How can a large company successfully establish sustainable supply chains and practices? These are the key principles to follow.

Building sustainable supply chains is one of the greatest challenges for companies that depend on biodiversity or seek to protect the planet while remaining profitable. This challenge is increasingly essential in a market that demands growth both in terms of protecting the planet and in financial indicators.

The case of Natura, one of the largest cosmetics companies in Latin America, founded more than 56 years ago with a focus on environmental stewardship, offers an example of the principles that can guide this path.

The company has established itself as one of the leading players in its segment globally, reaching more than $4.3 billion in product sales in 2024 alone, while its operations have promoted the conservation and protection of 2 million hectares of forest in the Amazon, directly purchasing its inputs from more than 10,000 families in more than 225 municipalities throughout the Pan-Amazon region.

Despite being a publicly traded company whose goal is to be as efficient as possible, Natura today purchases inputs such as essential oils or exotic fruit oils from communities that may be as far as seven days' boat ride into the jungle, generating benefits for remote populations who thus obtain an economic livelihood.

At the same time, their soap plant, located in the municipality of Benevides, is in the remote northeastern tip of Brazil. From there, they produce more than 45 million units per month for distribution throughout Latin America. This represents an immense logistical challenge but an advantage in terms of access to supplies sourced from the rainforest they help protect. They do all this while remaining a profitable multinational.

Mauro Corrêa da Costa, Natura's sustainable sourcing manager, asserts that a series of practices are required that combine long-term vision, technological innovation, and, above all, relationships of trust with supplier communities.

“We're not the ones who produce biodiversity. It's the communities that supply these products,” explains Corrêa da Costa. This is the basis of the business model that has made Natura one of the largest cosmetics multinationals in the region, with a presence in 15 countries, but which at the same time has accumulated certifications that highlight its commitment to environmental protection.

Corrêa da Costa emphasizes that this strategy is not a fad, but rather part of the company's identity since its inception. "For Natura, being sustainable is not an add-on. We were founded in 1969 with that vision. It wasn't created simply to sell cosmetics, but to establish a relationship with people, nature, and society," she notes.

In her words, sustainability isn't a separate department, but rather the company's core: "It's something deeply rooted in our history, rooted in the vision of our founders. Natura was never just a cosmetics company."

Natura took internationally recognized principles as its starting point. "We adopted the principles that are recommendations from a TBT created in 2000, which we had already been working with with other companies around the world. These are biotrade principles that consider a sustainable supply chain," he notes.

This reference translates into a long-term strategic plan: "Each community we work with develops a five-year action plan to achieve these biotrade principles."

The focus isn't solely on commercial issues, but also on environmental and social impact. The executive emphasizes that the company is already considering what ecosystems will be like in ten years, which species will be conserved, and what practices should be consolidated to ensure their regeneration.

"Today, we already have to think about what will be affected 10 years from now, what has been conserved, and what needs to be restored. It's a process of fundamental recommendations and practices when we talk about biodiversity," says Corrêa da Costa.

One of the central pillars of the strategy is packaging, which is responsible for a large part of the cosmetics industry's environmental impact. "We need to monitor packaging because it's very important: it's where the greatest consumption of materials occurs. Packaging must be recycled and, increasingly, made with biomaterials," he says.

The executive acknowledges that recycling isn't enough: the development of new solutions must be accelerated. "Here, people need to focus their efforts on speeding up the entire packaging process. It's a very important point, with a significant impact," he adds.

In addition to packaging, the focus extends to the energy matrix and efficient water use. "We are investing heavily in technological innovation, with a focus on increasingly cleaner energy," says Corrêa da Costa. Among the alternatives being explored are solar sources and the gradual migration to renewable energy systems.

Water, an essential resource for production, is another area of ​​action: "Water utilization is fundamental. We can't forget that. In cosmetics, packaging and water monitoring are two areas where we need to expand our efforts."

While innovation and technology are essential, the heart of the model lies in the connection with the supplier communities. “There is no other way to establish trust with the communities than by being present. The great difference is always transparency,” says Corrêa da Costa.

For him, this transparency doesn't depend on immediate results: "It's about a 100% transparent relationship, whether the news is good or bad. That's what allows us to build trust."

In this sense, for Corrêa da Costa, there are five key points that every company must consider if it wants to incorporate sustainability into its DNA:

The executive is emphatic in pointing out that this is not a simple process, requiring a great deal of innovation and commitment, but that doing so translates into economic value for the company and benefits for communities and employees. A complex, but achievable, recipe. "For us, sustainability is not a goal to be achieved in the future, but rather the way we exist," he concludes.

Environment and Health Journalist