Shiseido’s bond with Italy is very strong: the first branch of the Japanese company was opened in 1968 in a western country, ours, which is still one of the main markets in the EMEA area (Europe, Middle East and Africa). But it takes more to understand why Shiseido has chosen to celebrate 150 years of history in Venice: if there is an element that distinguishes Japan it is the respect and pride for the traditions and for the cultural, social and economic evolution of the Village. Respect and pride that perhaps more than in any other nation have limited the homologation effects that globalization has brought with it and that for some time, ironically or of history, all over the world, are seen in a much less positive light compared to the past. It would have seemed obvious to celebrate the birth, in 1872, of a company that became a world leader in cosmetics, in its place of birth, Tokyo, in the Ginza district. Perhaps, however, precisely those who have solid roots and at the same time vision know how to amaze by paying homage to their own history and at the same time to that, millenary, of our most famous city of art in the world.
«Venice is the embodiment of beauty, starting with its very particular architecture. But it is also a world reference point for all the arts, as demonstrated by the cinema exhibition in progress these days and the various editions of the Biennale – explains Franck Marilly, president and CEO of Shiseido Emea -. Not only that: thanks to its university, Venice is gaining a prominent place in Europe in scientific research and in particular in that on the great theme of sustainability. Art and science: two elements, indeed, two values, in which Shiseido deeply believes, since his birth ». In support of Marilly’s words, the Venice Sustainable Fashion Forum will be presented next Thursday, the first international summit dedicated to the sustainable transition of the fashion sector, which will then be held on 27 and 28 October, at the Giorgio Cini Foundation, curated by Ambrosetti.
Shiseido organized its summit, obviously dedicated to beauty, which brought scientists and experts in innovation, sustainability and cosmetic research to Venice.
«A way to celebrate our values but also to look to the next 150 years – underlines the CEO and president of the EMEA area, which includes 88 countries -. I always like to remember that the company name comes from a Chinese poem and that it contains three elements: Shi means life, Be means resources, Do means home. In a globalized world we have defined our mission “Beauty innovation for a better world“, but on closer inspection the idea is the same: investing huge resources to improve everyone’s lives while respecting everyone’s home, which is our planet ” . Last year Shiseido allocated more than 3% of net revenues – over one trillion yen, about seven billion euros – to research and innovation and the percentage should remain the same in 2022, with a first half that ended substantially in in line with that of 2012 to 493 billion yen in revenues (about 3.4 billion euros).
Impresses, browsing the Shiseido corporate website ( https://corp.shiseido.com) the number of press releases regarding new technologies, partnerships with research institutes and universities, scholarships, independent certifications on the effectiveness of the products and, last but not least, goals and objectives of sustainability and, more generally, of Esg. «Alongside social sustainability and governance, we have been committed for decades to reducing environmental impact: it is a priority for those who lead the company, for all the people who work there and for our customers – adds Franck Marilly -. The strategy is based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations, with all the conviction and consistency that a company like Shiseido has always demonstrated. Just to give some examples: for carbon neutrality we have set ourselves the goal of 2026 and in 2021, compared to 2019, we have reduced CO2 emissions by 18%. We are in full transition towards renewable energies and we have plans to maximize energy efficiency along the entire value chain, in all the countries in which we operate ». Seven of Shiseido’s production sites already use 100% energy from renewable sources and overall half of the electricity consumed by the company globally comes from renewables.