More companies are set to showcase their eco-friendly credentials during the groundbreaking Travel Retail Sustainability Week (19-23 April). 

Puressentiel, Altia, Lego Group, Nestlé International Travel Retail, Silent Pool Gin, Ecomask, Ritter Sport, Singapore Airlines’ retail partner KrisShop and Schäfer Airport Retail are among the latest tranche of firms to participate in Travel Retail Sustainability Week.

The companies have pledged their support to the first industry virtual event dedicated solely to sustainability, which features a jam-packed educational webinar programme and ‘The Sustainability Pitch’ sessions.

The Sustainability Pitch offers an unmissable opportunity over the five-day event, allowing industry stakeholders to showcase sustainability focused products, packaging, services, concepts and wider corporate initiatives.

As reported, a number of prestigious global beauty brands have already voiced their support for The Sustainability Pitch, with more partners to be announced in due course [scroll below for more information on how to get involved in Travel Retail Sustainability Week and The Sustainability Pitch].

BRANDS TO DEMONSTRATE ‘GREEN’ ACTIONS

“We are absolutely delighted to be involved in supporting this great initiative from TRBusiness,” commented Stewart Dryburgh, General Manager, Nestlé International Travel Retail.

“The Sustainability Pitch and Travel Retail Sustainability Week are clear markers that the GTR industry is aware, prepared and working for a greener future.”

Nestlé is future proofing sustainability into its corporate strategy, targeting a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as it looks to achieve a net zero environmental impact by 2050.

“The work we are doing across sourcing, packaging and in our operations is particularly relevant and the Travel Retail Sustainability Pitch gives us an opportunity to share what we are doing with the key stakeholders in the industry,” continued Dryburgh.

“Nestlé’s vision is a world in which none of our packaging ends up in landfill or as litter. Smarties has been in the lead with this commitment and was selected as the first brand within Nestlé to incorporate no single-use plastic packaging.

“The Sustainability Pitch gives us the perfect opportunity to showcase what we are doing to move Smarties to a completely plastic-free brand. The entire Smarties confectionery range in travel retail will transition to recyclable paper packaging this year. We think that is something to be proud of.”

‘STRATEGIC FORUM’

For The Sustainability Pitch partner Puressentiel, an environmentally conscious ethos pervades its thinking, particularly when it comes to product development.

Rocco Pacchioni, Group Executive Director, Puressentiel said: “We are thrilled to participate in this first ever travel retail event focused on sustainability, because travellers are looking more for brands in line with their values and needs.

“It is a great opportunity to give visibility to sustainable brands and initiatives. We really want to be part of this change but not only with words but concrete actions. It is key today that travellers could access to this kind of offer.”

Isabelle Pacchioni, Co-founder of Puressentiel alongside husband Marco Pacchioni, says the company’s raison d’être since it was founded in 2005 is to ‘draw the very best from nature, in an eco-friendly and eco-responsible way’.

She said: “A milestone was achieved in 2018 by the creation of our foundation to go beyond our product offer and to further support our ecosystem, from suppliers to associations.

“We support 14 projects every year and the selection is also open to the travel retail actors. Our next campaign for projects submission will start in March and our main focuses are healthcare, childhood and nature. Last year we gave access to water to 450 families, healthcare to 3,000 children, protected 700,000 bees and planted 20,000 moringa.”

Mathieu Vazart, GTR Manager, Puressentiel added: “It is official that travel shoppers are now looking for sustainable products. The latest TFWA sustainable reports show  that 71% of travel retail shoppers would prefer to buy sustainable products, so we thank TRBusiness for this initiative that will allow the industry to embrace a new range of solutions and to reshape the industry’s new norm in a better way.”

Fellow Sustainability Pitch participant Lego Group plans to use Travel Retail Sustainability Week as a strategic forum to learn and raise awareness around the importance of ‘green’ mindfulness in global travel retail.

“It is great that TRBusiness has launched the forum of the Travel Retail Sustainability Week and The Sustainability Pitch and there is no question that we will support our partner in raising awareness for sustainability in the travel retail channel,” commented Sebastian Alt, Senior Manager Expansion & Training Travel Retail, Lego Group.

“We will be openly sharing our agenda and activities during Travel Retail Sustainability Week and The Sustainability Pitch. At the same time, we are very much looking forward to learning from the different webinar sessions and getting inspired by airports, retailers and other brands. We truly believe that these discussions will help develop our ambitious agendas and ultimately strengthen the whole industry.

“At the Lego Group, we’re playing our part in building a sustainable future and creating a better, brighter world for our children to inherit. In an environmental context, that means that it’s not enough to just reduce our impact on the environment, we want to go further and have a positive impact.

“We are therefore working on numerous projects and activities to find sustainable materials and packaging as well as we reduce waste and CO2 emissions, not only in our own facilities, but along the whole value chain.”

A MORE COURAGEOUS WAY OF THINKING….

Nestled on the banks of Silent Pool in the Surrey Hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty in the UK, the distillery of the same name uses botanicals inspired by the surrounding area.

“The rural setting of our distillery is embedded in our brand and is a constant reminder of the importance of sustainability,” said Stéphanie Law, Global Travel Retail Manager, Silent Pool Gin. “We want to give back to the area that made Silent Pool Gin possible and inspire people to do their bit globally.

“We are very pleased to be a part of Travel Retail Sustainability Week and able to share how the team at Silent Pool Distillers are constantly reviewing operations in order to implement environmentally friendly solutions where possible.

“This remit covers all aspects of our business, from distillation to packaging. The Covid crisis has put a spotlight on many areas of importance, sustainability being one of them. This is a wonderful opportunity to share with global travel retail the sustainability initiatives we’ve been working on since Silent Pool Distillers was founded.”

Silent Pool hopes that other brands and travel retail operators can learn from the steps taken by the distillery to improve its own environmental footprint and in doing so strive to incorporate sustainability initiatives.

As such, Silent Pool views Travel Retail Sustainability Week as the perfect platform to illustrate a story that speaks to an extraordinary location and how that is helping to shape the brand’s values.

 

“It’s fantastic that global travel retail is putting a spotlight on such an important issue,” added Law. “It’s a topic that affects everyone around the world and we all have a responsibility to be as environmentally friendly as possible. We have the credentials to ‘hold our own’ in sustainability week. As a growing super-premium brand, the role of global travel retail is critical for brand awareness.

“​The pandemic has accelerated some big changes and trends and brands will be required to embrace a more courageous way of thinking and operating because of this. Global travel retail plays a key role in communicating these changes and attracting new customers of all demographics, particularly Generation Z . We look forward to working with key operators in this channel, creating new partnerships and embracing sustainability.”

For more information on Travel Retail Sustainability Week and to register, click here and contact: [email protected]

To register your interest in the The Sustainability Pitch, click here.

For information on The Sustainability Pitch and sponsorship opportunities, please contact: [email protected], [email protected],  [email protected], [email protected]