The Big Picture

Loss of plant and animal species is occurring at an accelerated rate, directly linked to habitat destruction, deforestation, unsustainable agriculture – including monoculture, overfishing and hunting – urbanization, pollution and climate change. The United Nations estimates that at least one million species are at risk of extinction.

Why It Matters

The cosmetics and personal care products industry relies on species richness and natural ingredients for many of its formulations and knows that the most effective approaches to protecting biodiversity will be based on collaborations with key stakeholders along the entire value chain.

Industry’s Role

Cosmetics and personal care products companies are taking action to protect biodiversity by:

• Developing company policies and procedures and adopting credible standards with impartiality, transparency and rigor, such as Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT)
• Integrating additional biodiversity and social aspects into supplier control systems, including a risk assessment system with scoring related to biodiversity issues
• Ensuring ingredient sourcing focuses on collaborating and empowering communities
• Promoting local development projects that improve the livelihood and well-being of local communities and contribute to economic development
• Tailoring actions to maintain or enhance biodiversity by considering local circumstances, existing pressures, and ongoing conservation and regeneration efforts, such as plant-based squalene
• Working to directly regenerate or contribute to projects that regenerate natural systems, such as planting trees or using agriculture to restore nutrients to the soil