Weleda gains new UEBT certification and label for sourcing with respect

Weleda is one of two leading beauty brands worldwide (the first in Europe) to be the first to obtain the new UEBT certification for sourcing with respect. UEBT (Union for Ethical Bio Trade) is a non-profit organisation that provides a globally recognised standard for sustainable sourcing and the use of raw materials. The new certification and label was unveiled at the UEBT conference in Paris, 20 June 2018, and will start to appear on packs in 2019.

UEBT certification will help consumers tell that they are buying products from a company that treats people and biodiversity with respect. Weleda has a responsibility for the environments in which it operates, and for the people involved in manufacturing Weleda products.

Bas Schneiders, Head International Strategic Sourcing at Weleda, commented:

“With certification we are taking the next step: creating a significant impact for the growers, collectors and producers working for us”.

In order for a brand to be certified, UEBT looks at its entire sourcing system. One part of the process is to validate that the brand has incorporated the requirements from the UEBT standard into its systems for sourcing and processing natural ingredients. Another part of the certification requirements concerns sourcing practices: certified companies need to verify that they have implemented these throughout the supply chains for their natural ingredients. The new UEBT label will first appear on Weleda products in the beginning of 2019.

“We have received many awards in recent years for our efforts to achieve sustainability in our supply chains”, explained Annette Piperidis, Manager of Sustainable Sourcing at Weleda. “Sustainability is not a goal for us, but rather a process in which we constantly strive to optimize. For this reason, it was important to us to take our efforts to the next level and to tackle further challenges.”

Rik Kutsch Lojenga, UEBT’s Executive Director and a global expert on ethical sourcing of natural ingredients, added:

“We are so proud that Weleda has achieved ethical sourcing system certification by the UEBT and will be one of the first brands to place the UEBT trust mark on its products. By meeting our internationally recognised standard, a company assures customers that, when sourcing raw materials, biodiversity is conserved and sourced sustainably, and that all partners along the supply chain are treated equitably and paid fairly”.

Weleda became a full member of the Union for Ethical BioTrade in 2011. With its membership, Weleda reaffirmed its traditional principles of ethical business practice and applied the UEBT standard to its raw material procurement. UEBT values such as conservation, the sustainable use of biodiversity and the fair compensation of all partners in the supply chain, correspond with Weleda’s own long-held principles.

Jayn Sterland, managing director of Weleda UK, added:

“Weleda has pioneered sustainable business practices and Steiner’s approach is inspiring a new generation of green entrepreneurs. At Weleda we believe, for instance, that value must be shared equally across the supply chain otherwise winners and losers are created and the system fails. Truly sustainable business practice is something which takes vision, dedication and daily commitment from everyone in the business.”

Weleda has also just published its annual Sustainability Report which highlights other efforts the company continues to make year on year to meet targets and reduce its impact on the planet. See the snapshot below for some of these latest updates:

Weleda consists of 20 companies in over 50 countries across 5 continents.
Weleda manages approximately 248 square km worldwide organically – the equivalent of 35,000 football pitches.
Weleda has the largest medicinal plant gardens in Europe, home to over 1,000 different species of plant growing on 23 hectares, around 50 different types of bird and more than 30 species of wild bee.
Over 120 plants are used, freshly picked, in tinctures for Weleda products.
30 tonnes of fresh arnica flowers generate 5 tonnes of dried flowers from which oil is extracted for use in Weleda’s Arnica Massage Oil and Stretch Mark Massage Oil.
Weleda is one of the world’s largest buyers of organic raw materials.
Over 1,000 natural ingredients go into Weleda products each year.
Around 81% of all the plant ingredients Weleda uses are organic (over 2,000 tonnes).
Weleda has over 50 long-term organic farming partnerships around the world.
Weleda manufactures over 120 natural and organic cosmetics, and more than 1,000 pharmaceuticals.
Weleda employs over 2,440 people worldwide.

57% of managers within the business are female.
97% of the company’s electricity used at the production facilities for manufacture of the Weleda range comes from renewable energy and continues to rise year on year.
Approximately 98% of all waste produced during the manufacturing process is reused – either composted, repurposed, recycled or recovered (including thermal recovery).
85% of Weleda’s glass 100% recyclable glass bottles comes from recycled glass – the highest share of recycled glass possible.
Weleda’s product cartons are now printed using mineral-oil-free colour inks.
250,000 fewer pack inserts were printed following the switch to peel-back labels on the body oils which provide additional product information on the reverse side.
Packaging intensity (the weight of packaging in proportion to the weight of the finished product) improved by 3.8% with the amount of recycled materials increasing by 3%.
Energy intensity reduced by 4.5%, chiefly due to improved efficiency.
Waste intensity for manufacturing improved by 8.3% as waste was reduced across all Weleda companies by 26 tonnes, despite an increase of 7% in production volume.
4 tonnes of material were saved in 2017 by optimising the weight of the screw caps for Weleda’s aluminium tubes.