Beauty with Purpose: How Avon is Empowering Women and Driving Sustainability – Business Fights Poverty

Report on Avon’s Sustainability and Empowerment Initiatives in Alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Economic Empowerment: Advancing SDG 4, SDG 5, and SDG 8

Avon’s business model provides flexible work opportunities for approximately two million Representatives, many in underserved communities. This approach directly contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by creating pathways to economic independence and agency.

• SDG 5 (Gender Equality): The model is designed to empower women, providing them with income and confidence.
• SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): It offers a flexible route to earning, fostering economic growth at the community level.

Skills Development for Sustainable Livelihoods (SDG 4)

Training is a core component of Avon’s empowerment strategy, aligning with SDG 4 (Quality Education). The Avon Academy platform facilitates this progress by offering accessible learning opportunities.

1. Comprehensive Training: The platform features over 300 new learning pathways covering topics such as digital skills, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
2. Specialized Accreditation: Programs like the Beauty Advisor accreditation empower Representatives to enhance their skills and increase sales, thereby strengthening their long-term earning potential.

Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12)

Sustainable Product Innovation

Avon has integrated sustainability into its product development process, committing to making each new product more sustainable than its predecessor. This strategy directly supports SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The company utilizes analysis tools, including one from Quantis, to assess the comparative life cycle of products across 16 environmental factors. This assessment covers:

• Cultivation of raw materials
• Transport and supply chain requirements
• Product manufacturing
• Formulations and packaging
• Final use and disposal

Achievements in Packaging and Formulations

Significant progress has been made in reducing the company’s environmental footprint through packaging and formulation transformations.

• Packaging: Initiatives include refillable skincare tubes, plastic-free eyeshadow compacts, and the removal of single-use plastic cello-wrap. Currently, 83.3% of packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable, with a target of 100% by 2030.
• Formulations: 93% of Avon’s rinse-off formulas are now biodegradable.

Ethical Supply Chains and Climate Action

Contribution to SDG 13 and SDG 15

Climate action is a central element of Avon’s sustainability strategy. The company has achieved a 36% reduction in Scope 3 emissions since 2023, driven by ingredient innovation, supplier collaboration, and optimized manufacturing processes. This work is in direct support of SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Ethical Sourcing and Regenerative Agriculture

Avon has improved traceability for key raw materials, including palm oil, mica, and cotton, advancing SDG 12 and SDG 8. A key partnership with Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) exemplifies a holistic approach that supports both environmental and social goals.

• Social Impact (SDG 5 & SDG 8): CmiA supports nearly one million small-scale farmers, a significant number of whom are women.
• Environmental Impact (SDG 15): The partnership promotes regenerative agriculture. CmiA cotton uses no irrigation or genetically modified seeds, is fully traceable, and produces 13% fewer carbon emissions than standard cotton.

Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17)

Advocacy and Collaborative Action for SDG 5

Avon leverages its platform for advocacy on issues critical to women, such as breast cancer and gender-based violence. In line with SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), the company collaborates with various organizations to drive systemic change.

1. Business Fights Poverty: This partnership works to identify and address risks of gender-based violence and harassment in key sourcing and sales countries.
2. NO MORE: Through the Equal Futures Fund, this partnership supports community-driven solutions to address gender bias, a precursor to gender-based violence.

Conclusion: A Call for Inclusive Sustainability

Avon’s strategy demonstrates that sustainability initiatives must deliver interconnected environmental, social, and commercial benefits to be effective. This approach frames sustainability not as a charitable endeavor but as a core strategy for resilience and growth. The company advocates for other organizations to adopt a model of inclusive sustainability, where progress on climate action and social equity work in harmony to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 5: Gender Equality: The article heavily focuses on empowering women through economic opportunities, skills training, and leadership development. It also highlights advocacy against gender-based violence, directly aligning with the goal of achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: The Avon Representative model is presented as a pathway to income and flexible work for millions, particularly women in underserved communities. The provision of training in digital skills, leadership, and entrepreneurship supports sustained and inclusive economic growth.
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: The article details Avon’s commitment to sustainability in its products and supply chain. This includes life cycle analysis of products, reducing environmental impact, transforming packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and ensuring formulas are biodegradable.
• SDG 13: Climate Action: The company’s strategy includes specific climate action measures, such as reducing carbon emissions in its supply chain (e.g., through CmiA cotton) and a stated reduction in Scope 3 emissions, demonstrating a commitment to combating climate change.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The article explicitly mentions the importance of partnerships with organizations like Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), Business Fights Poverty, and the NGO NO MORE to achieve its social and environmental goals. This highlights the role of multi-stakeholder collaboration.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Under SDG 5 (Gender Equality):
   • Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership in economic life. The article supports this by describing how its model provides “a pathway to income, confidence and agency” for around two million women representatives, empowering them to grow their own businesses.
   • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls. This is addressed through Avon’s partnerships and campaigns to tackle “gender-based violence” and its root causes like “gender-bias.”
2. Under SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth):
   • Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men. The article connects to this by offering “flexible work” and an “income” pathway to its representatives, strengthening their “long-term earning power.”
3. Under SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production):
   • Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. The article directly addresses this with initiatives like “refillable skincare tubes, plastic-free eyeshadow compacts” and the “removal of single-use plastic cello-wrap,” aiming for 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable packaging by 2030.
   • Target 12.2: Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. This is demonstrated by the use of “analysis tools… to assess the comparative life cycle of products” and make “conscious choices of raw materials” to reduce environmental impact.
4. Under SDG 13 (Climate Action):
   • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation. While an indirect link, Avon’s strategy to make “climate action… central” and its public reporting on emissions reductions contribute to corporate capacity and awareness on climate mitigation.
5. Under SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals):
   • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships. The article exemplifies this by citing its “partnership with Cotton made in Africa (CmiA),” “working with Business Fights Poverty,” and its fund “facilitated by NGO NO MORE.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. For SDG 5 & 8:
   • Implied Indicator: Number of women economically empowered. The article states there are “around two million Avon Representatives.”
   • Implied Indicator: Number of women small-scale farmers supported. The CmiA partnership supports “nearly one million small-scale farmers, many of them women.”
2. For SDG 12:
   • Mentioned Indicator: Proportion of packaging that is reusable, recyclable, or compostable. The article provides a precise figure: “83.3% of our packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable.”
   • Mentioned Indicator: Progress towards a 2030 target for sustainable packaging. The article states they are “on track to achieve 100% by 2030.”
   • Mentioned Indicator: Proportion of biodegradable formulas. The article states, “93% of our rinse-off formulas are biodegradable.”
3. For SDG 13:
   • Mentioned Indicator: Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The article specifies a “36% reduction in Scope 3 emissions since 2023.”
   • Mentioned Indicator: Carbon emission reduction from sustainable sourcing. The article notes that CmiA cotton “produces 13% fewer carbon emissions than standard cotton.”
4. For SDG 17:
   • Implied Indicator: Number of multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable development. The article names specific partners: Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), Business Fights Poverty, and NO MORE.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: businessfightspoverty.org