- NEW GLOBAL FRAMEWORK TO DRIVE NEXT PHASE OF BUSINESS SUCCESS -

Dubai, UAE, February 10, 2016:  As The Body Shop turns forty, it unveils a pioneering new global CSR strategy that will underpin all aspects of company operation. The new Commitment will reaffirm The Body Shop’s position as a leader in ethical business and will define the next stage of development of The Body Shop business.

The Commitment, which will support The Body Shop in its aim to be the world’s most ethical and sustainable global business, is an extensive programme of global activity and measurable targets that touches all areas of the business, to be delivered by 2020.  The Body Shop has always believed that business can be a force for good and change. The new Commitment, entitled Enrich Not Exploit ™, embraces the bold ethical principles from which The Body Shop was built.

Jeremy Schwartz, Chairman and CEO, The Body Shop, says: “The Body Shop courageously pioneered new ways of thinking, acting and speaking out as a company.  Our ground-breaking campaigns were ahead of their time and changed laws on animal testing, domestic violence and human trafficking.  We were the first in beauty to use community trade and we still have the strongest programme in the industry. We are small, but we lead. Today for all of us, the greatest challenges lie ahead and The Body Shop’s 40th anniversary is the perfect time to reassert our aim for leadership in ethical business. For us, being truly sustainable means shaping our business to work in line with the planet’s natural systems so they can replenish and restore themselves. With our Commitment we’re challenging ourselves to go further than we’ve ever gone before to make a real, sustainable and positive difference. We have set ourselves a significant goal to be the world’s most ethical and truly sustainable global business.”  

The Commitment will enable The Body Shop to protect and nurture the environment and society across every part of its business: ingredients, products, packaging, stores, employees, suppliers and campaigns. 

Under each of The Commitment’s three pillars: enrich our people, enrich our products and enrich our planet, The Body Shop has 14 specific, measurable targets by 2020 that make the business accountable for delivery.

Enrich our People Double our Community Trade programme to 40 ingredients and help enrich communities that produce them; help 40,000 economically vulnerable people access work around the world; engage 8 million people in our Enrich Not Exploit™ Commitment mission; and invest 250,000 hours of our skills and know-how to enrich the biodiversity of our local communities.

Enrich our Products: Ensure 100% of our natural ingredients are traceable and sustainably sourced to protect 10,000 hectares of forest and other habitat; reduce the environmental footprint of all our product categories each year; publish our use of natural origin ingredients, product biodegradability and water footprint; and develop an innovation pipeline that delivers pioneering cosmetic ingredients from biodiversity hotspots to help enrich these areas.

Enrich our Planet: Build Bio-Bridges to protect and regenerate 75 million square metres of habitat; reduce the environmental footprint of our stores every time we refurbish or redesign them; develop and deliver three new sustainable packaging innovations; ensure that 70% of our total product packaging does not contain fossil fuels; power 100% of our stores with renewable or carbon balanced energy; and reduce the energy use of all our stores by 10% every year.  

Chris Davis, International CSR and Campaigns Director, The Body Shop, says: “We have set ourselves ambitious, inspiring and measurable targets for our commitment. We are developing new practices to enrich the planet in which we operate whilst helping our company grow and prosper. Our new Commitment combines all the experience and knowledge of our expert people with new advances in science and technology.”
 
“It means understanding how our business is contributing to our existence on the planet, understanding what we need to change to contribute to a sustainable future by working backwards from a visionary end point to the here and now and asking ourselves what comes next. We’ll continue to work in partnership with suppliers, NGOs, academics, governments and other businesses to deliver the innovation and changes needed to make our ambitions a reality.”

Qas Qayyum, The Body Shop EMEA Franchise Director, says: “We introduced The Body Shop to the GCC in 1983 with the aim to inspire consumers with our brand values, ethical promise and unique product offering. With over 310 stores in the GCC to date, The Body Shop has been hugely successful in the region as consumers are increasingly looking for more meaningful shopping experiences. With our strong heritage and the new Commitment further strengthening the brand’s influence for positive change, we couldn’t be more excited and passionate about The Body Shop’s future in the Middle East, and look forward to seeing the achievements reached by the Commitment programme by 2020.”  
The Body Shop has inspired and helped its parent company, L’Oréal, make significant progress in sustainability and, in particular, in Community Trade.  The Commitment contributes to and enhances L’Oréal’s rigorous sustainability framework, Sharing Beauty with All.  The Body Shop’s specific addition to the framework is called Retailing Sustainably. As L’Oréal’s largest retail brand, The Body Shop has a unique role to play in the design, management and sustainability of its retail outlets and the relationship with its customers.