Ethical sourcing event highlights importance of biodiversity for beauty companies
The Beauty of Sourcing with Respect conference will be held 5 May in Paris and presents an opportunity for beauty companies working with natural ingredients to understand how biodiversity is relevant for their business, explained executive director of UEBT Rik Kutsch Lojenga.
“Biodiversity is rapidly becoming an issue the beauty industry cannot ignore anymore because of the combination of growing consumer awareness and changes in the international regulatory framework,” he told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com.
Consumer awareness growing
Consumer awareness of the term biodiversity will be highlighted in the morning session of the conference as results from the Biodiversity Barometer, a survey undertaken in partnership with IPSOS, will be presented.
“The first results from the consumer survey are coming in these days and show that biodiversity awareness is growing steadily,” Kutsch Lojenga said.
In addition, the 2011 results will be particularly interesting as they will highlight the impact of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, he added.
According to UEBT, the conference will also focus on how biodiversity can be included in marketing strategies, and attendees will learn how companies such as L’Oreal, Weleda and Amore Pacific address the issue.
Regulatory framework
Changes to the international regulatory framework can also have a major impact on how beauty companies source from biodiversity, and the conference will look at a number of national Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) systems.
The first of the afternoon sessions focuses on Brazil and includes a presentation from Braulio Diaz, Biodiversity and Forests Secretary with the Brazilian Ministry of Environment.
“Brazil has legislation in place that regulates access to biodiversity that has implications for R&D & sourcing practices... Mr. Braulio Diaz has been involved in the development and implementation of the ABS legislation in Brazil… He will be able to give insight in government expectations with regard to ABS as well as sharing experiences on implementing such legislation,” Kutsch Lojenga explained.
In addition, the case of Argan oil in Morocco will also be explored as well the recently adopted Nagoya Protocol, which has clarified how ABS regulation will implemented.
