Environment and Sustainability

The Group's environmental and social responsibilities are important to its long-term success, and key environmental goals have been embedded within its long-term strategy, with the aim of continually improving all aspects of environmental performance, as far as economically feasible. We are proud of the progress we have made to date and continue to strive for a future where the planet is cared for and value is created, not only for our Company, but for the collective success of all our stakeholders.

The Group is prioritising the ESG issues that offer the greatest potential for the Group to create shared value, and has adopted a sustainability strategy focusing on four key pillars:

·        Planet: In 2023 the Group continued to work with Planet Mark to measure and report against our Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2023, review our onsite energy, water and recycling management, and to support us in developing our factory sustainability assessments. Warpaint and Badgequo have achieved a year 1 business certification with Planet Mark, demonstrating the Group’s measurement of key environmental measures and have identified targets for 2024.

·        Products: The product and packaging reduction and alternative strategy introduced in 2022 has been developed through 2023 accelerating compliance with product and packaging regulations compliance and rationalised the Group's packaging supply sources. The Group joined PETA’s “Beauty Without Bunnies Program”, helping to provide clarity to its customers and consumers that our products are cruelty free.

·        People: Warpaint's commitment to its employees remains at the forefront of its people focus along with the development of corporate and community charity initiatives.

·        Performance: The Group's progress against defined goals and targets will be measured and reported on for the year ended 2024.

Our Planet and the Environment

Planet Mark

Climate change is one of today's greatest challenges, profoundly affecting all regions of the world and all sectors of society. All individuals and industries must work together to halt the climate crisis and embrace long term sustainability.

CO2 is a powerful greenhouse gas that has been proved to have the biggest impact on air pollution and global warming, and by 2050 every UK business must be net-zero by law.

The measurement of the Group’s carbon footprint plays a fundamental role in creating an environmental strategy that mitigates risk and maximises the opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions and start the journey towards net-zero.  As a business Warpaint is committed to reporting its progress with transparency, verifiable data and science-based methodologies to support its long-term strategy and drive improvements.

In 2023 the Group has continued its work with Planet Mark, an independent consulting group experienced in the measurement, development and communication of carbon and social data and goals which provides a sustainability certification for organisations and their products.  Throughout 2023 the Group collated the necessary energy consumption, waste and water usage data to enable an initial measurement to be produced and adopted and the Group’s first Planet Mark certification was obtained in Q4 2023. The Group is measured in each calendar year and the certification produced in the following year.  The Group’s first full year of key measurement metrics for 31 December 2022 were certified as follows:

•              761.4tCO2e measured emissions/6.8 tCO2e per employee

Comprising

•              Buildings:98.9 tCO2e

•              Travel:40.7 tCO2e

•              Waste:23.8 tCO2e

•              Water:0.4 tCO2e

•              Procurement:593 tCO2e

•              Home Working: 74 tCO2e

Continuous improvement will be tracked against these key measurement metrics.

Targets and goals against these base level metrics will be further developed, monitored and communicated and disseminated throughout the Group and beyond to ensure that stakeholders are engaged and fully aligned with the Group’s aims, in order that progress may be achieved.  

Certification for the 2023 year is expected to be available in Q3 2024.

The Group reports annually against the SECR Streamline Energy and Carbon Reporting. In prior years the intensity metric selected was based on the energy consumption per square metre of area of our sites, which was appropriate at that time.  However, as the business of the Group has grown, especially in 2023, it is now considered to be more relevant and appropriate to use Group sales as the correct intensity metric, and this was 1.16kg tCO2/£mil in 2023 (2022:1.40kg tCO2/£mil).  The Group will now use this sales driven ratio to monitor its energy efficiency performance overtime.

Our Premises and Logistics

The Group includes energy efficiency measures whenever possible in carrying out its business, and when making operational decisions.  In 2023, the Group continued the upgrade of internal and external lighting to LED units throughout its main corporate and warehousing premises at Iver and Silsden.  Warpaint is currently engaged in a process to install solar panels at the largest warehouse site at Iver to provide electricity throughout the year and to return any surplus energy back to the grid.

At both Iver and Silsden Head Offices electric car charging points have been installed which employees can use free of charge, encouraging them to adopt electric vehicles.

New technologies continue to be considered in order to improve the environmental performance of the Group’s sites to reduce energy consumption and improve energy efficiency throughout the business. Reducing physical waste is also a key part of our sustainability objectives and progress continues to be made in ensuring that onsite recycling is easily accessible across our offices and warehouses. The Group has also strengthened its industrial waste removal programme.

Warpaint continues to be mindful of its carbon footprint in the shipping and transportation of our products from our suppliers to the Group’s warehouses and customers, seeking to minimise our carbon footprint as much as possible, for example by shipping direct from China to the US for product sales there and using air carriage only when unavoidable. The Group is encouraged by its shippers who are increasingly investing in the reduction of their own carbon footprint with the development of their own carbon friendly vessels and solutions.  These shippers are utilised wherever practicable.

Most interactions with suppliers and retail customers takes place online. This is encouraged wherever practicable, with travel (and particularly air travel) restricted, and customer, supplier, management and employee meetings held virtually where feasible. Face to face meetings are held only where this is considered necessary and where this is conducive to a more productive relationship.  This aims to reduce the environmental impact of our travel and is reflected in the Group’s travel policy, which encourages essential travel only. Where air travel is deemed necessary the use of airlines which provide carbon offset is encouraged wherever possible.

Attendance at tradeshows and exhibitions has reduced. Virtual trade shows, are attended, wherever possible with only key events attended face-to-face and, where practicable, these are combined with other customer or supplier visits.

Our Products

Product Testing

The Group’s cosmetic products are “cruelty free” and are not tested on animals irrespective of where the products are being supplied. The Group supports cruelty free alternatives to animal testing to become compulsory and animal testing overall to cease globally.

The Group participated in PETA “Beauty Without Bunnies Program”, in February 2023, a globally recognised programme demonstrating commitment to PETA’s Global Animal Test-Free standard. In line with this standard we agree that Warpaint shall not conduct, commission, or pay for animal testing of any products, nor will it conduct, commission, or pay for animal testing of ingredients used in, or formulations of, such products. Warpaint commits to continue to ensure that our suppliers of ingredients do not conduct, commission, or pay for tests on any ingredients used in our products. Warpaint will continue to ensure its suppliers/manufacturers of finished products do not and shall not conduct, commission or pay for animal testing of any products.

Warpaint proudly displays the PETA company logo on our products for all new products and as packaging is updated. Warpaint’s commitment to the PETA programme is Group wide and covers all brands within the Group.

Product Ingredients

All newly developed Warpaint products are manufactured vegan friendly and without parabens.  Any remaining existing products that contain parabens are being reformulated upon any repeat order.  The Group has a dedicated vegan range, Very Vegan.

No heavy metals such as TBTO (preservative) and other ingredients of concern are added to the Group's colour cosmetic products and all raw materials comply with the strict regulations applicable in the EU, USA and Canada and the other markets in which we operate.

CTPA Membership

The Warpaint Group companies are full members of the Cosmetic, Toiletry & Perfumery Association (CTPA). The CTPA is the trade association for the UK cosmetic and personal care industry, through this membership we ensure that we are at the forefront of industry news, issues, and of course regulatory compliance both here in the UK and globally. The Group has employees sitting on both the Compliance and Regulatory Committee and the Scientific Committee.

Responsible Sourcing and Manufacturing

“Good Manufacturing Practice Certificates” are provided by suppliers for all of the factories used in the manufacture of the Group’s goods. The Group’s main suppliers also produce for worldwide brands, and additional comfort is taken from the public ethical and sustainability stance around the world of these brands. The Group’s suppliers are encouraged to share with the Group the results of their BSCI and Sedex audits when they have taken place and, for all its branded products the Group has adopted a vendor assessment policy that includes ethical and sustainability criteria.

Warpaint is committed to ethical and responsible sourcing practices aligned with international standards and protocols for human rights, worker rights, environmental and human health and safety.  In support of this commitment, it is seeking to enhance its responsible and ethical sourcing practices to better address the risks and challenges in an increasingly complex global supply chain.

Sustainable Products and Packaging

The Group is committed to becoming an industry leader for sustainable products and packaging.

·        All unrecyclable plastics have now been removed from the outer packaging of our gifting, and the Group is progressing well with its journey of removing unrecyclable plastics from the packaging of its all year-round products as well.

·        Warpaint has a robust strategy within the Group to eliminate all unrecyclable plastics as per the ‘UK Plastic Pack’, an accredited body who drive improvements to industry standards through DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). The Group has also changed certain products into alternative fully recyclable materials and has proactively removed the majority of plastics from most of our outer packaging, aiming to use paper and cardboard product packaging wherever practicable. This enables the Group, its customers and end consumers to recycle the waste effectively.  

·        Some products are already plastic free and there are plans in place to change to sustainable FSC, virgin or recycled packaging where feasible, with ambitions to become one of the market leaders in this area.

·        The use of plastics in product casings has previously been challenging to remove, but with material developments and understanding, the Group is actively working on testing and sampling new materials. Where the use of plastic is unavoidable, recyclable packaging will be used wherever possible.  By providing clear instructions on our product labelling, consumers will know how to dispose of the packaging in sustainable ways.  The Group is encouraged by the progress made by its product teams in building processes to challenge the plastics in product casings and is equally encouraged by the support received from suppliers in the move to more recyclable packaging.  This will continue to be challenging until the most recyclable materials become available at an appropriate price for the mass market.  In the meantime, a large proportion of the Group’s NPD in 2023 has passed through our changed protocols and this will continue into 2024. Technic NPD processes also include an accompanying packaging development protocol alongside the development of the products themselves, to ensure that recyclable packaging is considered with all NPD, wherever possible.

·        Warpaint is confident that current unrecyclable plastics within its products will be replaced with the most reusable and recycled plastic materials available, ensuring the achievement of Government Guidelines for brand and producer responsibilities. Once this development is complete, these will be implemented to reduce and ensure recyclability for these plastic products before the new Extended Producer Responsibilities ('EPR’) regulations come into force in the near future. The NPD team is actively engaging with DEFRA on the introduction of the new EPR regulations, participating in seminars and surveys, wherever possible.

·        Warpaint's dedicated Group Packaging and Sustainability Lead is responsible for seeking sustainable solutions for products and packaging, aligned to our environmental responsibilities and goals.  This individual is also responsible for ensuring the Group’s compliance with the increasing regulation in this area, enabling its mission to provide an extensive range of high-quality cosmetics at an affordable price and to grow the business for the benefit of our stakeholders.

·        The Group has introduced virtual cosmetic product testers for a number of core W7 lip, face and eye products. These are more hygienic than actual product testers, provide cost savings and are more eco-friendly.

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