Beauty news: NZ’s Trilogy becomes carboNZero certified

New Zealand sustainable beauty pioneer Trilogy has become a carboNZero certified carbon-neutral organisation through Enviro-Mark Solutions’ certification programme. 

The carboNZero programme is the world’s first internationally accredited greenhouse gas (GHG) certification scheme under ISO 14065. It provides tools for organisations, products, services and events to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (otherwise known as carbon footprint) and offset them. The programme is owned and operated by Enviro-Mark Solutions Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Landcare Research.

The company says in a release that joining the carboNZero programme is a natural extension of Trilogy’s long-standing commitment to ethical, environmental and social responsibility. With a long history of supporting charities, community groups and recent steps into ‘impact investing’, the brand is well known for its sustainability principles, which form the foundations of how the business operates.

Angela Buglass, CEO of parent company Trilogy International Ltd, was invited to speak at the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit in Hong Kong last week, where she presented Trilogy’s sustainability principles and talked to key industry stakeholders about the process of becoming carbon-neutral and the importance of independent certification of this achievement.

Commenting on why Trilogy is carbon-neutral, Angela said: “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.”

Trilogy invests 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.
There exists clear evidence of a shift in people’s buying behaviour towards brands which have a positive impact on the world, a fact which I am definitely buoyed by. Let the conscious consumer steer the way I reckon - it'll benefit us all in the end!