Sharing is the best way to improve sustainability, says Groupe Rocher
In an exclusive interview with CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com Marie Marache, CSR Engineer, Groupe Rocher, says that better engages people and that there are still some big challenges to overcome.
“Sharing is the best way to improve. Benchmarking KPIs followed and measured by others is a challenge and helps companies question their practices,” she tells us. “Sharing your best practices helps engage your communities towards your brand.”
In practice
At Groupe Rocher, responsible for beauty brand Yves Rocher, Marie explains that it has been measuring, gathering, and aggregating Group level data since 2007, and that for sustainability reporting’s purposes, the Group has a web-based tool gathering data around the world in more than 35 countries.
“This is an on-going process,” she explains. “We are now setting 2020 targets for every strategic issue at Brand and Business level, with associated KPIs.”
“Some KPI’s are hand-crafted, some are elaborated, and it depends on the issue. For example, The Yves Rocher Brand is currently setting a 2020 target for global plastic Packaging reduction since 2010.”
Standing out
Marie also adds that key sustainability metrics should not only be water or energy consumption, but must be specific to each company instead, according to the materiality issues and strategy they are pursuing.
“Each company should consider relevant data considering their industry and stakeholders. This is how it stands out, by actually expressing itself on relevant issues,” says Marache.
Marache says that it is important for companies to measure their environmental footprints in order to stay compliant and competitive; but also adds that it is also important to improve sustainability performance, engage stakeholders, and safeguard the companies’ reputation.
Despite this there are still big challenges facing the cosmetics industry and these will continue changing in the coming years.
“[The] main challenges are climate change & biodiversity issues, increased demography especially in cities. This will reshuffle business practices within the next decades,” adds Marache.
Marie will be discussing ‘Sustainability in Practice’ at the upcoming Sustainable Cosmetics Summit in Paris on October 21-23.
