Sustainable Paper procurement policy for suppliers

For Avon International*. 

Approved by Avon International CEO August 2024

1. Introduction

At Avon International, we’re passionate about making the world a better place and doing beauty differently. Our sustainability vision is to create a better world for women, which is better world for all, and to have a positive impact on our climate and communities. As part of our sustainability journey, we recognise that some materials we use have significant social or environmental risks. We therefore aim for full traceability and/or certification of our critical supply chains (palm, soya, ethanol, mica, cotton and paper) by 2025. We are also committed to No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation (NDPE) principles and no conversion as defined by the Accountability Framework Initiative and to supporting forest conservation solutions for high conservation landscapes.

• Key social and environmental risks: Paper and pulp are high sustainability risk commodities from both an environmental and social perspective. Key risks are deforestation, land conversion and indigenous communities’ rights, as well as illegal harvesting, water and air pollution, including carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emission that contribute to climate change. At the same time, paper and pulp, when sourced and used responsibly, can represent a sustainable material choice. Traceability and certification are tools Avon International is using to manage and eliminate these risks in our supply chains.
• Scope:Avon International uses paper and pulp products, mainly as brochure paper and paper packaging, but also in fashion & home products. All these materials and finished goods supplied to Avon International must meet the sustainability requirements set out below. These requirements will be applied in Avon International tenders, supplier and material approval processes and are applicable to all paper used in goods for resale or indirectly; whether manufactured internally or by third parties. Should we find that any purchased goods or materials do not meet these requirements, we will engage the supplier to change practices and/or re-evaluate our relationship with them.
• Avon International also uses other forest products, such as timber and wood (in shop and office furniture) and wood cellulose cosmetic ingredients. Whilst we expect all forest-based materials to be supplied legally and sustainably, these are out of scope of the Commitment to Life critical materials target on paper.
• Traceability and certification requirements in brief:All paper containing materials supplied to Avonmust be 100% recycled or certified to an acceptable third-party standard by the end of 2025. Although acceptable third-party standards for paper give sufficient level of traceability, additional traceability information could be required. More details are given in section 2 of this policy.
• Supplier milestones:

2.Detailed Requirements

Certification requirements for paper

All Avon International suppliers must provide valid evidence for the applicable third-party certification standard for the paper materials supplied, and (where applicable) supplier chain of custody certification, in the format required by Avon International. Acceptable certification standards differ by brand as outlined in appendix 1.

Traceability

Traceability to mills and forest locations may be specifically requested in case of regulatory requirements, elevated risk of deforestation or grievances. It may include country of cultivation, mill location and species of trees.

Unacceptable sources of paper

Avon International will support suppliers to grow their capabilities in the areas of traceability and certification, however if suppliers are not willing to develop capability to deliver certified paper materials as per the requirements of this policy, they will not be used to supply paper containing materials to Avon International after 31/12/2023. Any suppliers, found to be involved in human rights violations (e.g. without Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of local and indigenous communities), environmentally destructive practices (e.g. sourcing from High Conservation Value** reas) or otherwise violating the Avon International supplier code of conduct may be exited.

3.Collaboration and contact

Above and beyond these requirements, we encourage you and your suppliers to participate in and support collaborations to ensure that poor labour conditions and environmental damage are eliminated from paper supply chains in the apparel, textiles and cosmetics sectors. We also need support from suppliers to help us meet the Avon International commitment to become Net Zero by 2030 and set a Carbon reduction pathway in line with the SBTi requirements. We further encourage our suppliers to come forward with proposals for more sustainable paper containing materials that we can use in our business: with recycled content; reusable and recyclable; made from sustainable alternative fibres (e.g. agricultural residues); promoting efficient use of paper across the entire lifecycle. For further information on this policy, possible exceptions and Avon International plans to achieve 100% traceable and/or certified paper by 2025, please contact critical.materials@avon.com

Flow chart - Requirements for paper

Appendix 1

Acceptable certification standards for paper supplied to Avon International

By 31/12/2025 at the latest, all paper supplied to Avon International, must be 100% recycled ORcertified to at least one of the third-party standards from the table below. Recycled materials are preferred to support Avon International to meet its targets on circularity and carbon reduction. Certified recycled paper is preferred over uncertified recycled paper.

*Avon International refers to Avon operations in globally, except for United States and Latin America