8 April 2014: According to the 2014 Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) Biodiversity Barometer, while 87% of consumers surveyed worldwide want companies to adopt sourcing policies that respect biodiversity, only 27% of the top 100 beauty and personal care companies cite biodiversity on their websites or in their corporate sociability reports. Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Executive Secretary, highlighted that 84% of respondents place value on personally contributing to biodiversity conservation.

The Barometer also reports that 85% of consumers want companies to provide more information on actions they are taking in the field of biodiversity protection in their sourcing policies. The survey was conducted in February 2014, and reached some 7,000 consumers in Brazil, China, Colombia, Germany, France, UK, US and Viet Nam.

UEBT is a member-based non-profit association that promotes the “Sourcing with Respect” of ingredients that come from biodiversity. Requested by UEBT, the global research organization Ipsos, surveyed 38,000 consumers in 13 countries between 2009 and 2014. According to UEBT Executive Director Rik Kutsch Lojenga, consumers in emerging markets understand biodiversity and show a high interest in ethical sourcing.

Aichi Biodiversity Target 1 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 seeks to ensure that by 2020 people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to conserve it and use it sustainably. The 2014 UEBT Biodiversity Barometer found that biodiversity awareness has increased since 2009. However, since 2012, growth in understanding of biodiversity has slowed down. [CBD Press Release] [Publication: UEBT Biodiversity Barometer 2009 – 2014]