Sustainability and Traceability in Beauty: Where do your Skincare Ingredients come from?

At ELEMIS, our ethos is intertwined with the pursuit of excellence plus integrity. Our B Corp certification stands testament to this. To gain a B Corp certification, a company must undergo evaluation of their environmental performance, social impact, accountability, and transparency — setting a gold standard for responsible business practices. This certification is a rigorous process, to say the least, designed to measure a company's impact on its workers, customers, community, and the environment.

For us, achieving B Corp certification wasn't just a milestone. It marked a transitional period in our business journey; it reaffirmed our commitment to lead the beauty industry towards a more ethical and sustainable future.

Our B Corp certification was a moment that underscored our determination to not only be a part of the market but to help define it — to set new benchmarks for what it means to be a beauty brand in today's world.

Going forward with our certification, our goal is to be an example of what is possible in our industry — one often criticised for its ever-changing trends and environmental speculation.

It's our way of showing our commitment to transparency, sustainability, and ethical business practices where beauty and responsibility work together.

We were thrilled with our final score of 93, much higher than the 80 points required to certify. It symbolises our ongoing efforts to innovate — not just in the realm of skincare — but in how we contribute to the planet and our people.

From the sourcing of our ingredients to our manufacturing processes, and even the way we interact with our communities, the B Corp certification is a reminder of our responsibility to the world around us. It’s something that drives our work and our impact every single day.

In our journey towards sustainable beauty, we’ve always had a profound respect for the planet driving our actions in the background. Following our B Corp certification, we've embraced a sustainability strategy that is as meticulous as it is ambitious, designed to weave the principles of eco-consciousness into the very heart of our brand.

• Improve the eco-design of our formulations
• Trace 90% of plant-based raw materials to their country of origin by 2030
• 90% of rinse-off formulas with >95% biodegradable ingredients by 2030
• Promote sustainable sourcing of raw materials
• Deploy and support local programs to protect and restore biodiversity

• Reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2031 and achieve NET ZERO by 2050
• All paper/cardboard is to be responsibly sourced in packaging
• Maintain 100% renewable electricity in our operational sites

At the crux of our strategy lie a few more general pillars that guide our efforts — and we’d love to let you in on them. Each pillar is a testament to our belief that true beauty stems from working directly with nature in mind.

It’s important that we know and understand the journey of the ingredients in our products. By forging partnerships with suppliers who share our ethos, we can source ingredients that are not only of the highest quality but also harvested with the utmost respect for the environment — and the communities that nurture them.

To minimise our carbon footprint, we optimise our manufacturing and operational processes wherever possible. We also understand that our commitment extends beyond our own operations, and this understanding is essential for a shift within the industry towards more sustainable energy use.

ELEMIS means innovation. Our formulations reflect our dedication to blending the force of nature with the latest developments in skincare science, such as biotechnology and upcycled ingredients, ensuring that our products are both effective and formulated in a balanced way.

We continue to evolve and improve our packaging, by minimising waste and transitioning to materials that are widely recyclable or refillable. We have introduced recyclable glass jars, removed excess materials such as plastic spatulas and leaflets and reduced the overall size of packaging wherever possible.

• Saved 1.3 tonnes of plastic waste by switching to plastic-free Dynamic Resurfacing Pads*
• Saved 1.7 tonnes of plastic by removing spatulas*
• Saved 13 tonnes of unnecessary paper use by removing leaflets from our products*
• Saved 11 tonnes of plastic by ditching the bubble wrap*
• Made 100% of our promotional packaging, fully recyclable or reusable
• Included 12 tonnes of recycled materials in our product tubes*
• Sourced our paper and cardboard packaging from certified sustainable forests

*Based on sales volumes in 2021/22

As you can see, this strategy isn’t just a roadmap for our brand. It’s for anybody who wants to join the journey with us — a future where sustainability is not an option, but a necessity.

At ELEMIS, we recognise traceability as an essential process, and we are proud to be measuring and assessing our global land and water footprint. But what exactly is traceability in this context, and why does it hold such paramount importance in the realm of skincare?

Traceability is the ability to track an ingredient's journey from its source to the final product that ends up in your hands. This level of transparency is important for the quality, efficacy, and ethical standards of products.

To make traceability the focus of our beauty products, we collaborate with suppliers who share our ethos of sustainability. For instance, our partnership with a passionate female farmer based in Herefordshire, UK — by sourcing ingredients like our organic rose oleo extract from such trusted partners, we can support sustainable farming practices while also ensuring that the actives are harvested with respect for the environment and the local communities behind them.

Using this approach, we continue to build our relationships with farmers, ocean scientists and ingredient suppliers to further develop our sustainable sourcing practices.

But, how does this approach benefit us and the planet?

• It reinforces our pledge to sustainable skincare, ensuring that our commitment to environmental stewardship is embedded in our products.
• It deepens our connection and passion for our products, appreciating where its ingredients come from. It’s a way to appreciate that each product is also created with the planet's welfare, as well as your own, in mind.

We hope you’re now well-equipped in what it means to support a B Corp beauty brand — leading with integrity, transparency, and respect for the planet and people, with an openness to push for change where it’s needed.

We still have much to do, but by choosing ELEMIS, we hope you can experience the power of nature and science, whilst continuously pushing the boundaries of sustainability.

Browse our skincare today.