Talent, environment and innovation lead British Beauty Council 3-year plan
British Beauty Council chief executive Millie Kendall OBE and chief policy officer Victoria Brownlie have shared the organisation’s roadmap for the next three years, outlining the growth plans within its three key pillars: talent, growth, and environmental, social and governance (ESG).
Talent
Lead by pillar president David McDonald, vice president No 7, the Talent pillar focuses on careers and mentoring within the beauty industry in support of a new generation of beauty industry professionals.
Having developed a new programme to support this, called "Future Talent:, the British Beauty Council will be launching a four-film series showcasing the different areas within the beauty industry, including research and science, technology, engineering and maths, or STEM-based professions, as the industry faces a recruitment and skills crisis.
“We’re trying to challenge that perception… do I want a career in the beauty industry? The first thought is that if I don’t want to be a hairdresser and I don’t want to work in retail in House of Fraser then no.” said Brownlie.
“We know from our experiences in the beauty industry that, unless we have more people going into those STEM careers, we’re not going to have the new innovation and technology.”
The series will feature prominent industry professionals sharing their career stories and how they came into their position in technology, science, fragrance and more.
The films will be shows to young people beginning to think about which subjects they’ll be taking as their GCSE and A-Level options and starting to explore career routes, with beauty influencers and content creators helping to engage younger audiences.
“We really want kids to see (the beauty industry as) something shiny and sexy and think ‘yeah, that’s actually something I want to do'.” added Kendall.
In addition to the film series, the BBCo will be working with the Department for Education on the programme, as well as putting areas such as film and tv make-up in the spotlight and creating a careers hub for young people to access.
Growth
The Growth pillar, led by pillar president Anna Teal, chief executive of Aromatherapy Associates, will put a focus on product in tech innovation, while building a flow of investment to support start-ups and scale-ups.
The initiative will focus on the expansion of the Trade Hub, which currently shares trading information between the UK and EU, with plans to add in trading information for the USA, China, India, and rest of world.
A new Innovation Hub will also be a main focus, with a fund named Innovation Labs set to launch as the BBCo sets out to fund start-ups, scale-ups and financially support brands.
The Next British Beauty Brand, an initiative put on hold during the pandemic, will also be relaunched as the Council provides support through capitol, mentoring, legal advice and more to up-and-coming beauty brands.
The BBCo is also drafting a presentation for the Department for International Trade to ensure that beauty is ‘firmly on the map in terms of the Great Campaign’, referencing the Government initiative showcasing the best of Britain.
“We feel that rather than being the ‘little brother’ to the fashion side of what comes out of our country, we have enough to say in terms of innovators and big faces and names in the beauty industry.” said Brownlie. “We are really looking to push the UK’s beauty industry globally and feel the Great Campaign is a key part of that.”
Environmental, Social and Governance
The focus for the ESG pillar over the next three years is two-fold: The Sustainable Beauty Coalition, which will focus on future framework and funding for sustainability initiatives, and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, which has been broken into five smaller task forces and will be setting out a framework for its intentions.
The five task forces within the DEI Committee are policies and practices, education, inclusive customer experience, inclusive product and service design and supplier diversity.
The SBC is currently going through a similar process, dividing into more specific task forces.
The BBCo recognises how important it is to lead by example and is working on its own net zero commitment.
The Council will also be hosting the Plastic Solutions Summit as part of British Beauty Week in September, which is setting out to host c-suite level executives from large corporations around a table to discuss and agree a future without plastic. Did you see, campaigners have called for a wider ban on microplastics within the beauty industry?
On the topic of plastic, the BBCo has launched a national interactive recycling map to make recycling easier for both professionals and consumers. Check out our recycling symbol guide here.
As conversations around ageing and menopause rise, the Council will be bringing attention to the topic, and hair loss because of aging as the industry speaks out about a lack of conversation and representation for older generations.
A further report on diversity within the industry is also set to be released.
