As Earth Day is approaching, Watsons, the flagship health and beauty brand of AS Watson Group, is strengthening its sustainability commitment by increasing the number of Sustainable Choices products to 8,000 and pledging to offset over 2,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions, as part of its mission to provide more sustainable options for everyone, everywhere.
Malina Ngai, CEO of AS Watson (Asia & Europe) says, “Fighting against climate change is pressing priority for all of us today. As a leading health and beauty retailer, together with our customers, we are a massive force for good and play a significant role in making an impactful change to our planet. Watsons is now accelerating its efforts in tackling environmental challenges and investing in nature-based solutions and carbon compensation projects.”
Making Sustainable Choices Easy
Sustainable Choices is a scheme which empowers customers to make behavioural changes towards sustainable lifestyle. Products that qualify as Sustainable Choices must meet specific criteria, such as being made with better ingredients or materials, using better packaging, offering refill packs, featuring reusable or replaceable components promoting less waste. Making it easier for customers to find these products which are good for the environment, Watsons is now offering over 8,000 Sustainable Choices products globally, ranging from skincare to shampoo, both in stores and online.
Teaming up with ClimatePartner, Watsons will launch a carbon compensation project in July that will offset carbon emissions from seven Sustainable Choices products. The carbon emissions of these product have already been measured by calculating the emissions from cradle-to-customer plus end-of-life, and then the remaining emissions will be offset through a nature-based project independently verified for its social and environmental impacts by TÜV Austria, an internationally recognised specialist in environmental auditing.
The seven Sustainable Choices products are:
• Naturals by Watsons Coffee Exfoliating Soap
• Naturals by Watsons Aloe Vera Shampoo
• Watsons Antibacterial Cleansing Wipes
• Watsons Bamboo Toothbrush
• Watsons Fruity Mask
• Watsons Bamboo Paper
• Imew 04 Centalla Asiatica Booster
Customers will be able to identify the carbon compensated products by the ClimatePartner Certified Labels with a QR code to know more about the carbon compensation project supported.
Going Beyond our Climate Change Commitments
As part of the carbon compensation project to fight climate change, Watsons is supporting ClimatePartner’s Forest Protection initiatives in Rimba Raya, Indonesia. Through reforestation in degraded areas, the forest is restored, carbon stocks are increased, and the overall health of ecosystem is promoted. In addition, the natural habitat of endangered Bornean orangutans is preserved as the Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve is home to a wide variety of animal and plant species.
This carbon compensation project is AS Watson’s sustainability commitment on top of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction which has already been vetted and validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative(SBTi).
AS Watson’s GHG emission reduction targets include:
• Reducing Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50.4% by 2030 from a 2018 base year
• Reducing Scope 3 GHG Emissions from purchased goods and services, upstream transportation and distribution, and use of sold products by 58% per Hong Kong dollar value added by 2030 from a 2018 base year
• Pledging that 33% of its suppliers by emissions covering purchased goods and services, upstream transportation and distribution will have science-based targets (SBTs) by 2027
Malina concludes, “Watsons understands that its responsibility goes beyond being a health and beauty retailer. We’re dedicated to setting an example in fighting against climate change.”
“Everyone plays a crucial role in making a meaningful difference, and together we can make a big impact. By embracing our social purpose of ‘Look Good. Do Good. Feel Great.’, Watsons will continue to inspire our customers to join us in our journey towards a greener, more sustainable future.”
