The company is the first in Latin America to release a study that determines the financial value of the impact of its business on the environment
Natura is the first company in Latin America to account for the impact of its business on the environment and society, using the international environmental accounting methodology (known in English as “EP&L”, Environmental Profit and Loss). The study is a deep analysis of all stages of the company's products' life cycle, from raw material extraction, through manufacturing, transportation, usage, and disposal of materials. The analysis was developed with technical consulting from PwC offices in London and São Paulo, based on Natura's consolidated data from the year 2013.
Water use and pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste generation, air pollutant emissions, and land use were accounted for. To calculate the environmental effects of Natura's activities, the methodology considers the types of inputs, the product portfolio, and the regions where they are sold. The impacts are measured using calculations with over 18,000 coefficients.
The survey confirmed the positive impact of initiatives adopted by Natura throughout its history, such as the choice to use organic alcohol in perfumery and assets from Amazonian biodiversity in its products. The “Natura Carbon Neutral” program, uniquely implemented by the company in 2007 to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and compensate for what cannot be reduced, was also positively accounted for.
The study is a pioneering management tool that will guide Natura's strategic decisions for a more effective assessment of the Triple Bottom Line. The EP&L becomes the main indicator to measure the company's positive environmental impact across all links in the production chain. “With this study, we seek to understand and detail the environmental impacts generated by our operations and define strategies to neutralize them,” says José Roberto Lettiere, the company's Chief Financial Officer. “Understanding these numbers is essential for us to achieve our ambition of generating a positive impact in environmental, social, and economic spheres by 2050.”
Natura Value Chain
Results
The study revealed that the environmental impact of Natura's chain – which includes the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation of products, and disposal of packaging – was estimated at R$ 132 million for 2013. This impact would have been greater (equivalent to R$ 164 million) without the measures from the Carbon Neutral Program, which, since 2007, reviews the company's processes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and compensates for what could not be reduced. The impact of compensation projects, if considered in the environmental accounting calculation, would be positive at R$ 77 million.
The largest impact in these stages comes from greenhouse gas emissions (59%), which Natura already compensates through the contracting of reforestation projects, among others. Next are atmospheric pollution (14%), water pollution (11%), land use (8%), and water consumption (7%).
In the cosmetics sector, Natura is the first company in the world to conduct a comprehensive analysis of its chain, including the product usage stage. The study provides unprecedented data on this stage, which depends on consumer behavior. As expected, this stage carries the most weight, as personal hygiene and cosmetic products are largely used during bathing. The usage stage represents an additional impact of R$ 455 million, more than triple the stages directly linked to Natura's business chain.
The largest impact in the usage stage is due to water consumption directly and indirectly – since the energy for heating bath water in Brazil is primarily from hydropower generation. The complexity of the calculation even considers the particularities of the energy matrix in the regions where the products are sold.
“By revealing these numbers, we create an extremely important level of transparency for our relationship networks. From this diagnosis, we want to establish an even more frank and open dialogue with the consumer,” says Marcelo Alonso, Natura's sustainability director.
(Natura Editorial Team)
