Anabel Kindersley on Neal's Yard Remedies' journey since winning Walpole's Sustainable Luxury Brand of the Year award

Personally, what was it like on the night to accept the award?

It was incredible to be acknowledged for the work we've been quietly dedicated to for over forty years. For me, it was quite emotional to see our family business recognised among the best of British luxury.

What did it mean for your business to win the award?

It’s incredibly validating. Sustainability has never been a box-ticking exercise to help Neal's Yard Remedieswin awards – it’s a belief that runs to the core of everything we do. But having our efforts measured and recognised by such an expert panel of judges really reinforced the importance of our commitment and hard work. It showed that what we’re doing isn’t just appreciated by our own people and our loyal customers, but is also respected by the British luxury industry at large.

Since your win, what have the developments been in your sustainability strategy over the past year?

It’s been a busy year so far. We are about to re-launch our most-loved Frankincense Intense skincare range with new and improved formulations. Not only do these formulations give better results, but from a sustainability perspective, we’ve found new techniques that help save the Earth’s precious resources. The cold-processing method we now use for the Age-Defying Serum requires much less thermal energy and we’re using a new ingredient in the Age-Defying Cream that’s cultivated in a less water-intensive way.

We supported London-based not-for-profit Grow to Know through sales of last year’s gifting collection, helping them in their mission to bring green spaces into urban environments. The work they do is so important not only in creating pollinator havens in the city, but also in providing under-privileged communities access to nature for their wellbeing. 

Our decade-long campaign to protect bees and pollinators has become even mightier throughout the year, with a parliamentary debate at Westminster back in March this year, when a shadow (now cabinet) minister pledged to stop any further derogations for bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides in agriculture. In June, we hosted our second Bee Symposium, gathering many of our 110 Stand By Bee campaign supporters to discuss the importance of bee habitats, and inspiring citizens to be part of nature recovery. To action our discussions across our own communities, we launched a new initiative called 'Pollinator Pathways'. Anyone can pledge a pollinator-friendly plot across the country (plant pot, garden patch or field) with the aim of creating a pathway of habitat for our bees to forage that runs the length and breadth of Britain.

What advice would you have for this year’s winner of the sustainability award?

Work together and collaborate. To really make a difference to the planet, all our efforts need to be combined. Together we can make the meaningful change that is so urgently needed. 

What is top of your sustainability agenda in the coming year?

There is no one single initiative, but our mission is to continuously drive our sustainability agenda across the whole business – every day, year on year. This can mean anything from putting zero waste boxes in our manufacturing facility to ensure hair nets are recycled by Terracyle to adapting our packaging to minimise waste – such as removing unnecessary cardboard packaging. Of course, we will continue campaigning to stop another round of bee-killing pesticides being allowed in the UK.