The British Beauty Council has formed the Sustainable Beauty Coalition (SBC) to lead in sustainability through championing best practice and industry collaboration.

The launch of the coalition is the culmination of a year’s work that began with an independent sustainability report commissioned by the British Beauty Council to analyse the beauty sector and the consumers it serves. Called Courage to Change, the report lays out a vision of how we can move forward together to create an industry which nurtures the planet that we love and all that live on it. 

Researched and written by social impact consultancy Junxion Strategy and published in November 2020, it included a survey of 3,000 UK consumers by environmental charity Hubbub. The report found that one in seven consumers wanted to buy an environmentally friendly beauty product and highlighted that 88% of people want brands to use less packaging and display clearer information on how to recycle products. 

The coalition’s 10-strong steering group is headed by chair Jayn Sterland, UK managing director of green beauty pioneers Weleda, and its members include Jo-Anne Chidley founder of Beauty Kitchen, the number one sustainable-accredited high street beauty brand, Michelle Feeney, founder of leading sustainable fragrance brand Floral Street and Sian Sutherland co-founder of A Plastic Planet.

“We believe the UK beauty and wellness industry must play its part in bringing about bold, urgent change. We have a strong voice, reputation, and reach and we need to use it. Consumers are keen to see this happen, and they are looking to us to clean up our act by addressing the many climate -related problems we have created, such as non-recyclable plastic packaging, chemicals contaminating the oceans, and unregulated, misleading product claims. Whilst a growing number of brands are taking significant steps to reduce their negative impact on the planet, these efforts are patchy and uncoordinated the coalition seeks to address this.”

– Jayn Sterland, chair of the SBC

The SBC, which is supported by an extensive advisory panel, made up of industry experts, brand owners and industry body representatives, will report to the British Beauty Council’s executive board with a remit to:

• develop a clear strategy and roadmap to accelerate sustainability in the industry

• strengthen links across the industry, communities, voices and professional bodies to accelerate collaboration, knowledge and bolder collective efforts

• work with the government to champion the work of the industry and support the agenda in the Race to Net Zero campaign

• act to create stronger frameworks and policies for the UK’s beauty sector

• monitor the roadmap’s progress and keep the execution of initiatives under review

“It was very clear to us from the Courage to Change report that consumers want the beauty industry to do better – and they expect us to do better. We have an array of British talent who are very innovative in the sustainable area, but to make real tangible change, the industry must come together and collaborate. This is key and it’s why we have formed the Sustainable Beauty Coalition.

The beauty industry needs to be transparent, accountable and make changes now – we will lose the respect of the consumer if we don’t. Surveys show that 95% of consumers believe their own actions make a difference. If our customers believe that, what are we as an industry doing in response? We can and should do better – the beauty industry’s purpose is, after all, to encourage the intrinsic beauty of people and our planet to shine.”

– Millie Kendall MBE, chief executive British Beauty Council, says: