Decarbonisation, circularity, biodiversity and water. The Davines Groupa company active in the professional cosmetics sector with the Davines haircare and comfort zone skincare brands, certified B Corp since 2016, presented at Climate Week New York his environmental sustainability program for 2030 ‘Davines Group Towards Planet Regeneration’. The Corporate Sustainability team of the Davines Group, through a sharing process that for months has actively involved all the key figures and structures of the company, has defined the new objectives together with the Foundation for Sustainable Development, a study center on the green economy in Italy of the Group’s quantifiable targets for 2030 aimed at combating climate change.
“The biggest challenge is being able to separate environmental impact from business growth – underlines Davide Bollati, president of the Davines Group – We must drastically reduce resource extraction, energy consumption, pressure on natural capital and all climate-related impacts, while we continue to significantly grow the Davines Group. Achieving a turnover of 500 million by 2030 is an ambitious goal, but we are determined to achieve it in a sustainable way, pursuing a regenerative vision and ensuring development that does not come at the expense of the environment. This, as a stakeholder-driven company, is our path to creating a good life for all.”
To ensure that its activities respect a planet where resources are limited and are fair to the communities in which it operates, Davines Group will not only reduce its direct environmental impacts, but is actively committed to reducing the impacts of all activities, including those of suppliers and consumers. Since obtaining B Corp certification in 2016, the Group has encouraged 19 suppliers, 2 distributors and 4 salons on the path to becoming B Corp; while the project ‘The Future Salons, Beauty Centers & Spa Initiative’ is an integral part of the 2030 program and fully incorporates this global approach to environmental sustainability, aimed at directing Salons, Beauty Centers and Spas towards a development model with less impact. This is an initiative that cuts across all four pillars underlying the Group’s regenerative sustainability strategy which involves the implementation of specific actions: from reducing water consumption to recycling plastic and other waste, up to efficiency energy, just to give a few examples. The impact of these initiatives will be significant: all the partners involved, in fact, will not only adopt practices with reduced (environmental) impact but will also become ‘multipliers’ of the Davines Group’s environmental sustainability objectives, in turn inspiring customers to undertake changes virtuous lifestyle.
On the decarbonisation front, the Group signed its commitment in May 2022 to reach the Net Zero target, by 2050 at the latest, with the Science Based Target Initiative. On its path towards Net Zero, the Group has forecast, by 2030, a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for each kg of bulk product compared to 2022. This target was calculated based on the boundaries defined by the Ghg Protocol. Thanks to this intensity target, the Group aims to achieve the ambitious objective of decoupling the growth of turnover and production from that of climate-changing gas emissions. Furthermore, by 2030, 100% of the energy used will be self-produced from renewable sources at Davines Village: by 2030, natural gas will be replaced by self-produced renewable energy, with the aim of completely eliminating fossil fuels for processes ; also by 2030, the entire electricity consumption of the production plant and offices of the Davines Group Village will be powered by additional, new generation solar energy produced on site. This result will be achieved thanks to an innovative agrivoltaic system and traditional photovoltaic installations.
Agrivoltaic approach that integrates renewable energy with regenerative organic agriculture. The Group, in fact, will install the agrivoltaic system on the land where its European Regenerative Organic Center (Eroc) is located, the first European center dedicated to training, research and dissemination in the field of regenerative organic agriculture which occupies a site of 17 hectares in front of the Davines Group Village, in Parma (in 2023, 14 new ingredients were validated for the Group’s formulas, of which 6 coming from regenerative organic agriculture). The agrivoltaic system will make it possible to self-produce electricity from photovoltaic panels, arranged at a certain height and supported by vertical structures, beneath which regenerative agricultural practices can be carried out, without limiting productivity, but rather exploring the synergies with the underlying crops.
For the company, circularity focuses above all on reducing the use of raw materials. A team of experts is inspired on a daily basis by the principles of eco-design to study lower impact solutions for all products, both in terms of material innovation and process efficiency, always safeguarding quality and safety. From this perspective, by 2030, the quantity of virgin fossil plastic purchased must not exceed 10% of the total weight of plastic packaging purchased, considering all levels of packaging (primary, secondary and tertiary). This objective applies both to internal production within the company and to what is produced and packaged outside the production plant (full service). Also by 2030, all aluminum purchased for product packaging must be 100% recycled, considering both internal company production and full service, and all paper and cardboard used for product packaging must be 100% recycled, also considering in this case both the company’s internal production and full services.
On the biodiversity front, the objectives for 2030 cover a wide range of aspects: from the use of more sustainable ingredients to the use of highly biodegradable materials, up to the restoration of ecosystems thanks to the collection of plastic waste. In detail: the Davines Group plans to increase the number of ingredients coming from regenerative organic farming practices (Eroc or Regenerative Organic Certified-Roc model) to at least 80; 10% of the ingredients purchased and used in the formulas must be certified as coming from regenerative organic farming; over 90% of the ingredients purchased and used in the formulas will be natural or of natural origin; over 85% of the ingredients purchased and used in the formulas will have reduced bioaccumulation in the environment; only formulas containing palm oil or its derivatives with Rspo (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) Cspo (Certified Sustainable Palm Oil) certification will be produced, preferably adhering to the more stringent criteria of the Poig (Palm Oil Innovation Group); 5,000 tons of plastic waste will be collected from the environment, as part of efforts to restore ecosystems, outside of its own value chain, through ecorestoration projects.
In addition to the European Regenerative Organic Center, which constitutes an oasis of biodiversity in which to discover new ingredients, there is also the 3,000 square meter Scientific Garden at the Parma headquarters, with more than 6,000 plants.
Finally, the Davines Group has long been committed to reducing its impact on water resources. Water conservation and reducing the water footprint along the entire value chain are in fact among the main objectives of its current sustainability strategy. To preserve this precious resource, the Davines Group is aiming for a significant reduction in its water footprint: by 2030, the total water consumption at the Davines Group Village, considering the offices and the production plant, will be reduced by 50% compared to the levels of 2023; also by 2030, the intensity of water use during the production phase will be reduced by 75% for each tonne of bulk product compared to the levels measured in 2023. To achieve its ambitious targets, the Davines Group aims to evaluate, through an organizational water footprint, the environmental impact of its production processes and supply chain on water reserves, both in terms of quality and quantity of available water. The Davines Group also aims to implement a waterloop system at the Village of Parma, which will allow the recovery of up to 60-70% of waste water.
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