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Our commitment to biodiversity

Our commitment to biodiversity

At Seppic, more than half of the raw materials come from plant sources. Seppic is fully aware of the impact that its activities could have on the environment, in particular on biodiversity. It is with this in mind that Seppic conducted a study to identify its main challenges with regard to the five main pressures exerted on biodiversity.

This study was the founding element of the biodiversity program, called RICE. This program covers the entire company value chain and aligns perfectly with the objectives and targets of the COP 15.

The essential pillars of RICE are based on four major axes:

REDUCE the pressures generated by our supplies on biodiversity,

INTEGRATE biodiversity into our industrial processes and our facilities,

CONTROL the impacts of products throughout their life cycle,

ENGAGE and empower our stakeholders in support of biodiversity.

The RICE program reflects Seppic's commitment to the preservation of biodiversity and our desire to contribute positively to this crucial cause.

The RICE program reflects

Reduce the pressures generated by our supplies on biodiversity

Seppic has adopted a strategy based on the supply of certified raw materials and membership of organizations promoting the consideration of biodiversity issues, but also the social and environmental issues linked to cultivation and wild harvesting in order to limit the impacts of its raw material supplies.

Concretely, for its supplies of palm oil derivatives, Seppic favors raw materials certified RSPO (Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil), and sets itself the objective of having 100% of incoming raw materials be “RSPO Mass Balance" certified by 2025.

As part of its sustainable plant sourcing strategy, Seppic has joined the UEBT (Union for Ethical Biotrade) to guarantee good sustainable cultivation and harvesting practices.

Seppic’s objective is that by 2025, 100% of Seppic's new cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical ingredients manufactured in the Lons & Pontrieux industrial facilities will be sourced according to its Ethical Sourcing System*.

*Ethical Sourcing System: a set of policies and procedures that promote Ethical BioTrade practices. The in-house manufacturing and corresponding supply chains that are outsourced to Lons and Pontrieux for a third party are excluded from the scope of the Ethical Sourcing System. Biotechnological ingredients manufactured at Pontrieux are excluded from the scope of the UEBT membership.

Seppic committed to sustainable transformation of the palm industry

Seppic is committed to a sustainable algae and plant industry

Integrate biodiversity into our industrial processes and our facilities

In order to take into account the impact of climate change on biodiversity, Seppic is committed to improving the efficiency of its production sites by reducing their water and energy consumption and by recovering its waste. It has therefore set itself the objectives of recovering more than 95% of its waste annually and reducing its consumption of mains water by 20% and river water by 25% by the end of 2026 on its site of Castres. The company's objectives and actions to improve energy efficiency were presented in the Acting for climate part of our CSR program.

The majority of Seppic's water consumption is attributed to the Castres site. This water resource is essential for various operations such as the manufacturing of ingredients, thermal regulation of equipment, maintenance of machines and sanitary use.

Discover how the Castres site has implemented various actions for an efficient use of water.

Control the impacts of products throughout their life cycle

Seppic accords great significance to respecting biodiversity in its Research and Innovation projects, with a firm commitment to designing products with minimal environmental impact. This means controlling the environmental impact of products from their inception to their end-of-life.

This is why Seppic invests not only in the development of environmentally-friendly technologies,  but also in an eco-design approach to measuring the environmental impacts of new developments and existing products, so as to identify areas for improvement and design more environmentally-friendly ingredients.

Find out how Seppic implements an eco-design approach for the development of its new products.

Engage and empower our stakeholders in support of biodiversity

Seppic's goal is to raise its employees' awareness of the importance of biodiversity and involve all its stakeholders in its commitment to respecting it.

As a member of the RSPO and UEBT, Seppic is committed to prioritizing respect for biodiversity throughout its value chain. To this end, Seppic requires its raw plant material suppliers to adopt agroecological practices and limit pollution risks, in line with COP15 targets 7 and 10.

In 2022, Seppic provided support for the implementation of several projects to preserve biodiversity.