Weleda

Weleda has made ingredient commitments to lower its environmental impact, including by avoiding petroleum-derived ingredients, GMOs, and microplastics, and sourcing only sustainable palm oil. It has succeeded in its commitments, and Commons found evidence of only one climate-threatening ingredient in Weleda's ingredients lists, propylene glycol, which may have been derived alternatively. It is difficult to fully eliminate these types of ingredients. Weleda carries products that have certifications from NATRUE and incorporate bio-based and organic ingredients. Weleda is a B Corp.

Weleda hasn't made any efforts to concentrate its products or minimize its containers, which increases shipping emissions and packaging volumes. However, it has worked to reduce its shipping emissions by optimizing distribution routes. It has made efforts to reduce virgin plastic in its packaging and uses 60% recycled materials overall, some of which are FSC-certified. Weleda is a member of a package recycling initiative in Europe, and 80% of its packaging is recyclable.

Weleda shares information on its energy strategy. It implements energy efficiency measures and uses a majority of renewable energy to power its production sites and corporate offices. Weleda reports using 95% renewable energy in production sites in 2023 and has targets for generally expanding its use of renewable energy. It implements water conservation measures, including setting targets around water intensity and water withdrawal. Weleda has a global production span, which is standard for the industry.

Weleda doesn't utilize any alternative models or methods to avert waste.

Weleda offers seasonal products or frequent releases, which can encourage overconsumption and production of excess inventory.

Commons is still evaluating this brand's marketing emails.

Weleda has a series of prominent sustainability pages with comprehensive details on its climate strategy. It publishes a detailed annual report with a clear, impact-driven strategy and progress reporting. Its last annual report was published in 2023. Weleda shares a complete list of ingredients used in its products, on a per product basis.

Weleda internally measures and publicly reports its company-level emissions in partnership with, or with auditing from, a third party. It includes a breakdown by scope and identifies its top driver of emissions. The last reporting period was 2023. In this most recent update, its estimated emissions footprint was 571,589 tons CO2e.

Commons couldn't find clear emissions reduction targets for this brand. Weleda offsets emissions from an unknown portion of its supply chain through a partnership with SEKEM Farm.

Weleda publishes limited information about its Tier 1-3 supply chain partners, disclosing some geographic locations. It has a supplier code of conduct, but doesn't publicly share it. Weleda doesn't have a stated policy of regularly auditing its supply chain partners. This may increase human and environmental risks. However, it has labor certifications within its supply chain, including Union for Ethical BioTrade and Living Wage Employer Verified.

Commons wasn't able to find evidence of any trade association memberships or any relevant policy for this brand. Weleda's not a member of any key advocacy organizations that are blocking climate policy, but it also isn't a member of advocacy organizations advancing climate policy. It doesn't employ any state lobbyists and didn't donate more than $100k to climate-obstructive candidates or PACs from 2018-2024.