Beiersdorf Ramps up Climate Action on Product Level: Successful Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Aerosol Segment

• Successful cooperation with Salford Valve Company Ltd. (Salvalco) and Nussbaum Matzingen AG puts Beiersdorf in a leading position within the industry
• More climate-friendly aerosol valve system implemented with new NIVEA ECODEO
• Beiersdorf’s first 100% recycled aluminum cans that integrate light-weighting are coming to market with a range of NIVEA MEN Deo and Shaving products

Hamburg, December 1, 2021 – Beiersdorf keeps delivering towards its CARE BEYOND SKIN Sustainability Agenda, fostering a circular economy and a climate-positive future. Together with Salford Valve Company Ltd. (Salvalco) and Nussbaum Matzingen AG, the skin care company is now bringing innovative and more sustainable solutions for a range of its aerosol products. The outcome of the two collaborations are supporting the significant reduction of the products’ environmental footprint. “We are delighted and proud to work with such incredible partners to accelerate the transformation of our company towards a climate-positive future. With these kinds of partnerships, we can take serious steps on our sustainability journey,” states Jean-François Pascal, Vice President Corporate Sustainability at Beiersdorf.

Beiersdorf is now rolling out a climate-friendlier aerosol valve system for its NIVEA ECODEO product line as well as a range of 100% recycled aluminum cans. Part of the NIVEA MEN deodorants and most of the NIVEA MEN shaving gels will be available in this climate-friendlier packaging on the European market. 

NIVEA has just started to put the first deodorants on shelf featuring Salvalco’s innovative Eco-Valve technology. Eco-Valve utilizes eco-friendlier, inert gases, such as nitrogen as propellant in aerosol sprays. This brings about a higher yield per can, resulting in a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions – while delivering an excellent spray quality.

Developed and patented by Salvalco, Eco-Valve offers a more climate-friendly alternative to aerosols with conventional hydrocarbon propellants. Advancing the aerosol industry, the UK-based engineering company develops innovative aerosol valve systems and provides them to customers around the world. As a result of a strong collaboration following the venture capital investment by OSCAR&PAUL Beiersdorf Venture Capital in 2020, NIVEA is the first global brand to use this patented, climate-friendlier aerosol valve – taking the lead in its industry.

“I am very pleased to report that we have made significant progress on our sustainability journey in the past months. We share the vision of a climate-positive future with our partners at Salvalco and are excited to deliver now more climate-friendly aerosol products to our consumers,” says Michael Becker, Head of Global Packaging R&D at Beiersdorf.

Peter Shaw, Managing Director of Salvalco, adds: “Our Eco-Valve technology allows brands, such as NIVEA, to meet increasing consumer demand for more sustainable aerosol solutions supporting a climate-friendlier lifestyle. We are delighted to see that an iconic global brand such as NIVEA is leading the way with our technology.”

Since May 2021, Beiersdorf and Nussbaum Matzingen AG have been partnering on the idea of producing aerosol cans made entirely from recycled aluminum. The Swiss packaging specialist has been working intensively with Beiersdorf and managed to become the key supplier of 100% recycled aluminum cans. The product packaging is combining 100% recycled aluminum with light-weighting and is now available in Germany. It will be rolled out to other European markets in 2022.

Markus Tomasini, CTO of the Nussbaum Group explains: “We have achieved a 100% replacement of the primary aluminum by using drink can scrap as starting material for the aerosol cans. Tool and process innovation were the key to being able to process the high alloy content in the post-consumer-recycled material.“

Both NIVEA MEN deodorant sprays as well as NIVEA MEN Shaving Gels come in aluminum cans. Compared to the former deodorant aluminum cans, the new ones deliver a 28% decrease in CO₂ emissions – without any losses in quality. For the shaving gel aluminum cans, the CO₂ emissions could be reduced by even 35%. Recycled aluminum requires about 95% less energy in the production process.

To deliver on its commitment to sustainability, Beiersdorf is taking substantial measures across all areas of the business. Taking action to tackle the global climate crisis and bring about a positive change is a central element of the company’s CARE BEYOND SKIN Sustainability Agenda. Its climate target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions along the entire value chain by 30% in absolute terms until 2025 (vs. 2018) is among the most ambitious of the industry and in-line with the Paris Agreement and the 1.5 °C scenario. Approved by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi), the climate target includes not only scope 1 and 2 emissions, but also scope 3 emissions that are caused in the value chain, e.g. by suppliers of formula ingredients and packaging materials.

Besides the NIVEA ECODEO and the implementation of 100% recycled aluminum cans as the most recent achievements, more products with a reduced CO₂-footprint have been launched to market during 2021, contributing to Beiersdorf’s sustainability progress: e.g. NIVEA WonderBAR as a plastic-free and solid face cleansing product or NIVEA EcoRefill Caring Foam Soap introducing a new system of refill tabs that by adding water, dissolve and turn into a liquid hand-soap formula, accompanied by a refillable and re-usable bottle.