Sustainable Sourcing & Producing

Sustainable sourcing & producing NIVEA’s skincare

The best ingredients come from the best possible sources. That’s why we make sure that everything we put into our NIVEA products is safe and healthy to use – and why we strive to use sustainably sourced raw materials wherever possible. We are dedicated to producing our products in an ethical, environmentally friendly way, with ambitious goals in reducing our CO₂ emissions.

We’re excited to share with you how we sustainably source our ingredients and produce our skincare below.

Responsible Sourcing

We strive to use ingredients from natural sources that grow back or are otherwise self-regenerating. We always keep an open mind for the most sustainable solution, which in some cases may include using an ingredient synthetically instead of using the natural source.

Deforestation-friendly products

Deforestation is one of the biggest drivers of climate change. At NIVEA, it's of the highest importance to ensure a harmless sourcing of our ingredients to protect our planet’s biodiversity and climate. Without forests, many species lose their habitat and the Earth its 'green lungs'.

As part of our fight against deforestation, we aim to source 100% of our global paper and carboard materials sustainably by the end of 2020. In 2019 we made great progress and achieved that in 100% of our folding boxes which we use to pack some of our skincare products - for example our face creams that are made of FSC-certified material (“Forest Stewardship Council”). We are currently working on converting other paper-based materials to FSC certified or recycled material as well. We actively promote all this to make sure that our skincare is as gentle on our planet as it is on our skin.

Sustainable Palm Oil Sourcing

The main issue with palm oil is that often large areas of rainforest are destroyed in order to make room for oil palm plantations. At NIVEA, we believe that palm oil needs to be sourced sustainably without contributing to deforestation, as replacing palm oil with another plant-based oil isn’t the best option. This is because palm oil crops have a high yield, which means, for example, one oil palm tree can produce ongoing fruit for up to 30 years which is more sustainable . An alternative, less-yielding vegetable oil option would be less sustainable since it would require more land to grow the crops.

Instead, at NIVEA we promote the shift to sustainably produced palm oil with our partners along the entire supply chain. Beiersdorf has joined the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil (FONAP). Our goal is to use only 100% sustainably sourced palm oil by the end of 2020.

Read more on how NIVEA source sustainable palm oil.

How NIVEA produce our skincare products

Naturally, our commitment to protect our planet and our communities also extends to the way we produce NIVEA skincare. We strive to decrease our CO2 footprint, save energy, and ensure good working conditions for everyone involved in making NIVEA products.

Creating NIVEA products is a joint effort, and we feel responsible for everyone involved. Our Code of Conduct for business partners sets high standards for our suppliers and subcontractors – the same high standards we adhere to.

We are committed to protecting human rights and do not tolerate any forms of forced or child labour, corruption or discrimination in our operations and supply chain. We do not just make demands – we also help our suppliers establish sustainable supply chains. For NIVEA, helping others to protect our planet is an opportunity to make a positive collective impact.

Learn more about NIVEA’s values & commitments.

How NIVEA are reducing our CO2 footprint

One of our core commitments at NIVEA is to reduce our CO2 footprint. CO2 stands for carbon dioxide, which is a colourless greenhouse gas. This and other additional greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have detrimental effects on the environment, as the increasing amount of these gases reinforce the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect means that extra thermal energy in the air causes the planet to get warmer - which can ultimately lead to melting ice caps and ocean levels rising.

At NIVEA we contribute to mitigating climate change and we’re among the leaders with our new climate targets. We first started this journey by reviewing the energy infrastructure for all our production facilities that still use energy from conventional sources. In 2019, we already reached 60% absolute reduction in energy-related emissions vs 2014. In 2019 we also achieved our target to get 100% electricity from renewable energy sources which substantially reduced our greenhouse gas emissions.

By 2025, we’re targeting a 30% absolute reduction of total value chain energy-related CO2 emissions vs 2018. We’re also aiming for climate-neutral factories by 2030 to further reduce our carbon footprint.

Not only are we reducing our carbon footprint from our production facilities, but through our waste reduction commitment too. Step by step we’re producing quality, sustainable skincare products to further protect our planet from climate change.