A commitment to serve Malagasy communities

At the Lons site, Seppic extracts and purifies  cosmetic and pharmaceutical botanical active ingredients from plants harvested in Madagascar.

Over 40 years of commitment

A pioneer in the implementation of benefit-sharing best practices towards local communities surrounding plant collection for four decades, Seppic Lons has been an active member of the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) since 2008. Since its creation, respecting traditional know-how, improving the living conditions of local populations, and ensuring that our local suppliers become increasingly competent in terms of social responsibility, by even reaching the plant collection areas, have been at the heart of Lons site's sustainable development.

 Among the conditions for joining the UEBT, Seppic Lons has given priority to the Centella asiatica supply chain to improve ethical practices.

Examples of actions with local communities and partners

In Madagascar today, more than 5,000 pickers benefit from Seppic supply chain, and local partners ensure quality control and traceability thanks to the transfer of expertise.

Seppic conducts its activities, including the purchase of raw materials from its suppliers, with the highest ethical standards. Seppic's sourcing is respectful of people and biodiversity. We are committed to a responsible approach to biodiversity, notably by improving the traceability of our raw materials of plant origin. We respect local regulations concerning biodiversity around the Nagoya Protocol.

Seppic Lons and its partners are committed to improving the living conditions of the communities where the harvesters live, particularly by providing infrastructural support for education. With the support of its customers, Seppic contributes to:

• Schooling initiatives: more than 130 classrooms and libraries have been built since 2003, representing more than 3,900 students enrolled per year, capacity-building training for more than 150 teachers, hundreds of school kits distributed to students. Attendance is approximately twice as high in supported schools (source: 2018 internal survey).

• Nutrition and health initiatives, with participation in nutrition programs for more than 2,000 children per year, construction of wells, and support for 7 health centers through the construction of new buildings or the renovation and purchase of medical equipment,

• Skills-building initiatives, with the strengthening of the traceability, control and verification process of the Centella asiatica supply chain.

The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) we work with in Madagascar has a robust methodology for identifying and prioritizing community needs and a strong delivery capacity that has enabled us to replicate this type of program for 20 years:

 

In 2022, for example, Seppic supported a school building project in Saharevo as well as a water supply project in Ambohidray.

In a post-Covid-19 world, a community health program sponsored by a partner client was initiated in 2021: the objective is to guarantee free access to basic health care for the families of Centella pickers for three years. The first promising results have allowed the initiative to be deployed and there are now two community health programs on going. Another one will be launched in 2023.

Key figures (achievements 2003-2022)