By Adam Aston for OnEarth Magazine
Q&A with Director of Corporate Responsibility Susan Arnot Heaney
The first “Avon Lady” started knocking on doors in New Hampshire back in 1886, selling beauty products directly to her friends and neighbors. The door-to-door approach may seem familiar — even quaint — today, but it was groundbreaking at a time when women had few job options outside the farm or factory and rarely owned or ran their own businesses. By offering credit, products, and sales support, Avon created the possibility for them to do so. By the turn of the century, the ranks of Avon Ladies surpassed 5,000.
Today, more than 6.5 million independent sales Representatives sell Avon products in over 100 countries to more than 300 million customers. Echoing its original appeal in the United States, the brand continues to find fast success opening up opportunities to women in emerging markets such as Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. With a product line that now spans makeup and perfume, as well as gifts, clothes, jewelry, and housewares, Avon’s sales totaled $11.3 billion through September.
These big numbers inspire Susan Arnot Heaney, but they also make her job more difficult. As Avon’s director of corporate responsibility since 2006, Heaney focuses on developing, tracking, and reporting efforts to reduce the impact of Avon’s activities on the planet. Each year, the New York-based company has to balance expanding its business while also managing and reducing the use of resources, including trees to make hundreds of millions of catalogs, tons of palm oil for its cosmetics, more energy, water and other materials.
In recent years, Avon has mapped out in increasing detail how, when, and by how much it wants to alter its impact. Earlier this month, the company published its third corporate responsibility report detailing efforts and goals set out in 2009-2010. By 2020, for instance, Avon aims to cut its consumption of water per unit produced by 40 percent, compared with a 2005 baseline, while also aiming for 20 percent absolute reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. In the same period, Avon aims for its operations to produce zero waste by fully recycling or reusing any leftovers from its factories and distribution centers.
OnEarth contributor Adam Aston recently caught up with Heaney at the unveiling of the company’s new LEED Gold-certified Manhattan headquarters to learn more about the beauty brand’s sustainability agenda and how it aims to harness the power of millions of “affiliates” — better known as Avon ladies — to help further it. More
