Climate neutral: can beauty products be sustainable?

The beauty industry is increasingly promoting "CO2-neutral" products. Sounds great. But is that even possible?

Vegan, climate-neutral, 100 percent organic – sounds mega, what is written on the labels of many creams and shampoos. Or is it all just a big marketing idiot? One thing is certain: many beauty companies have recognized that environmental protection is well received by customers. A study by the VKE cosmetics association shows that sustainability is now the third most important purchase criterion after quality and price-performance ratio. From Beiersdorf to P&G, many companies have therefore decided on a climate protection roadmap. The drugstore chain dm not only wants to save greenhouse gases in the production of its own brands, but also prefers to list other climate-friendly brands. But how emission-neutral can a cream really be? Now from the beginning.

CO2 neutral, what does that even mean?

Unfortunately not that a product was produced without climate-damaging greenhouse gases. Because CO2 is always produced: not only when the lights are switched on in the factory, but also when raw materials are extracted, packaging is produced and during transport. CO2-neutral simply means that the emitted gas has been compensated. How it works? For example, by planting trees or supporting other climate-friendly projects in order to bind or reduce emissions. "That's why I prefer to speak of climate-neutralized instead of CO2-neutral," says Prof. Matthias Finkbeiner, who heads the Technical Environmental Protection Department at the Technical University of Berlin. "Climate-neutral implies that I do no harm to the climate. And of course it's not like that. By consuming a climate-neutral product, I also contribute to CO2 emissions – even if I may save them elsewhere."

What options are there to offset emissions?

A lot! The "Gold Standard" alone, which was founded by initiatives such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for certification, now comprises more than 1,700 projects in over 80 countries. The approaches range from the classic "afforestation of the rainforest" (because trees bind CO2 during their growth phase) to the distribution of more climate-friendly cooking stoves in Peru. But be careful: some companies use offsetting for greenwashing. In other words: They advertise their products with CO2 neutrality, but only achieve this by transferring money to compensation providers. The first step, however, should be to lower your own emissions rate. As good as the development aid and tree-planting projects may sound, this alone will not solve the climate problem. "If you were to reforest the entire area of ​​the United States, you could only reduce global CO2 emissions by about 25 percent," said Dr. Josef Aschbacher, Director for Earth Observation at the European Space Agency ESA.

Where do most of the CO2 emissions arise from shampoos and the like?

How good or bad the CO2 balance of a cream turns out depends only to a small extent on its actual production, i.e. the mixing and filling of the individual components. "Most of the CO2 footprint is in the ingredients that the manufacturer purchases. We call this the upstream chain," explains Finkbeiner. Krass: This does not necessarily have to appear in a company's carbon footprint (greenwashing alert!). Attention, now it’s getting complicated, but also exciting: which emissions were taken into account depends on the degree of the so-called "scope". "Scope one" only considers the company's own emissions. "Scope two" also includes external energy sources, such as electricity used. Only with "Scope three" are all emissions generated outside the company taken into account, for example emissions from external suppliers. "If a company does not include this in its balance sheet, i.e. no scope three, that is very weak," says Matthias Finkbeiner, who prepares CO2 balances with his team.

Unfortunately, all of this is very time-consuming for consumers to find out: At best, you can read on the website whether a company includes the upstream chain – and reward those who do well with your purchase. Here, too, a kind of CO2 labeling on products – even better: labeling as "CO2 neutralized" by an independent institution – would probably be much more helpful. Also crucial for the carbon footprint: how the product is used (also falls under scope three). This causes negative points for shower gels and shampoos, because they are usually used with warm water – which consumes even more CO2. At Procter & Gamble, for example, which also includes Head & Shoulders and Pantene, the use of the products therefore accounts for 85 percent of scope three emissions.

And what role does the packaging play?

A big one in cosmetics! The decisive factor is the ratio of the quantity and weight of the packaging and the product – the less content there is, the more relevant the casing becomes. It goes without saying that heavy perfume bottles have a negative impact on the climate balance because: little content in relation to too much packaging waste. And: "Another extreme case are water sprayers," says expert Prof. Finkbeiner. "The cost of water in production is extremely low, while that for an aluminum can is relatively high. That is why the packaging clearly dominates the environmental balance here." Also important for the assessment: whether the trimmings can be recycled and whether they are made of recycled material. If so, there are pluses. This also applies to refill solutions.

Where else can companies reduce CO2?

Of course, relying on non-fossil power sources in the factories is an important step. And the life cycle of a product from purchasing the raw materials to disposing of the packaging offers numerous starting points for reducing CO2 emissions. The cosmetics company Annemarie Börlind not only uses jojoba for its care products because it provides so much moisture – the plants also have the ability to bind CO2 very well. Lush, on the other hand, has launched a cork soap holder. The oaks from whose bark it is made absorb the gas, as does the cork itself, by the way. Other important parameters for the ecological balance: the effectiveness of the supply chains and the means of transport. The cargo ship is clearly one step ahead of the aircraft, due to the quantities it can transport.

Is CO2 neutrality even possible without compensation?

A clear no – unfortunately there is always a residual amount of emissions.

Is there any point in buying CO2-neutral products?

Necessarily! Because we as consumers have an influence. Above all, we all determine the important point of use (scope three) – for example, how long and how hot the shower takes place. Unfortunately, there is currently no independent seal that shows at a glance that a product has really been manufactured as climate-friendly as possible. Here it is the turn of politicians and business enterprises and associations to create clarity for consumers.

Would you like to read more about the topic and exchange ideas with other women? Then take a look at the BRIGITTE community's "Science and Environmental Protection Forum" past!

In BE GREEN, BRIGITTE's new sustainability magazine, you can read the exclusive interview with Greenfluencer Marie Nasemann: "I don't want to fuel the fashion madness anymore."

© Brigitte

BRIGITTE BE GREEN 02/2020