Ethical Business 2023 Highlights
We initiated our first full ingredients audit, to gather data supporting traceability, water and biodiversity risk assessments, and much more. With regards to suppliers, we joined Sedex, the world’s largest platform for supply chain assessments. We published our first Impact Report. We completed our first Engagement and ED&I self-Id surveys.
Considered Ingredients
We meticulously evaluate each ingredient for its efficacy, safety, and environmental impact. Our aim is to find a harmonious balance between synthetic and natural ingredients, leveraging their unique benefits. Whether an ingredient provides visible results as an active component or contributes to texture and stability, it is purposefully chosen for our formulations. Our dedication to minimising environmental impact drives continuous improvement such as transparently tracing the origins of our ingredients, in order to assess and mitigate risks associated with water usage, biodiversity, and deforestation.
Suppliers Sustainability Programme
Suppliers play a crucial role in achieving our sustainability goals. While we have a Code of Conduct in place, we strive to exceed basic compliance by encouraging our suppliers to adopt comprehensive environmental and social sustainability practices. Our goal is to actively engage with all of our suppliers by the end of 2023, seeking to understand and support their sustainability initiatives As members of Sedex, we collaborate with other companies to audit human rights, workers' safety, and good governance while aiming to reduce the data collection burden on suppliers and address risks before they occur.
Against Animal Testing
We have never, and will never test our products on animals. We neither test our finished products on animals nor commission such tests to be conducted on our behalf. We fully support bans on animal testing for cosmetic purposes anywhere in the world. In fact, we are aiming for the gold standard in both cruelty free and vegan. That’s why we are currently undergoing comprehensive 3rd party audits to obtain the Leaping Bunny accreditation from Cruelty Free International and to certify all our products by The Vegan Society.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
We conduct an annual self-declaration, voice, and inclusion-focused survey (results here, page 27). The feedback from minority groups guides our focus for each year, with LGBTQ+ inclusion being our priority in 2023. We have created a dedicated community that holds regular meetings to address concerns and gather input. Additionally, we organise "Lunch & Learns" to dispel myths, raise awareness, and foster discussions on creating a more inclusive workplace. To eliminate bias, we are systematically reviewing and modifying each core people process, e.g. removing gendered language from role descriptions.
Building engaged teams
Our annual anonymous Engagement Survey and Quarterly Pulse surveys are the key to understanding the views of our teams on a wide range of topics, such as Collaboration & Communication, Feedback & Recognition, Leadership, Teamwork & Ownership, Work & Life Blend and more. We then use the feedback to shape our people and leadership plans and to align our strategies and initiatives with their priorities and concerns. In FY22, our engagement score was 67%. Our ultimate goal is to be in the top 10% of UK companies for employee satisfaction by 2025, as benchmarked by Culture Amp data.
