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Written by Si-Yi Yang Business Week Issue 1762   

More than 300 companies around the world have joined the RE100, which was established by The Climate Group and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), and 10 companies in Taiwan have joined. Five of these companies are in the beauty and biotechnology category: Da Jiang Biomedical, Tech-I, Grapevine, Oleander, and Zorin.

In comparison to the technology companies in the alliance, TSMC and UMC have annual revenue of over 100 billion yuan, while Dae Kong Biomedical has less than 10 billion yuan in revenue, and L'Oreal and Joran are both 500 million yuan in size, so why is the biotechnology industry more anxious than the technology industry?

The RE100 Alliance was established in 2014, and companies and non-profit organizations that join must commit to "achieving 100% renewable energy use by 2050," including Apple, Walmart, Estee Lauder, Google, Ikea and other multinational companies are leading the way.

Omi Biomedical, Sasak Research Institute, and Koi are known worldwide for their work on behalf of LVMH's Sephora, Titi Research, and My Beauty Diary masks. According to domestic industry statistics, the global market share of MIT masks is about 20%, and the demand from various countries is growing steeply, and according to Statista's "2020 Skincare Market Report", the global skincare market is expected to grow to $4 trillion by 2025.

However, the CEO of SOMILA (the parent company of SOMILA), Kun-Lin Lee, said that two years ago, when he approached L'Oreal to sell its OEM technology, they responded, "Sorry, if you don't have RE100, I can't let you join. He was shocked to find out that even if the technology was leading and the brand was internationally recognized, it wasn't enough.

Without certification, he couldn't get the orders

And may even be rejected by the channel

It turns out that in recent years, the global trend of Clean Beauty has emerged. Compared to technological products or food, beauty consumers not only pay attention to whether the ingredients of the care products they put on their bodies and faces are non-toxic and healthy, but also pay more attention to the environmental impact of the products. This group of consumers is usually the ones who know and are willing to spend money to "love themselves" and are willing to pay more for products that are friendly to the environment.

In the face of environmental protection, not only has LVMH launched its Life sustainability strategy, but Chanel and Cresson have also joined the RE100 to declare their determination to reduce carbon emissions and operate sustainably.

"If you don't join the sustainable bandwagon, you could be out of the world in 10 years! If you don't join the sustainability bandwagon, you could be out of the world in 10 years!" Li Kunlin recognizes that failure to implement a sustainable environmental strategy for production lines is tantamount to a dead end. Moreover, this race is not only against our past selves, but also against our international competitors.

He once met Bi Wan-apple, the CEO of Increasing Energy, who had applied for RE100 for three companies in Taiwan, and learned from her that in order to join a world-class consortium, one must first be willing to spend resources for a ticket. This ticket also helped him to open new business opportunities. In the past 8 months, Zawera has penetrated the international supply chain and increased the ratio of OEM to revenue from zero to 30%, allowing the costs invested in process improvement to achieve economies of scale.

They not only come every year to review whether we are moving in this direction, but also tell us that they are going to kick out brands that do not have RE100, with Korean brands being the first to bear the brunt.

In other words, if we don't join them soon, not only will we have no OEM orders to take, but we won't even be able to sell our channels.

The use of green electricity is only the first step

The design, manufacturing and recycling must all be watched

In the requirements of the alliance, the most important indicator is the utilization rate of green electricity. The most common methods in Taiwan are to generate electricity on their own, sign green power purchase agreements with suppliers, or purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).

The next step is to re-examine the product cycle, from material design, production and manufacturing to waste recycling, to see if they meet sustainability standards. For example, the shampoo brand L'Oreal started with renewable and decomposable bottles and packaging to reduce resource waste, while Da Jiang Biomedical extended its carbon reduction program beyond the manufacturing process through agricultural waste reuse and reforestation projects.

For them, the most difficult thing is not to achieve 100% use of green electricity, but how to promote the supply chain partners to act together from the inside out.

But, not fast enough. Korea has also started to respond to this crisis. The first of these is the first Korean beauty company to join the RE100, which was announced earlier this year by the Amore Pacific Group, which has well-known brands such as Snowflake, Lanzhi, innisfree and Etude House.

The new form of business upgrade battle is about to begin. In order to increase the strength of the battle, it is inevitable to bet on the cost, but, just like Satsuma can thus enter into OEM, the new competitiveness will also bring new business opportunities. https://www.businessweekly.com.tw/magazine/Article_mag_page.aspx?id=7004324