The 2nd Latin American edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit ended a few weeks ago in Sao Paulo. The summit highlighted shortcomings in the sustainable development of the cosmetics industry.

Although Latin American firms are leading in some areas of sustainability like ethical sourcing and biodiversity, greater steps need to taken to reduce the environmental impact of cosmetic formulations and packaging.

Several speakers highlighted the growing complexity of sustainability; Malu Nunes from Grupo Boticário stated that sustainability can no longer be an isolated function, ‘it has to be spread across organization departments’. Natura Brasil, which has been carbon neutral since 2007, gave details of its carbon measurement program. The largest cosmetics company in Latin America has reduced carbon emissions by 28% since 2006 whilst expanding its business.

Difficulties in raw material sourcing were cited as one of the reasons behind the low production levels of natural and organic cosmetics.

Approaches to reduce the environmental footprint of packaging were also featured. Karen Santos, CEO of Creez Communicação e Design, encouraged cosmetic firms to think of packaging waste as materials for new products via the cradle-to-cradle design approach.

To reduce packaging waste, the retailer Grupo Pão de Açúcar has set up recycling stations at its stores. The cosmetics association ABIHPEC is working with local government agencies to set up reverse logistics schemes to remove packaging from waste streams.

Discussions about sustainable development of the cosmetics industry will continue in the upcoming European (Paris, 21-23rd October) and Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong, 11-13th November) editions of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit.