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The company has been recognized by the UN for its sustainability program as a Champion of the Earth and recipient of the Climate Global Action award. Its Commitment to Life strategy sets bold targets to address the climate crisis, protect the Amazon, promote social equality, and embrace circular, regenerative practices. This includes achieving net-zero by 2050, ensuring gender parity at the executive level, and investing in regenerative solutions.
Natura’s 2050 vision centers on regeneration: restoring natural systems to deliver net positive impact. By channelling funds to projects on the ground, carbon credits provide a key role in making this vision a reality.
Since 2007, Natura has purchased carbon credits to complement its decarbonization efforts, taking responsibility for emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3. In 2023, it became the first Latin America-based company, and first company with a heavy manufacturing footprint, to make a VCMI Carbon Integrity Platinum Claim. This achievement showcased that the company had purchased and retired high-quality carbon credits equal to 100% or more of its remaining emissions, advancing global net zero by investing in impactful climate projects. It also signalled that VCMI Claims are within reach for companies across emerging economies and from diverse sectors.
João Teixeira, Sustainability Manager at Natura, prioritizes staying up-to-date with the latest climate science and frameworks. By following VCMI’s Claims Code of Practice, he was confident that Natura’s strategy not only aligned with corporate best practice but also communicated the importance of integrating its climate transition plan into the company’s strategic planning and business continuity, leveraging recognition from shareholders, employees, and other key stakeholders.
To comply with VCMI requirements, the sustainability team made the following shifts:
Natura prioritizes investments in projects that are locally anchored, particularly in Brazil and Latin America. Through the voluntary carbon market, the company has channelled funds to local reforestation projects for almost two decades. Some of these projects have certified more credits than original estimations, and have delivered measurable benefits for nature and communities’ health and livelihoods.
Community engagement has been integral to their success: “Carbon credits play a huge role in addressing social challenges here in Brazil. To ensure success, all stakeholders involved in a project should be fully committed to delivering results,” says João.
Natura looks for projects to support regeneration: the SAF Dendê agroforesty system, for example, enables sustainable sourcing of palm oil by restoring degraded lands in the north of Brazil and planting palm alongside cocoa, açaí, and other native species to increase biodiversity, soil health, and farmers’ income. The project supports ecosystem regeneration while capturing carbon, with SAF Dendê palm oil estimated to have less than one-third the carbon footprint of conventional commodity counterpart.
Natura has founded Compromisso com o Clima (Climate Commitment) program, launched in 2017, that connects companies engaged in VCMs with high-integrity socio-environmental projects based in Brazil to build long-term carbon strategies. Recognized for its rigorous due diligence, transparency, and credibility—aligned with frameworks like the Oxford Principles and Core Carbon Principles (CCPs)—the program has approved 25 projects, making accessible over 4,7 million high-quality carbon credits for the participating corporations.
The program runs annual open calls available to businesses across Brazil, with the goal of sharing experiences working with the voluntary carbon market and fostering integrity in the Brazilian market.
João says, “We understand that climate change has a global impact, and that its effects are felt around the world. But we also understand the importance of scaling up Brazil’s carbon market capacity and climate resilience, by investing in local projects. We’re proud that Natura’s climate strategy has helped develop and mature the Brazilian market and align it with integrity standards.”
Through its iP&L (Integrated Profit and Loss) methodology, Natura quantifies and assesses the co-benefits of projects, accounting for impact across environmental, social, and human dimensions in addition to financial results. Based on 2022 results, every dollar of Natura revenue has generated a 2.7x return in benefits for society.
Carbon credits strategy plays a role in generating a positive impact for society. By investing in clean cookstove projects, like the Fogões Eficientes project in Bahia, Natura has seen many co-benefits delivered to rural communities: reduced smoke leads to cleaner air and improved health, which also strengthen life expectancy and social well-being. These projects also save time for rural families, increasing opportunities for leisure and skills development, demonstrating the link between social good, community health, and environmental conservation.
Nature-based projects, such as forest conservation, similarly generate income for local communities by paying for ecosystem services. A 2022 study showed that for each dollar Natura invested in carbon credits, $32 was returned to society.
Scope 3 emissions account for 98% of Natura’s carbon footprint. Alongside ongoing decarbonization efforts, João notes: “Carbon credits allow our team to access innovative ways of implementing climate solutions.”
Market participation allows the company to invest directly in greening its supply chain:
Strategic knowledge of investing in carbon credits (internal carbon pricing) helped to understand how to fund projects that address Natura’s scope 3 emissions while delivering tangible benefits for business, nature, and communities.
By reframing the climate crisis as an opportunity to implement creative solutions that spur innovation and resilience, Natura continues to inspire a new way of doing business in a way that’s compatible with, and committed to, life.
Climate Transition Action Plan
