The winners of the 2016 Sustainable Beauty Awards were announced at a dedicated reception earlier this week in Paris. The awards give recognition to organisations pushing the boundaries of sustainability in the beauty industry.

As in previous years, the awards received about 100 entries from across the globe. The winners and runner-ups were selected by a jury comprising an ethical brand, ingredient firm, retailer, industry organisation, media, and research agency.

Green Formulations
Weleda is winner with its Evening Primrose Body and Face Care range. The Natrue- certified range is designed for mature skin, having anti-ageing qualities.

The Australian company Synthesis Organics is runner-up with its premium range of organic skin care products. The products are made from locally grown certified organic ingredients. Other finalists were Esse Probiotic Skincare and Urtekram with its coconut range.

Sustainable Packaging
The Brazilian cosmetics company Boticario Group is the winner for shifting over 70% of its Cuide-Se Bem range to green polyethylene packaging. The move is saving over 90 tons of plastics, avoiding more than 3,000 tons of carbon emissions per year.

Speick Naturkosmetik is the runner-up. The German brand has started using bio-plastic packaging for its Speick 3.0 Organic shower gels. Finalists in this award category were Humble Products and Pierre Cattier.

Sustainable Ingredient
The L’Oreal Group is the winner with Quinoa Husk. The cosmetics multinational has partnered with Bolivian growers for the sustainable sourcing of quinoa husk, which is used as an exfoliating ingredient in skin care products.

TRI-K Industries with Baobab Tein NPNF® is runner-up. Derived from African trees, the multi-functional active material is used in skin care and hair care applications. Other finalists in this category were Croda International with MajestemTM and IBR Ltd with IBR-CalmDeAge® 1201.

Sustainability Pioneer
The Philippine company Human Nature (Gandang Kalikasan) is the winner for social entrepreneurship. The company is creating natural cosmetics from locally sourced ingredients, creating employment for impoverished communities.

Weleda is runner-up for its ‘Diversity wins!’ programme, giving employment to refugees coming into Europe. Éminence Organic Skin Care and Givaudan were finalists in this category.

Sustainability Leadership
Weleda is winner with its range of sustainability initiatives, ranging from ethical sourcing of ingredients, green formulations, packaging initiatives to social responsibility.

Croda International is runner-up for its sustainability actions. The speciality chemicals company has invested considerably in the sustainability and renewability of its raw materials. Other finalists were Boticario Group and Esse Skincare.