Germany

Beiersdorf AG

APPROACH AND KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

As a global skin care company, Beiersdorf does not purchase palm (kernel) oil directly but uses its derivatives for the production of cosmetic products. We strive to take a leading position on sustainability in the palm oil supply chain and focus our Sustainable Palm Roadmap on four main pillars:

Sustainable Certification: 100% of our global palm-based raw materials are RSPO Mass Balance certified since end of 2020.
Transparency: We gain transparency in our palm supply chain by tracing back our raw materials to the level of mills and plantations.
Transformation: We support smallholder farmers and landscape projects with WWF in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Collaboration: We collaborate with peer companies and suppliers in key multi-stakeholder initiatives to drive sustainable transformation in the palm supply chain.

We disclose our progress in our annual sustainability report and RSPO ACOP report. We received the “CDP Triple A” score on climate, water and forest, including for our sustainable palm program.

Roadblocks and solutions

Through sustainable certification, transparency, and industry transformation, we aim to identify and minimize environmental and social risks along the palm supply chain. Our “Sustainable Palm Roadmap” and our “Sustainable Palm Policy” guide us in our worldwide activities for more sustainable raw material sourcing.

Main challenges are to:

Achieve traceability to mills and plantation level in the palm (kernel) oil derivatives supply chain, which involves a wide range of different supply chain players
Obtain RSPO certification and access to the market for independent smallholder farmers in key sourcing countries
Monitor and manage risks of No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) in the complex palm derivatives supply chain

Action Plan for the next 5 years

Moving forward, we will focus our efforts on three key areas:

Deforestation-Free Supply Chains: We aim to source our main renewable materials from sustainable and deforestation-free sources by 2025. We set up a task force to ensure compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation by the end of 2024.
Transparency & Risk Monitoring: We gain transparency in our palm supply chain by tracing back our raw materials to the level of mills and plantations. This helps us to identify priority areas, mills and suppliers for engagement and/or risk mitigation.
Sustainable Transformation: We collaborate with non-profit and supply chain partners and support various smallholder projects and RSPO certification of farmers in key sourcing countries. Through active participation in industry associations (RSPO, FONAP, Action for Sustainable Derivatives) we aim to achieve sector transformation towards more sustainable palm production.