From ingredient sourcing to formulation: AAK maps the future of sustainable beauty

Sustainability expectations in the beauty industry are moving beyond natural-origin claims as brands face growing pressure around supply chain transparency, substantiated environmental impact, and ingredient sourcing. As industry expectations evolve, AAK explains how life cycle data, plant-based alternatives, and regenerative sourcing are shaping the future of sustainable personal care products.

For brands, sustainability priorities are increasingly centered on areas that can be documented and substantiated, such as climate impact, traceability, responsible sourcing, and credible environmental claims, Lisette Townsend, global director of Business Development and Marketing at AAK, tells Personal Care Insights.

“Traceability significantly influences sourcing decisions. Both manufacturers and consumers are seeking greater visibility into where raw materials come from, how they are procured, and whether appropriate environmental and social measures are being followed,” she says. 

Interest in biodegradable ingredients is also rising, according to AAK. Industry players and consumers are increasingly demanding clear data to assess environmental persistence after use. 

Townsend tells us about how sustainability priorities are reshaping beauty formulation as ingredient suppliers are increasingly expected to provide evidence on product performance, lifecycle impacts, sourcing practices, and sustainability claims.

“These topics are informing choices around raw material sourcing, formulation, and packaging,” says Townsend. “[Ingredient selection] is moving beyond a simple natural origin narrative toward a more comprehensive assessment of performance, environmental impact, and sourcing credibility.”

Maximizing sustainability impact

Climate impact is becoming a key consideration as brands seek ingredients with lower carbon footprints and reliable data to measure and report emissions across their wider value chains, including Scope 3 impacts. 

For AAK, sustainability measurement begins with understanding where impacts occur across the parts of the value chain that the company can influence most directly — from cultivation and raw material sourcing through to production and delivery.

“By mapping these stages and assessing sustainability impacts, we can better identify the most effective areas for improvement,” says Townsend.

In agricultural supply chains, this means working with growers, cooperatives, and smallholders to support climate impact, improve biodiversity, and strengthen traceability.

Within its operations, AAK is focusing on improving production efficiency and reducing emissions through measures such as energy-efficiency initiatives and lower-impact energy sources.

The company measures progress through a combination of sustainability reporting, climate targets, product-level data, responsible sourcing programs, certification schemes, traceability systems, and life cycle assessments.

Townsend highlights that ingredient suppliers cannot control every stage of a finished cosmetic product’s life cycle. Product-use impacts depend on factors including the final formulation, packaging choices, consumer behavior, and local waste systems.

“By providing transparent ingredient-level data, we can help our customers make informed decisions and support credible sustainability claims,” she says.

Ingredients with measurable impact

AAK says sustainable ingredient development requires solutions that combine environmental benefits with the functionality needed for successful beauty and personal care formulations.

“Plant-based ingredients can help reduce reliance on petrochemical-derived ingredients, while supporting consumer demand for more natural, renewable, and biodegradable solutions,” explains Townsend.

AAK’s ImpAAKtful canola model uses field-level data to support Scope 3 reporting.However, the effectiveness of each technology depends on its application. Townsend tells us about AAK’s Lipex SheaLuxe TR as an example of innovation that enables application for sustainability. 

“Designed as a natural, readily biodegradable silicone alternative for skin and hair care applications, it offers a similar sensory profile and performance to dimethicone and cyclomethicone in terms of lightness, spreadability, and afterfeel, while helping improve a formulation’s sustainability profile,” she says. 

The company’s soft technology also addresses formulation challenges associated with plant-based butters, including bloom, instability, and texture shifts. The technology optimizes the crystallization properties and melting profiles of shea, illipe, and cocoa to deliver smooth, grain-free, and thermally stable applications.

For the Swedish plant-based oils and fats business, regenerative agriculture is an effective tool for reducing the carbon footprint of raw materials. The company operates the ImpAAKtful model, a sustainable sourcing and measurement program currently applied to its segregated Swedish canola supply chain. It uses third-party verified primary field-level data to enable measurable carbon reductions, customer Scope 3 reporting, and biodiversity improvements.

Initial results show ImpAAKtful emissions are 37% lower than a standard European canola benchmark and 28% lower than a standard Swedish benchmark, based on agricultural footprint data.

According to Townsend, the model demonstrates “how sourcing programs can translate sustainability goals into measurable environmental outcomes while supporting farmer and landscape resilience.”

Plant-based alternatives 

While ingredient innovation plays an important role in eco-conscious beauty, Townsend says formulators need to consider the entire formulation system rather than replacing one ingredient with another.

“Direct substitution can compromise performance, stability, texture, sensory appeal, and scalability, so it is essential to identify the right combination of ingredients to deliver the same or improved performance while reducing environmental impact.”

She says that plant-based alternatives require careful evaluation, as ingredients with the same INCI name can have different properties depending on the plant source and processing methods.

Formulators should therefore request detailed composition information and compare samples and chemical analyses before selecting alternatives, adds Townsend. 

AAK’s plant-based emollients are designed to support this transition by combining renewable origins with oxidative stability, helping formulators reduce reliance on fossil-based ingredients without compromising odor, color, sensory profile, or performance over time.

Townsend also observes a growing interest in waterless formats, including balms, sticks, and solid bars, as brands explore ways to reduce environmental impact. However, she warns that these formats can introduce formulation challenges.As sustainability expectations evolve, beauty formulators need to balance environmental impact with efficacy, stability, and sensory performance.

“Texture shifts, graininess, and separation may only appear after scale-up or weeks in storage and are often attributed to the formulation when the underlying cause may lie in ingredient behavior, processing conditions, or storage history.”

This underscores the importance of optimizing sustainability alongside formulation architecture, processing conditions, packaging, and product format.

Barriers to scaling

Townsend believes technical and commercial barriers continue to affect adoption. “Sustainable beauty solutions must meet the same expectations as conventional ones in terms of efficacy, stability, texture, sensory appeal, regulatory compliance, cost, and ease of formulation.”

Even when more sustainable ingredients or formats are available, challenges can arise around processing, formulation compatibility, reliability, and consumer acceptance. Cost, supply chain complexity, and access to reliable data remain significant barriers. 

As scrutiny around sustainability claims increases, Townsend says robust data and verification systems will become “increasingly important.”

This need for stronger substantiation is also being reinforced by incoming regulatory developments. From September 27, national laws implementing the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive will apply across member states, introducing stricter requirements around environmental claims and their verification.

“Certification can provide assurance, but it also requires ongoing training, monitoring, audits, and supplier engagement, adding both cost and time,” Townsend adds.

Ultimately, scaling sustainable beauty solutions requires collaboration across the entire value chain. This might include investment in transparency and verification, and ingredient technologies that deliver measurable environmental benefits without compromising product performance.