
Many ingredients that are essential for the production of cosmetic products – such as emulsifiers and surfactants – are extracted from mineral or vegetable oils, e.g. palm (kernel) oil. As a global skin care company we do not purchase palm (kernel) oil directly but use derivatives (further processed substances based on palm (kernel) oil). Our annual requirement is around 38,000 tonnes, equivalent to 0.05% of the annual global production of palm (kernel) oil (source: United States Department of Agriculture 2022). To conserve scarce resources and minimize the environmental impact of our products, we work closely with our partners along the supply chain to promote a sustainable palm oil economy.
When sustainably cultivated, oil palms are ecologically very efficient plants that allow maximum oil production on a comparatively small area of cultivated land. At Beiersdorf we actively support a sustainable palm (kernel) oil economy that does not lead to the deforestation of rainforests, i.e. primary or secondary forests. Since the end of 2020 we only use palm (kernel) oil from sustainably certified sources in all our products worldwide.