LONDON—The Sustainable Cosmetics Summit is gathering leaders and CEOs of major natural personal care firms to debate key challenges and give insights into how they are tackling critical business issues. Topics on the CEO roundtable agenda are rising consumer expectations, natural and organic standards and certification, ethical partnerships and implementing sustainability programs.
The CEO roundtable comprises heads of Aubrey Organics, Weleda North America, Juice Beauty, Dr. Hauschka Skincare, Burt’s Bees and Yes To Inc. Fresh perspectives on industry challenges are expected by bringing together CEOs of long-established natural and organic brands, such as Weleda, Burt’s Bees, Dr. Hauschka and Aubrey Organics, as well as relative newcomers: Yes To Inc and Juice Beauty.
A major discussion point on the roundtable agenda is natural and organic certification schemes. With the number of standards proliferating in North America, the CEOs will share their views on schemes, such as USDA Organic, NSF 305, NPA and OASIS. The adoption issues and merits of these standards will be debated, as well as potential dangers of ‘green seal washing’.
Green marketing is also high on the roundtable agenda. The CEOs will discuss the role of marketing in combating the threat of competing products, especially those making unsubstantiated natural and green claims. How do leading brands plan to meet rising consumer expectations? What marketing communications work best for the growing needs of the LOHAS consumer?
The CEO roundtable will also give insights into the growing importance of ethical partnerships. Apart from relationships with raw material suppliers, what ethical partnerships should cosmetic companies consider? How can companies provide greater transparency and traceability across the supply chain?
With sustainability covering a wide range of organization issues, the roundtable will also look at the challenges in developing and implementing a sustainability program. The summit will give delegates the opportunity to share their views on these discussion points, as well as pose related questions to the CEO roundtable.