Beauty news: Emma Lewisham gains B Corp certification

It’s not every day that a beauty brand honours your ongoing support for their endeavours by adopting a piece of our precious ocean in your name, but Emma Lewisham is no ordinary beauty brand. And I couldn’t have felt more special!
The occasion was the brand announcing that as of today, they are proudly B Corporation (B Corp) Certified. B Lab administers the B Corp Certification, and Emma Lewisham joins the ranks of more than 3,500 B Corp businesses, operating in 150 industries, spanning 70 countries. Only 43 businesses in Aotearoa are certified B Corps, and only two of these businesses operate within the cosmetic industry. Peers better step up!
It’s been two years since Auckland-based Emma Lewisham successfully launched New Zealand’s first facial beauty sustainability initiative, and since then many more steps have been taken leading to today’s announcement. As of September 2021, Emma Lewisham was the world’s first verified carbon positive beauty brand under Toitū Envirocare’s Climate Positive Product Certification, and its founder and her team have also found the time to launch some stellar new products that do what they say on the box and then some, leading to an ever-growing army of fans around the world. To say the inspiring woman and her team are absolutely nailing it would be putting it mildly – they are, quite literally, game changing at every turn.

Founder and CEO Emma (above) says, “We’re incredibly proud of our B Corp Certification. Our purpose is to set a new benchmark in beauty by creating a positive impact on people’s skin, wellbeing and planet. In joining the global B Corp community, we solidify our promise to balance purpose and profit and consistently use our business as a force for good.”
To gain the certification, the brand ensured their social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency were of the highest standard across every aspect of the business. The certification requires companies to have a positive impact in all areas of their business, with B Corp certifications acting as a symbol of trust that organisations are using their businesses as a force for good. B Corp is a global community of for-profit leaders pledging to use business as a force for good. Our society’s most critical problems cannot be solved by governments and non-profits alone, so B Corp businesses work towards reduced inequality, lower poverty levels, a healthier environment, stronger communities, and the creation of more high-quality jobs with dignity and purpose.

Now back to my little drop in the ocean. In recognition of their B Corp certification, the brand has partnered with environmental non-profit, Project Zero to help restore and protect a global network of ocean sanctuaries and blue carbon ecosystems to foster prosperous ocean biodiversity and mitigate the effects of rapid climate change.

Referred to as ‘the lungs of the Earth’ by the United Nations, the ocean generates as much as 80 per cent of the oxygen we breathe, yet today less than 4 per cent of our oceans are protected. Project Zero is a global network of protected ocean sanctuaries located across the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans that are safe from drilling, mining, fishing and pollution in order to foster prosperous ocean biodiversity and mitigate all the external pressures we put on our oceans. Project Zero is working to secure 30 per cent of the ocean under protection to create a sustainable future for life on Earth.
So, next time you’re looking to shake up your skincare regime, I highly suggest you add some Emma Lewisham into the mix and help drive its considerable endeavours even further. You know you want to!