Paris, May 24, 2021

Takasago,
Nature at Heart since 1920

NATURAL BEAUTY

A revolution is under way. A green revolution, both intimate and universal, infusing discourses and practices.
The beauty industry takes full part in this change by constantly redefining its values in response to a clientele whose knowledge and demands have radically evolved, up to a certain skepticism. A return to our roots and a cause for hope, nature crystallizes contemporary aspirations to purity, well-being and the respect of the world that surrounds us. In their quest for a new form of legitimacy, the evolving contours of this notion trace the future of perfumery and of beauty.

A RADICAL, MILITANT NATURE

An ever-increasing demand for natural, clean beauty has moved established brands to reconsider their catalogue as well as their storytelling and allowed the emergence of new players and new products as tomorrow’s potential market leaders. Within this sensibility, the consumers’ approach tends towards a certain minimalism, focusing on compositions with high-quality, short formulas, that symbolize a return to basics. In the interest of transparency, brands, long accused of remaining vague about their compositions, have started opening their formulas and communicating on the utility, origin, and impact of each ingredient. In this uncompromising quest for nature, the proportion of natural ingredients has increased dramatically, sometimes making up 100% of the formula. The sourcing and traceability of ingredients have also become powerful levers for these companies. In addition, the rarity and purity of a material and its certified provenance bring high added value for the consumer.

NATURE AND SCIENCE, THE EQUATION OF THE FUTURE

Indeed, why choose? Far from being opposites, the two fields are closely connected. Scientific research demonstrates the power and potency of natural extracts and helps counter the idea that their efficacy is lesser than synthetics’. Conversely, some innovative young brands have chosen to bank on synthetics in response to the allergenic character of numerous natural materials, putting forward pure components that are often little known by the public, adapted to the most sensitive skins. In fine fragrance, synthetic materials, feats of human creativity, played their part in the heyday of modern perfumery and are now increasingly showcased by brands. An approach that often requires educating the consumer, and that stems from a genuine commitment to limiting the consumption of natural resources. Science, whose limits are constantly pushed back, is therefore in the service of nature, and green tech (headspace, green chemistry based on renewable natural resources, biotechnology) is a powerful means to preserve it.

TAKASAGO, 100 YEARS OF EXPERTISE IN TERPENE CHEMISTRY AND GREEN CHEMISTRY

1954: First biobased ingredients derived from natural ingredients
(L-Menthol from D-Citronellal drawn from lemongrass oil)
1983: First biobased ingredients derived from natural ingredients
(L-Menthol from myrcene drawn from pine)
2001: Nobel Prize for chiral chemistry awarded to Professor Ryoji Noyori
2014: First composition house to publish the biobased index of its ingredients
2016: First composition house to obtain Ecocert approval for its sourcing assessment tool, called “ Takasource ”, based on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)
2019: RSPO-MB certification for our 2 production centers, acknowledging our efforts to fight against deforestation in South Asia. Four other production sites should be added in 2021
2020: Ecocert Platinum certification rewarding the efforts of the European subsidiary, which positions us in the top 1% of the highest-performing companies in matters of CSR, thanks to our considering environmental, social, economic, and ethical stakes across our operations
2020: First composition house to obtain the USDA’s (United States Department of Agriculture) BioPreferred certification for the ingredients L-Menthol, Biocyclamol® and Biomuget® These milestones demonstrate Takasago’s long-term commitment and our capacity to reinvent the future of sustainable perfumery every day

OUR COMMITMENTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

2010-2020

• -36% CO2 emission
• -22% water consumption
• -21% waste generation
• 100% renewable energy used on our European production site and creation center since 2019
• 100% of our World production sites certified ISO14001 since 2011 and members of SEDEX
• 98% of our waste recycled on European production site

AND WE ARE CONTINUING OUR EFFORTS VIA OUR SUSTAINABILITY 2030 PROGRAM 2020-2030

• -27.5% carbon emission 2030 vs 2019 SBT
• -10% water consumption 2030 vs 2020
• -5% waste generation 2030 vs 2020
• 30% minimum renewable electricity used on all our production sites by 2030
• 100% of our World production sites certified ISO45001 in 2021

AKASAGO HAS SET UP TWO UNIQUE PROGRAMS FOR RESPONSIBLE SOURCING

INTERNAL: “TASUKI”

With the direct presence of Takasago at source via upstream integration in strategic raw materials supply chains. This organization aims to achieve four main objectives. Ensuring continuity in procurement, quality, and prices. Supporting local communities and their environment through associated programs. Enhancing traceability and compliance with CSR. And sharing our actions and progress transparently. This is what we have been doing in Indonesia for the past 40 years, in Madagascar for the past 10 years, and since last year in Provence.

EXTERNAL: “TAKASOURCE”

Takasource is an assessment tool for sourcing our natural raw materials. Takasago was the first composition house to gain Ecocert certification for its sourcing assessment methodology in 2016. This tool is an evaluation matrix founded on the pillars of sustainable development: Environmental, Social, and Economic.
This matrix allows us to study over 500 sources and some 60 suppliers, enabling us to constantly improve the traceability of our products and to define the level of sustainability of our naturals. Thanks to this, we can showcase exceptional sources such as the Australian sandalwood essential oil that allows Aboriginal populations to make a better living from their crop, harvested from 13,000 acres and 9 million trees.

TAKASAGO AND RESPONSIBLE CREATION

While our priority is to improve the responsible sourcing of our natural ingredients, new solutions are found to minimize our environmental impact. We must therefore find alternative, sustainably managed resources, drawn from pine and used, for instance, to produce menthol. Therefore, in March 2020, Takasago acquired a stake in Lawter B.V., specialized in pine-based products. Science plays a crucial role in our approach to sustainability, helping us find more sustainable alternatives without exhausting our natural resources.

As a responsible composition house, today Takasago meets all the criteria of green beauty in the service of creation.

A PALETTE OF SUSTAINABLE INGREDIENTS

• This palette is made up of natural raw materials, from essential oils to certified “ organic ” natural ingredients that promote the preservation of biodiversity, and ingredients labeled For Life, Fair for Life, which certify responsible production and manufacturing, ensuring fair and equitable payment, and preserving biodiversity.
• Natural ingredients are upcycled to reuse ingredients (byproducts of the wood, paper, fruit juice industries, etc.) to give them a new life.
• A very wide palette of synthetic ingredients is biobased, made from sustainable natural resources and constituted from a minimum 50% natural carbon such as pine derivatives.
• Biotech ingredients are raw materials produced through micro biosynthesis. Micro-organisms synthesize aromatic raw materials out of plentiful natural raw materials such as cane sugar.
• Synthesized ingredients of exceptional quality are obtained through chiral science, rewarded by a Nobel Prize in 2001. The production processes for these chiral materials are practically waste-free, with a reduced consumption of resources and an olfactory impact far superior to their non-chiral equivalents.
• Bioswitch ingredients with a reduced carbon footprint compared to raw materials drawn from fossil resources, minimize impact on nature and the environment.

SUSTAINABLE FORMULATION

• By using formulas that are identical copies of raw materials present in nature (headspace) which contributes to preserving natural resources.
• By favoring short formulas with few ingredients for a less energy-intensive production.
• By creating biodegradable formulas, which consist in using raw materials with a high biodegradation rate, allowing us to reduce our impact on the environment.
• By producing RSPO-MB certified formulas, guaranteeing the use of sustainable palm oil derivatives, environmentally friendly and banning deforestation.
• By communicating in a transparent manner on the ingredients that compose our formulas.