Taking a leaf out of Nature’s book

What we have to learn from the natural world.

2020 should have been THE year for biodiversity. Although major international events on the subject have been postponed, many of us are still making sure that biodiversity remains at the forefront of our thoughts and actions.

The damage already inflicted on Nature is huge, and in recent years alone we have seen an alarming drop in biodiversity. Between 1970 and 2012, over half of vertebrates have vanished from our planet. The biologist Gilles B?uf warns that in the coming years we will have lost between 500 000 to 1 000 000 species. He uses Germany as an example, stating that in just 27 years “75% of flying animals will be gone”[1]. The IPBES has been warning persistently that the “unprecedented” rate of species extinction is up to 100 to 1,000 times greater than it was just a few centuries ago and continues to accelerate today [2].

The health of the natural world is essential to our existence on this planet. For most of us this goes without saying however, it's worth remembering exactly why. Nature not only maintains the balance of life on Earth but also provides us with solutions to an infinite number of problems that we face every day. 

As the startup Bioxegy shrewdly notes, we have benefited from 3.8 billion years of research and development thanks to the innovations of the natural world.

Nature has always been the fundamental resource for the human race and there are few if any inventions that are not in some way indebted to Nature. It was the American researcher Janine M. Benyus who encapsulated that truth with the term "biomimicry" in 1977 and brought the concept up to date in her work Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. She describes it as:

"A process of innovation, which calls for the transfer and adaptation of the principles and strategies developed by living organisms and ecosystems, in order to produce goods and services in a sustainable way, and to make human societies compatible with the biosphere."

I particularly like the way in which Leonardo de Vinci (as far back in the 16th Century) expressed it - “take your lessons from nature, it is there that our future lies”. An idea that has probably found similar expression before and after Leonardo.

A wonderful example of a technical innovation inspired by the direct observation of Nature and one which is often used in explaining biomimicry, is Velcro. The Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral invented Velcro after noticing the way in which burrs attached themselves to his clothing and his dog’s fur when they were out walking in the fields.

So now that we know all this, what do we do and how do we go about doing it? And most importantly how do we apply this to our way of working at L’Occitane?

Inspiration from the natural world at L’Occitane

We find inspiration by observing Nature and her virtuous mechanisms, tried and tested over hundreds and thousands of years.

This is in effect, biomimicry, or what Emmanuelle Pouydebat (Research Director at CNRS and MNHN, author of “When animals and plants inspire us”) and others might more poetically - and in our case more accurately call - bio-inspiration.

Some organisations have already grasped the importance of this and are making it their main focus. One interesting example is the startup Glowee who are using bioluminescence to develop their product, lighting up cities with a non-polluting and renewable source of light. I recently had the chance to have a talk with its founder, Sandra Rey, who I found fascinating and completely spot-on.

When it comes to the cosmetics and well-being, L’Occitane has always looked to Nature for inspiration. We are motivated not just by the natural benefits contained in the extracts of plants and flowers etc. but also by the ingenuity, intelligence and adaptability of the natural world.

A great example of that is what we do with the Corsican 'Immortelle’ flower - known for its remarkable longevity and the fact that it never wilts, even after being picked. This extraordinary flower has provided the inspiration for our products aimed at combating the visible signs of ageing. It’s no surprise that we now have an entire department within our R&D laboratory dedicated to researching the benefits of these natural ingredients. Our director of scientific innovation, Pascal Portes says:

From the observation of the immortal's exceptional adaptability to a dry and very sunny environment, our researchers have identified its extraordinary antioxidant properties and put them to use in our anti-ageing skincare line, ‘Immortelle’. We have discovered that it’s now possible to extract a 100% natural alternative to synthetic retinol. It’s amazing to note that the Immortelle flower held the key to effective retinol anti-ageing long before the chemists of the 20th Century.

Nature’s innovations can also be found in our range of haircare products made from black oats, which create amino acids similar to those naturally created by our hair. Recently, we have become interested in the soothing properties of junipers, a shrub most commonly found on the Mediterranean coast and ancestrally used to treat animals.

We observe Nature closely also to learn how to evolve both our methods and our products to perpetually aim towards more efficiency in terms of impact. What we call the “circular economy” and try to implement in our value chains is the fundamental modus operandi of Nature in which there is no “waste” as such: a dead leaf is a source of nutrition for the soil which is itself living, inhabited by all sorts of essential micro-organisms which are essential to the healthy functioning of the ecosystem.

When we ask “how can we create value with our waste and use less energy?” generally speaking if we can understand what Nature does, we have a solution. This is what we did once more with the Immortelle flower. Our new immortelle extract comes from a second plant extraction made from plant waste from the first distillation carried out to obtain the essential oil.

Natural systems, our model for resilience

 During the current global crisis, we’ve often found ourselves talking about the importance of resilience. In truth this isn’t necessarily anything new: the crisis has shone a spotlight on the importance of endurance and adaptation within organisations, something the natural world has been doing since the very beginning of it all. In a 2007 article, entitled “Resilience: a concept for risk management”, researchers and professors André Dauphiné and Damienne Provitolo explain the following concepts:

In this respect, bees are particularly interesting - L’OCCITANE has somewhat modeled its multi-local methods on those of bees. Wherever bees go they enhance: the land and its surrounding wild life (in particular the plants they pollenate); themselves (with the production of honey, the life of the hive), and the surrounding ecosystem that develops (which we could describe as an economy if we pursue the human metaphor) with the biomass and vegetables that come from plants they have pollinated. It is the multi-local model by definition, inherent to bees, and it is this that we are exploring on a human scale in the L'OCCITANE model: in Provence, Burkina Faso, Brazil and Corsica ... where we are developing our activity with the Nature / Human / Land triptych.

Our approach is one we like to call "biosystems": virtuous ecosystems, which are both natural and human. Our ambition is to create economic, environmental and societal value for all the territories where we are present. We are building lasting, fruitful relationships with our producers - from Provence to Burkina Faso via Brazil. We have been working hand in hand for years, sometimes decades, using fair trade methods and supporting family farming.

Using Nature to protect Nature

The damage mentioned above - we now know - is caused mainly by the use of pesticides and intensive monocultures.

We know, for example, that in the Morvan region in France, the intensive monoculture of Douglas pines (native to North America and not France) grown over short cycles (these “forests” are regularly cut or razed) has resulted in imbalance to the ecosystems and significant impoverishment of the soil. In this particular instance, three factors are at play: the variety of the tree is not local, it alone occupies the space (and will therefore extract excessively the resources it needs from the soil) and finally it is cultivated over short cycles and razed[3].

These techniques go against Nature and prevent the creation of Nature’s own mechanisms.

Our choice is the opposite. We have decided to work with local, indigenous species in an ancestral way, listening to the lessons of Nature because generally Nature is rarely mistaken!

At L’OCCITANE, this principle is deeply enrooted as we develop our supply of vegetal raw materials from which most of our essences and active ingredients are derived. In this way, we are heavily involved in agro-ecology and organic farming - in particular in our cultivation of Verbena, Immortelle, Shea. Agro-ecology is inspired by Nature insofar as it relies on the support network that plants and living beings offer each other, or the Earth to create autonomous systems that are capable of protecting themselves. To cite the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food, agro-ecology is:

"One way of designing production systems that rely on the functionalities offered by ecosystems. It amplifies them while aiming to reduce pressure on the environment (eg: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, limiting the use of plant protection products) and preserving natural resources. It is about making maximum use of Nature as a factor of production while maintaining its inherent capacity for renewal.”

In other words, agro-ecology borrows from autonomous balanced ecosystems such as forests to produce biodiversity and support local producers. 

With the help of our dedicated team, made up of agricultural engineers and also our technical partners working daily in the field, we are also involved in the development of agroforestry.

We pay special attention to the choice of species, to their diversity, to the use of species and varieties in territories where we cultivate them, so as not to damage the biodiversity, but to regenerate it, enrich it, and allow the virtuous mechanisms of Nature to function optimally.

Some examples that we are particularly proud of:

• We plant living hedges on the farms of our producers to - amongst other benefits - enrich the biodiversity (insects, butterflies and bats find a habitat here), protect and drain the soil more intelligently, so that it is richer and more alive thanks to the healthier organic matter, reduce temperature variations and eventually even create a microclimate.

• We experiment a lot with agro-ecological practices with our verbena cultivators, the Mary family. By relying on the surrounding forest to grow pesticide-free verbena, we are working to replicate this rich forest soil.
• As Nature constantly relies on diversity, we apply this same notion to our crops, valuing the genetic diversity of our plants above all. Each lavender and Immortelle plant is different, so that in the event of a pest or disease we can be sure that at least some of the crop will survive having become more resilient.
• For eight years now, we have been committed to the production of ever more sustainable Proven?ale lavender. The Green et Lavandes program is developing diversity within lavender varieties, practicing agroforestry and preserving the bee population during harvest time.
• And finally, in keeping with our ethos of collaborating with the natural world, it is the sheep who weed our Immortelle fields in Corsica.

As part of our mission to support biodiversity - and forests in particular - so that Nature can continue to protect us and play its necessary role in our ecosystems we are also implicated in different initiatives that go beyond the agricultural field and on our farms:

• We are currently supporting 12 reforestation projects;
• In Burkina Faso, we have launched a 2-million-euro program with our local teams and our partners to protect areas of shea trees - which play a central role in the economy of rural women, soil preservation, animal species and carbon capture - deforestation and urban development;

• We have contributed to the reintroduction of almond trees in Provence - which had practically disappeared in the 1960s in favour of more profitable crops - in particular by co-creating an inter-professional association, France Almond, and by setting the objective of replanting 2,000 hectares of trees;

• In Provence, we have financed dozens of "bee-chasing" trays which allow bees to be temporarily "chased" during the lavender harvest in order to avoid any collateral damage to this precious species, so critical to the overall balance of our ecosystems. The bee accomplishes an unfathomable amount of work that we would otherwise have to manage ourselves (implying the mobilization of heavy resources) if it weren't there.

We are also proud that L'Occitane was among the very first signatories of the Business for Nature call-to-action (that you can learn more about here: https://www.businessfornature.org/) a few weeks ago. In addition, we have deepened our commitment to ambitious coalitions such as One Planet for Biodiversity, an initiative led by Danone, bringing together companies that are particularly committed to regenerating biodiversity.

Our Group, that’s been growing through decades, owes its resilience to our original connection with Nature and its long-standing attachment to bio-inspiration. This heritage is almost like a gift for our future and we hope that the number of those who appreciate its value will carry on growing.

Bio-inspiration is a subject I truly enjoy talking about because it is one that needs to be shared and made more accessible, so that our urge to protect it becomes instinctual. After all, Nature holds very many of the solutions to our ills.

And in these unusual times, pivotal for the future of our civilisation, I am convinced - perhaps even more so than before if that’s possible - that there is everything to gain from turning to Nature.

I would be very happy to continue the discussion with any who wish to, to share ideas and our "bio-inspirations”.

A huge thank you to those who make up our very own L’Occitane ? bio-system ?, to those who participated in the creation of this text and to all those who make the projects mentioned above possible. Thanks to Maud Leportier - in charge of Scientific valuation, Valentine Bouvier - active ingredients specialist and Jean Charles Lhommet - Biodiversity and Sustainability manager for their expertise and commitment.

The illustrations for this publication were created by Julien Croyal.

If you would like to find out more about biomimicry/bio-inspiration, feel free to listen to the two recent podcasts below:

• Le biomimétisme au secours des hommes
• Illuminer nos villes du futur grace à la —bioluminescence | Sandra Rey – Glowee

If you would like to know more about the L’OCCITANE Group and our engagements, click here.

Notes and sources:

[1] To listen to the talk on France Inter from May 2019, follow this link: https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/la-une-de-la-science/la-une-de-la-science-06-mai-2019

[2] The IPBES report from 2019 can be read here : https://ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment-Fr

[3] Le Monde, Dans le Morvan, la bataille contre la monoculture de pins Douglas s’organise, July 2020