sourcing of the new packaging concept, as Isabel Hochgesand, Beiersdorf's Chief Procurement Officer, explains: 'We are now getting involved much earlier and deeper in the supply chain, where we are building new supplier relationships. Becoming more sustainable as a company also means driving the development of new materials along the value chain. We are going beyond our existing supplier relationships and bringing upstream suppliers together with our tier 1 suppliers to accelerate the transformation of our packaging materials towards sustainability.' In fact, Beiersdorf had identified SABIC itself and then brought them to the table to work together with
Principle of Mass Balancing
The new, more sustainable packaging that Beiersdorf is now introducing for its NIVEA Naturally Good face care products is based on the principle of mass balancing, in accordance with the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS) scheme. The raw material base for the renewable plastic is certified renewable tall oil, which is a 'second generation' feedstock and by-product of the forestry-industry. It is replacing crude oil and according to the mass balancing approach it is integrated seamlessly in the manufacturing process - without the need to establish a separate production process.
Converting the packaging to renewable plastic not only has the advantage of conserving fossil resources, but also reduces CO2 emissions. Approximately 76 g of CO2e are saved per jar produced, a reduction of around 60% compared to the fossil-based jar. The project therefore also contributes to the company's climate target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% absolutely across the entire value chain (Scope 1-3) by 2025. Any remaining emissions that cannot be avoided or further reduced during the manufacturing of the product are - for the first time - climate-neutralized via carbon offsetting, through afforestation projects. This step is new for Beiersdorf and its largest skin care brand. The NIVEA Naturally Good face care range comprised of eight products will be clearly recognizable as 'climate-neutralized' on pack and on shelf.
4R's for more
Sustainable packaging is a key topic for Beiersdorf. Along the 4 R's (Reduce - Reuse - Recycle - Replace), intensive work is being done to achieve improvements and rethink packaging across the different dimensions. This includes the use of renewable raw materials as it has been done with the new NIVEA Naturally Good jars. With high company-wide commitment, this field of action is pushed forward, as well as the options for material reduction (Reduce), refill concepts (Reuse), and plastic-free packaging (Replace). With the 4 R's, Beiersdorf is pursuing its 'Plastic Pledge', which sets the following targets for 2025: To make 100% of its packaging reusable, refillable, or recyclable, to increase the share of recycled content in plastic packaging to 30% and to reduce the use of fossil-based virgin plastic by 50%. These targets are, among others, part of Beiersdorf's CARE BEYOND SKIN Sustainability Agenda with which the company has set itself targets for promoting a circular economy and climate action.
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