Supplementing sustainability for a healthy planet

Consistently voted Australia's most trusted maker of vitamins, minerals and health supplements¹, Sydney-headquartered Blackmores has been focused on sustainability since its inception in 1930. Founder Maurice Blackmore, a firm believer in the benefits of natural remedies, understood that “you can’t have healthy people without a healthy planet”.

The connection between humanity and the natural world has permeated all levels of society in the wake of Covid-19. Several surveys suggest the pandemic will result in a permanent prioritisation of both health and sustainability among consumers² and governments³ around the world.

The supplement industry is also taking sustainability more seriously, particularly in relation to packaging, production and supply chains. IADSA, the international association of the food supplements industry, published its guiding principles on sustainability in November 2021, connecting its recommendations with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)⁴.

Blackmores already has a well-defined sustainability charter that is strongly aligned to the SDGs and includes a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2030 – two decades ahead of Australia’s national target⁵. The group’s sustainability policies also include measures to promote sustainable packaging, recycling and a commitment to an ethical supply chain.

In March 2022, Blackmores converted AU$75 million of its existing loan facilities into sustainability-linked loans, jointly structured by HSBC. The arrangement rewards Blackmores for hitting agreed targets for both energy and social impact. It ties the company to a reduction in scope 1, 2 and measured scope 3 emissions, incentivising Blackmores to evaluate and reduce the ESG risks in its supply chain.

Under the terms of the new sustainability-linked loans, there will be annual assessments of whether Blackmores is achieving key milestones on its way to achieving net zero by 2030. These targets have been independently certified as being in line with Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles published by the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association⁶. They were also assessed by Ernst & Young to verify they are meaningful and ambitious⁷.

“We are pleased to be able to leverage our international and sustainability expertise to help one of the world’s leading health supplement brands make progress against their emissions reduction and ethical supply chain goals,” said David Antolik at HSBC.

Both HSBC and Blackmores are keenly aware that taking climate action and protecting precious natural resources are essential to ensuring a resilient supply chain.

“But equally important is to address the risk of exploitation, so we have clear indicators to deepen our transparency to understand human rights so that climate resilience and an ethical supply chain continue to be a shared focus,” said Symington.