Consumers are likely to drive sustainability further. Global research firm Innova Market Insights named “Shared Planet” as its top trend for 2022, noting a significant shift among global consumers, who now express more concern for the health of the planet than for their own personal health, and say they want to play a role in shaping a more sustainable and prosperous future. Innova analysts suggest that for brands this means stepping up their sustainability efforts to address an increasingly educated and interconnect consumer base.
The idea of sustainability is relatively simple. The concept as we know it today was first broadly defined in 1987 as a way for societies to live and meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. More recently, sustainability in the context of business is further explained with three pillars of corporate responsibility—profit, people and planet. The profit, or economic pillar, ensures a company has the financial resources and profitability to stay in business, while accounting for its social and ecological impacts; the social pillar requires support of the people (employees, stakeholders and communities) a company uses throughout its operations, addressing equity, equality and human rights; and the environmental pillar guides protection and replenishment of the planet’s natural resources, maintaining biodiversity and the natural environment.
All these elements are connected and increasingly important in today’s global supplement business. Dominik Mattern, VP of marketing for Kappa Biosciences in Oslo, Norway, explains it this way: “Sustainability is relevant in any business context, as all supply chains start somewhere in nature. The natural capital builds the core of life and provides the success factors for other forms of capital, like the human and social capital. These in return feed on the manufactured and financial capital. Our society and economic system have been built on an irreplaceable capital of nature that man has not made, but simply found. All is intertwined: The health of the planet cannot be separated from the health of humans.”
“Sustainability is relevant in any business context, as all supply chains start somewhere in nature.
For many nutraceutical companies, sustainability is embedded in their business as a cornerstone to the idea of wellness. “Whether you are concerned about climate change or biodiversity or any number of other links between personal and planetary wellness, sustainability of our supply chain is paramount to achieving any semblance of deeper wellness,” said Greg Cumberford, VP of science and regulatory at UK-based Natures Crops International.
“We know we cannot promote the health of our customers, and, at the same time, ruin the health of producers and of the environment,” said Loan Bensadon, co-CEO and innovation at Baia, in Madrid. “It’s not possible anymore, and we need to take responsibility for how we do business.”
As economies and governments shift toward greener ecosystems that support communities and regenerate resources, sustainability for supplement companies is now seen as a growing mandate with considerable upside. “Sustainability in business isn’t just good for the environment or society at large, it’s good for business itself, as it reduces business costs, adds on with more innovative strategies, improves reputation and brings new customers who value sustainability and a greener environment,” said Benny Antony, PhD, joint managing director of Arjuna Natural, headquartered in Kerala, India. Companies that become aware of their links to communities where they operate and their impact on the environment will likely prosper in the long run, agreed Doron Safrai, CEO of Paris-based Solabia-Algatech Nutrition. “Therefore, all manufacturers, including those in the nutritional supplements industry, need to ensure sustainability throughout their entire supply chain if they want to thrive in the future.”