MILAN (ITALPRESS) – Bottega Verde publishes its Sustainability Report 2023. The document is the result of a shared corporate culture and a structured approach to sustainability, which defines the priority areas of action and the integration of different strategic factors through concrete and measurable activities.One of Bottega Verde’s relevant milestones is to have become a Carbon Neutral Company on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in 2023, an achievement 2 years ahead of expectations and with an overall carbon footprint reduced by 4 percent in 2023. The figure highlights not only the zeroing of emissions related to energy use through the purchase of certified renewable energy, but also, as a result of a major investment in photovoltaics, a 19% increase in self-generation of green energy. Other decisive interventions in the achievement of Carbon Neutrality were those aimed at increasing the efficiency of the 364-store network, contributing to record -13% in total energy consumption between headquarters, factories and owned stores compared to 2022.Another decisive project in the path of sustainability is the collaboration between Bottega Verde and the University of Siena, already undertaken since 2019 with the aim of jointly developing research activities in the fields of botany, phytotherapy and cosmeceuticals within Tenuta Bottega Verde, in Pienza in Val d’Orcia, a property of more than 300 hectares, the beating heart of the Company, “Where Nature becomes Beauty,” as the brand payoff states, and where Tuscan biodiversity finds full expression, making available to the company, plants, flowers, research, innovation and science, respecting nature and the territory. A place where, since 2023, the culture of nature has also been propagated through scientific education and dissemination activities to schools and organizations in the area on phytocosmetics, general botany and species identification: a commitment that Bottega Verde intends to strengthen and develop, thinking about a more sustainable future and the new generations.Among the most indicative results documented in the 2023 Sustainability Report, to which the various internal and external company resources have contributed through the implementation of multiple projects, are: a percentage of recycled plastic increased from 4% in 2021 to 9% in 2023 against a production of more than 14 MIO pieces; a reduction of -9.5% of waste generated, a 73.7% percentage of waste sent for recovery, and a -17% decrease in products and materials related to sales; a policy on packaging, where criteria have been identified for Bottega Verde’s packaging to be increasingly recyclable and made of recycled material; and a policy already in place in 2024 for the selection of more sustainable gadgets, elements that traditionally accompany and enrich Bottega Verde’s beauty promotions and gift ideas, at Christmas and throughout the year.With a focus on people and life in the company, the Sustainability Academy was created – an area dedicated to sustainability issues within the e-learning platform, which has managed to involve 100 percent of employees. This new tool complements and enhances the dense update program prepared by Bottega Verde in 2023, with the provision of more than 24,000 hours of total training between classroom courses, e-learning and webinars, an engagement that continues to spread increasingly among all 919 employees, 92 percent of whom are women, within a business reality where 83 percent of contracts are permanent.In 2023, 239,000 euros and more than 30,000 products were donated to charities, earmarked for projects for shelter, humanitarian support and women’s empowerment. Looking to the future, with a deep respect for the past, as a testament to the moral legacy of Paolo Lavino, founder of Bottega Verde, a partnership was signed in 2023 with Bocconi University of Milan through the creation of the Bottega Verde Talent & Need Awards fund, a scholarship for future leaders in the field of Artificial Intelligence.Tenuta Bottega Verde, “Where Nature Becomes Beauty,” is a place increasingly alive and full of research projects supporting the continuous innovation of a business model that has its pivot in nature by choice. The collaboration with the University of Siena focuses on biodiversity with scientific research and surveying of the different species of flora on the Estate, discovering little-known ones that have sprung up spontaneously, cataloging them within the herbarium to study their cosmetic properties. This collaboration, which involves young female researchers, has also won the Tuscany Region’s “Giovani sì” call for proposals, obtaining co-funding dedicated to projects for the enhancement of the Tuscan territory. The heart of Tenuta Bottega Verde’s scientific research is the laboratory, equipped with all the instrumentation and space for analysis and extraction of essential oils at km 0, of very high quality and purity. Created in 2023, together with a botanical garden, it allows study activities on hydrolates and essential oils to give birth to newly developed cosmetics. To date, 150 species belonging to 49 different families have been collected and catalogued. During 2023, several native species, such as myrtle and helichrysum, have been distilled and extracted, and further studies on the properties of a very special flower that promises interesting development of innovative, scientifically relevant principles for skin health have been initiated. A large community of natural cosmetics in ItalyBottega Verde has created and developed over the years an impressive community that is particularly active and interactive, thanks to a very advanced customer relationship management system, a multichannel policy that counts a large capillary distribution network of physical outlets, catalog sales, e-commerce development through a proprietary website and various digital platforms, as well as brand communication channels. Among the most emblematic data of this movement of Bottega Verde lovers, which offers valuable input to refine and improve products and services: 20 million visitors/year in stores – 10.5 million accesses/year to the website – 1.5 million customers with active loyalty cards – 1.6 million followers on social media.”Our Sustainability Report,” says Benedetto Lavino, Executive Chairman of Bottega Verde, “is the result of an important change that has involved everyone in the company in concretizing and certifying the important results achieved under the guidance of the Corporate Sustainability Plan, a strategic tool to guide and measure each project and its progress, in line with the needs of the planet and society. We will continue to work by following, measuring and implementing our roadmap to generate value for our customers, employees, franchisees, suppliers and, more generally, for all the stakeholders with whom we relate, keeping environmental protection as the guiding star of our activities.”
– Bottega Verde press office photo –
(ITALPRESS).
