Describe your business in 3 words

Design-led, Experiential, Community

About the business

Our identity and our character

Our origin dates to Melbourne, Australia, in 1987. We are an enduring brand, often emulated but never matched, driven by experiences that nourish the senses, mind and heart.

A collective and true community of proud Aesopians, we each possess confident reverence and commitment to the brand. Determinedly creative, curious and progressive, we believe in intentional expression and celebrating the architecture of meaning.

We are more than a skincare brand; we express deep-rooted, transcendent principles through products, spaces and actions that are comprised of the same attention to detail that is intrinsic to all aspects of our company.

Our duties and our actions

We explore and support the arts to inspire, learn, and communicate. We dedicate ourselves fervently to muted but significant philanthropic endeavours, which include the Aesop Foundation and taking care of our local communities, best proven by the adage ‘actions speak louder than words’.

Our motivation and our purpose

People, Profit, and Planet; each underpins both our broad-level business and our day-to-day workings. We hold each in mind as we pursue beauty in its highest form. Our quiet sense of nonconformity distinguishes and motivates us, and as our purpose is to elevate our experience of living by enriching the senses, self and surrounds, we fulfil this by embodying our principles, values and intentions individually and as a collective.

Why is diversity and inclusion important to your company?

Aesop is dedicated to supporting the communities in which we operate and giving back in meaningful ways that create greater opportunities for historically excluded or marginalised groups both internally and externally.

We listened deeply and intently to our colleagues to understand their experiences, challenges, barriers, and opportunities, reflected on topics of diversity, equity & inclusion what we had learned, formalised our approach to make intentional improvement in this area and began to take action.

We continue to embed and strengthen our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programme of work within our global practices, ways of working, policies and behaviours across our organisation.

Continuing to strengthen Aesop’s Employee Resource Groups—safe spaces for colleagues with shared lived experiences— fostered belonging and support for historically and systemically excluded people and communities.

Our ERGs continue to drive awareness on key issues that particularly impact those communities and acknowledge and celebrate key cultural and religious moments in the year.

We invite you to find out more information in the Aesop Impact Report. 

What is the culture that you foster within your company?

We have a unique culture at Aesop and we are proud of who we are, but we are also committed to building and fostering a more inclusive, diverse and equitable culture, and a stronger sense of belonging for all.

We are on a mission to unlock opportunities and enable progression for our colleagues from all backgrounds​, drive a broader agenda of equity where all colleagues are treated with fairness, dignity and respect​, and shape a culture that values difference and authenticity where everyone can bring their whole self to work​​​​​​​.

Examples of programmes, initiatives and activities include:

·        Enhanced Parental Leave Policy that provides enhanced pay and leave for new parents.

·       Employee Resource Groups: Aesop Women (ERG for women & allies), Prism (ERG for the LGBTQIA+ community) and Ubuntu (ERG for race, ethnicity, and culture).

·       Learning programmes to expand our knowledge and awareness of inclusion, bias and understanding of diverse lived experiences.

·       Launch of Global Menopause Policy and training and Period Productivity workshops.

·       Mental Health & Wellbeing and First Aid training.

How do you support personal development?

At Aesop we recognise our employees are key to continued success of the business; and with this belief comes a commitment to nurturing the careers of employees.

We place great importance on employee retention, development and career growth, and as such, Aesop employees are given priority to consider and apply for internal opportunities wherever possible under our ‘Internal First’ approach, prior to exploring the external talent market. 

We offer a suite of options to employees to aid their growth and development, including complimentary access to LinkedIn Learning platform, in-house Product and Core skills training and study support opportunities.