Season 5, Episode 167 : How Plantopia are Creating Positive Change for People and Planet

Will Richardson 00:05
Hi, and welcome to the Sustainable Business Podcast. I'm Will Richardson. We always look to showcase companies and brands at the cutting edge of sustainability, and finding new ways to improve their impact on the environment. Today, I'm joined by Victoria Cushing, Product Director at KMI brands, whose cosmetics brands Plantopia, in the pursuit of a sustainable production process, have completed a comprehensive lifecycle assessment, and was founded as a brand both the people and the planets. Thank you for joining me on the podcast today. Victoria.

Victoria Cushing 00:40
Thank you for having me.

Will Richardson 00:42
I'm really excited about talking to you today, because of the work that you guys do, and the way that you complete it as well. I've heard such positive things from the team. So first and foremost, can you tell us a bit more about Plantopia and where the idea for a sustainable cosmetics brand came from?

Victoria Cushing 01:02
We actually started working on Plantopia back in 2019. And it all came from the actual name of the brand Plantopia. And we wanted to create a wellness brand, but not only wellness for people, but also for the planet. And it was really important for us that we were looking to be planet positive for planet and people. It's taken us four years to launch the brand. And that's because we had to look at so many different options when we were looking at obviously the planet side of things, and had to really make decisions along the way that resonated with what we were trying to achieve. So we were going to be one of the forefront of the wellness brands that were coming out. But actually, because we had so many strong views of what we wanted to achieve along the way, it's taken us much longer than than we all anticipated. But we're all really proud of what we've achieved. And the launch that we have just done.

Will Richardson 02:17
I would imagine you're in a much stronger place than you would have been otherwise, though.

Victoria Cushing 02:22
Yeah, I think so. You know, within the beauty industry. Sustainability is such a big word now, and it's always been at KMI something that we have been doing in the background. But measurability is the key within the the sector at the moment, and we didn't have that within what we were doing. So that has been at the forefront really of everything that we have been putting together.

Will Richardson 02:53
What about your 5/4 Focus.

02:56
So this was really what is at the heart of our brand. And it really sets out the key focus areas within our people on planet manifesto. It describes our sustainability agenda, ambitions, and commitments, in line with the UN sustainability development goals. It was created in response to the people and planet challenges impacting the world we live in at the moment. And we broke it down into five different sections: people, so enabling and empowering every person touched by our products, practices, and advice through the whole value chain ecosystems, which is a big area that we wanted to concentrate on, so preserve and regenerate. And we actually became a member of the UEBT, Union of Ethical Bio Trade, to ensure that from the very beginning, we had traceability of our raw ingredients, and that we understood our whole supply chain. And it's really a commitment to conservation and rennet regeneration planet, which is the four R's. Reduce, remediate the harm that is being inflicted on the environment. So concentrating on remove, reuse, recycle and reduce. And I think that is where everybody is talking about plastic what is right to use, what's not right to use, what material is it good, is it bad, etc. And I think the lifecycle analysis was really an eye opener when we looked into that. Social: fair and equal responsibility for everyone in the value chain to minimise the harm and create positive benefit for the lives that we touch. And then lastly, Community: so we wanted to partner with different companies evoking a connection and support to everyone the brand touches. So that's basically our five four focus

Will Richardson 04:59
Brilliant. And it's so comprehensive. I mean, was it something that you had learned about and then tweaked yourselves? Or did you come up with the whole thing yourselves? And how did how did it happen?

Victoria Cushing 05:12
So, I think there's a lot that's going on, within cameye, but also a lot within the industry at the moment. So we are on our B Corp journey. So we have just submitted our assessment. And, you know, this covers a lot of the people and planet doing better for people and planet. We also working with key suppliers, looking at what's happening within the industry, I think it was, you know, a real amalgamation of everything. And also what was, you know, at the heart of all of us and what we wanted to achieve. You know, we've got some very passionate women and men working on this brand, who have great knowledge in some of these areas. And it was just bringing that all together. And one of the things as I said, measurability was key for all of it. And so we set out our goals that we wanted to achieve. And we've put ambitions in for what we want to achieve by 2025. And what we want to achieve by 2030. And transparency throughout is key. We're not saying that we've got all the answers. We're not saying that we can do it all. But I think it's really important to customers. And we actually spoke to over 1000 customers and did a survey to find out what was important to them, and what mattered to them. And also included that within our manifesto, and then published it. I mean, it took a long time to bring it all together. But as we said, we thought it was really important from the outset, when we launched the brand, to tell people what we believed in, what we wanted to achieve, and how we were going to achieve it.

Will Richardson 07:03
Wow, it's so comprehensive. And which leads me quite nicely on to... you did a full lifecycle assessment for Plantsopia. How did you find that process?

Victoria Cushing 07:15
Really interesting, I have to say, I mean, Green Element were fantastic, because this is not something that we had done before. And it's really fairly new to the beauty industry. So having the support of Green Element and taking us through all the different steps explaining it all really made the whole process actually quite easy. I don't think... we wouldn't have been able to do it without your support. But it really was quite an easy process in the end.

Will Richardson 07:48
Brilliant. Were there any obstacles that you perhaps weren't expecting?

Victoria Cushing 07:54
I think the biggest obstacle for us was getting the data. So there was some of our suppliers who had all the data and it was there. But others that just wasn't set up for it and hadn't calculated like this before, and wasn't used to supplying that sort of data. I think it's a real educating journey. And they were all really supportive. So, and we've got really great partnerships with all of our suppliers. But it was, it was fine if it was at that tier one level. But when we were looking at raw ingredients, for example, you know, trying to get that data on raw ingredients suppliers is really difficult. And we've got over 122 raw ingredients within our products. So it's getting that data, I think was was the hardest thing for us. And I think will continue to be so

Will Richardson 09:00
Yeah, it's a fairly common theme that it's, it's a lot better than it ever used to be. And I think it's getting better and better. And because I think people are much more used to holding the data and keeping track of invoices and supply chain, etc. And I think we as you know, organisations are just becoming better at managing it because we're asking for more information in order to reduce it really.

Victoria Cushing 09:28
Yeah, and it's it's really interesting from doing this. And obviously we've done a lifecycle analysis on plant over in this particular product, but we've also done our carbon emissions as well for the whole business. And I think one of the key learnings for us is to educate our suppliers from the very beginning on what we would need from them going forward in order to ensure that we're keeping up with this and so that we can obviously trace it going forward and they know from the beginning what they need to monitor for us..

Will Richardson 10:06
With a project such as this, it must have required a full team effort. Was it a challenge to get everyone thinking about sustainability at all stages?

Victoria Cushing 10:18
I think, as I said, from KMI's point of view, we've always had it as a key thing within the business. I think it was difficult to bring people back, obviously, it's, it's a real balance, isn't it to look at sustainability, commerciality and what the customer actually wants? Because if you actually speak to the customer, that still sustainability is, yes, it's important to them, but it's still not as important as the performance of the product, the ease of use of the product, etc. So I think it's that debate and within unhealthy debate within the team that I think really works, and making sure that there is that real ambassador that will bring people back and challenge people to think a little differently, which is my role.

Will Richardson 11:17
Hard. I can imagine really hard...

Victoria Cushing 11:22
It is hard. But I think as long as you set out all the rationale behind what you're challenging on, people do really listen and understand. And I think it's it's about that education, isn't it making people understand the differences between the different options that you're presenting to them?

Will Richardson 11:46
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And did you find this process added to your costs?

Victoria Cushing 11:52
Yes. I'm not gonna lie about it. It did. Yeah, absolutely. But it was, it was something that we had always set out to do. Throughout, it has added to our costs, all the decisions that we've made from using 100%, PCR, to collecting the same amount of waste out of the oceans, that we have plastic out of the oceans, all of it has added to our costs. But I think it's about looking at it differently, though. And we, as I say, have got brilliant relationships with our suppliers. And it's about everybody taking responsibility, everybody taking a bit of a piece of that cost, so that we can all actually get to the end goals that we want, which ultimately, is to be part of the UN sustainability development goals and make them happen.

Will Richardson 12:48
But ultimately, do you believe the end results meant overcoming these challenges was worth it?

Victoria Cushing 12:54
Yeah, absolutely. I think it's given us a really great understanding of the focus areas that we need to work on in the future. And actually, we've already made the changes within the supply chain, which result in efficiencies, which then obviously, results in cost savings. So although it's added an upfront cost, by understanding the supply chain more, by understanding what efficiencies can be made, ultimately, in the long run, it will therefore make cost savings across the board. And I think that's what people have to to look at.

Will Richardson 13:37
Do you have plans to launch similar lifecycle assessments for your other brands?

13:41
Yes. So within our five four focus, and our manifesto, we've actually committed to doing lifecycle analysis on all the Plantopia products by the end of 2030. So we will be continuing to do that and rolling that out. And then we will be looking to do it on our top skews, so that we can understand where we are with with those products as well and start looking at efficiencies there as well and reducing our carbon footprint there.

Will Richardson 14:17
And then one last question, what piece of advice would you offer to any other brands or businesses looking to improve the sustainability of their production process?

Victoria Cushing 14:28
So I would say the key thing is to understand your baseline - to really get to know the supply chain, know where those real hotspots are, so that you can put in place goals and put in those measurable goals so that you can make the improvements. I would say all of us don't have the answers. And I think that's really important for people to not feel overwhelmed by it. You know, you can set goals out and along the line, be open and transparent to say we haven't met these goals for such and such a reason. But by setting those goals and setting those ambitions, it's it's working towards all of us doing better for people and planet.

Will Richardson 15:20
Thank you very much for joining me, Victoria, and all the best for the future of Plantopia.

Victoria Cushing 15:25
Thank you very much for having me. And thank you so much for all your support at Green Element.

Will Richardson 15:30
That's it for this edition of the Sustainable Business Podcast. If you'd like to learn more about Plantopia and their journey, you can find a link to their site in the show notes. There's a link to Green Element's page there as well. And if you want to feedback or if you have any questions, feel free to DM us at Green Element through LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Will Richardson from Green Element and don't forget to rate and subscribe the podcast so you don't miss an episode. And we'll be back next month. Until then, take care.