Angela Buglass, CEO of Trilogy. Image supplied.
Sustainability has become an important part of many businesses and local natural skincare brand Trilogy are pleased to announce that they are now a carboNZero certified carbon-neutral organisation through Enviro-Mark Solutions’ certification programme. Trilogy have a long-standing commitment to ethical, environmental and social responsibility so joining the carboNZero programme is a natural next step for them. The programme is the world’s first internationally accredited greenhouse gas (GHG) certification scheme under ISO 14065 and has created tools for organisations, products, services and events to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (otherwise known as carbon footprint) and offset them.
Speaking at the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit in Hong Kong last week, Trilogy’s CEO Angela Buglass said of Trilogy’s carbon neutral approach “As New Zealand’s number one natural skincare brand, we want to show leadership in this area and demonstrate our commitment to our values. Climate change is a risk factor in our industry – producing top quality natural skincare depends on sourcing top quality plant-based ingredients and poor growing seasons can impact supply of raw materials. We choose to do what we can to mitigate our impact, both for our business and for our world.”
Achieving carboNZero certification is no easy feat and the process requires meticulous record-keeping and data collection over a 12-month period. The steps to achieving certification are:
1. Definition of scope, identification of sources of carbon emissions and instigation of measurement process.
2. Development of an emissions management and reduction plan (EMRP).
3. Verification of total emissions conducted via an annual independent audit.
4. Once total emissions have been confirmed and verified, emissions are mitigated through the purchase and retirement of carbon credits in approved projects.
Trilogy’s commitment to carboNZero certification and having a sustainable business means they invest in carbon credits from Pigeon Bush in Wairarapa and Hinewai Reserve near Christchurch, which are permanent native forest regeneration projects. Forests act as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They also allow native biodiversity to flourish, reduce soil erosion and improve catchment water quality. The glass bottles and jars for Trilogy’s most popular products are manufactured in India, so the brand also purchases carbon credits from a wind farm project in India where the electricity generated by this project displaces fossil fuel-generated electricity from the national grid, helping reduce emissions.
Trilogy’s carboNZero certification is a great example to other companies and beauty companies in particular as many consumers are now choosing to buy from brands that are committed to ethical and sustainable practices.
Angela presenting at the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit. Image supplied.