The launch of the Natura Ekos Brazil Nut Concentrate is one example of the efforts made in this area by our R&D team, which worked on concentrating the formula to be able to offer a product with a lower environmental impact and an enjoyable moisturizer preparation experience for the consumers. Natura is also a pioneer in refills for cosmetics, having adopted this model more than 40 years ago.
The level of use of reusable, recyclable or compostable materials in the packaging in 2024 was 84.6%, taking into account the consolidation of the Natura and Avon brands in Latin America, a little below the 2023 level which stood at 87.8%. For the Natura brand, this indicator was registered at 84.1% and 85.7% for Avon, in 2024.
Our consolidated post-consumption recycled plastic index for Latin America is 18.2%.
The reusable, recyclable or compostable materials indicator was 84.6%.
We have an environmental calculator involved in our packaging strategy, allowing us to prevent and measure the impact of different materials and design options. We perform periodic detailed diagnoses of the packaging portfolio to identify those products with a higher environmental impact and define mitigation strategies. This analysis includes the composition of the materials and the possibility of substituting them with alternatives with less impact, size improvements to reduce the consumption of resources, and compatibility with current recycling systems.
In those cases where technical or safety restrictions prevent the use of recycled materials, we evaluate the use of alternatives from renewable sources, such as Green Polyethylene.
In the MRPC index, the Avon brand achieved a percentage of 2.4%, For the Natura brand products, we achieved 12.5%. The consolidated figure for Latin America came in at 9.5%.
SASB CG-HP-410a.1, GRI 301-2
Circular economy and innovation
In 2024, we took important steps forward in the management of the circular economy with the increased incorporation of recycled materials in our portfolio. This has allowed us to not only reduce our dependence on virgin resources, but also strengthen the local recycling chains and generate a positive social environmental impact.
We monitor the volumes of waste recovered in all the countries in which we operate, so that the materials will be included in new product and packaging manufacturing processes.
In 2024, Argentina saw the beginning of the local production of the Tododia line of body creams, using recycled PET which is collected entirely in the country, thus ensuring standards of manufacturing quality that the brand already offers in Brazil. In the first stage, it was possible to recover 90 tons of plastic.
In Peru, Natura forms part of the Recicla+ program, that involves 11 cities. Natura plays an active role in the Resimple initiative, in Chile, and the Visão 3030 initiative, in Colombia. In the latter, the collection targets were surpassed in 2023 and 2024. In Mexico, where there are no formal cooperatives, the operations are performed by individual collectors.
GRI 413-1
Natura Elos
GRI 301-3, 308-1
Since 2017, the Natura Elos Program has promoted a network of shared responsibility that unites the company, cooperatives, recyclers and manufacturers in a commitment to reverse logistics and the recycling chain. More than simply a link between these fronts, the initiative ensures the traceability of the recyclable materials, monitoring their journey, from collection to transformation into new packaging.
Our focus is on ensuring a sustainable ecosystem for the supply of post-consumer recycled material.
The activities involved in Natura Elos include:
- support for the training of suppliers, for professionalism and leadership throughout the chain with a view to fulfilling high standards of compliance and good practices;
- development of waste collection cooperatives; and appreciation and recognition of the service that these workers provide for society.
In 2024, we invested R$ 633,000 in directly supporting Elos, and R$ 381,000 in indirect support.
As part of the program, we perform audits on our suppliers to check compliance with the requirements relating to organizational management, social and environmental responsibility, transparency in the management of resources, respect for human rights, safety conditions in the operation of machinery, environmental legislation, and health, safety and comfort in the workplace.
The program is concentrated mainly in Brazil and Mexico, but cooperatives in all the countries in Latin America are subjected to audits to ensure proper work, administrative and environmental practices. It is important to stress that, in Mexico, there are no cooperatives, with individual urban waste collectors performing the work.
GRI 413-1
In 2024, we invested BRL 1,014,173 in Elos, with R$ 633,094 going towards direct support and R$ 381,079 to indirect support.
The direct investments focused on the reconstruction of cooperatives affected by fires, the respectable inclusion of individual waste collectors in the production chain, and the structural improvement of the units to increase productivity. In addition to this, financial incentive mechanisms were implemented to improve the screening and professionalization of the PET chain.
The indirect funds were directed to strategic consulting firms, partnerships with startups, and initiatives aimed at increasing the circularity of the plastic. We encouraged cooperatives to register in fund raising call notices, contracted a healthcare benefits platform for the waste collectors, and enabled investments in Sitawi’s Rios Vivos (Live Rivers) Fund, which is focused on the development of post-consumption sustainable chains in the Amazon region.
In 2024, 56 supplier cooperative participated, involving 2,567 waste collectors in the projects, and we recovered 15,385 tons of post-consumer packaging material at Natura and Avon
GRI 203-1, 301-3
Rios Vivos
We have continued with a special initiative in the Amazon region, as part of the Natura Elos Program, called the ‘Rios Vivos’ project. Through this initiative, we work to mobilize river-dwelling communities in the states of Amazonas and Pará to collect plastic waste in the forest, communities and urban districts on the banks of the rivers in the region.
The majority of plastic that is in the oceans is currently transported there by rivers. In South America, the Amazon river basin is the main path taken by these materials on their journey to the sea.
The Rios Vivos project is aimed at reducing this pollution and generating a positive impact for those participating in the initiative, combining environmental and socioeconomic aspects: ten river dwelling communities and four cooperatives in the region have been mobilized in three municipalities in the Amazon region, impacting more than 550 families. In 2024, we launched the Ekos Ryos line, with Ryo Vivo and Ryo Chuva products. This innovation is connected to the Rios Vivos initiative through the bottle caps, which are made from 100% recycled materials, collected from the rivers of the Amazon region and their neighboring lands.
Benevides Recicla
A new partnership between Natura, the Municipal Government of Benevides in the Brazilian state of Pará and the Espaço Urbano NGO, led to the creation of ‘Benevides Recycles’, a reverse logistics program focused on recyclable materials. The initiative, launched in 2024, aims to increase the quantity and quality of the waste sent for recycling in the municipality, whilst at the same time boosting the creation of revenue based upon these materials.
The waste from Natura’s Ecoparque is being donated to cooperatives. Furthermore, awareness-raising actions are undertaken aimed at mobilizing the public to dispose of waste properly. As part of this process, we offered support for the structuring of selective waste collection, and provided training for the waste collectors and cooperative in the municipality,
meaning they are now able to receive the items collected in the correct manner.
The intention is to strengthen the role of the local cooperative as a supplier of recycled materials within the Natura value chain.
To boost environmental education and engage the public in the separation of recyclable waste, the Benevides Recycles program transforms these materials into Humanitarian Tokens. These can be exchanged for food, hygiene products or clothes, or cultural, tourist or sports products.
Recycle with Natura
In 2024, we continued with the Recicle com a Natura (Recycle with Natura) reverse logistics program. This initiative establishes collection points at which our consumers can dispose of the packaging used in our products. All of our stores in Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Chile and Colombia have collection points and encourage our customers to deposit their waste there. We also have awareness-raising projects for consumers and consultants. The recycling initiatives in Mexico involve 2,675 people, including consultants, customers and employees, collecting more than 180 tons of materials and more than 40,000 packages. The materials collected are sent for recycling or some other form of proper disposal, meaning therefore that the packaging is not sent to landfills.
Coffee capsules transformed into sustainable cosmetics packaging
Natura, by means of the Natura Ekos line of products, has partnered with Nespresso to develop a circularity initiative. 10% of the aluminum in the packaging of the Ekos Brazil Nut hand moisturizing cream is extracted from recycled coffee capsules.
Based upon this partnership between two B Corp companies, which aims to have a positive impact, the Ekos Brazil Nut tubes are to be 100% manufactured from recycled aluminum, with 10% of the metal coming from the Nespresso capsules. This initiative means the recycling of more than two tons of capsules each year.
The partnership has also led to the opening of 34 Nespresso boutiques around Brazil for the collection and proper disposal of the Natura Ekos products that use aluminum packaging.
