Valérie Beauregard of Nature By Canus: Five Strategies Our Company Is Using To Tackle Climate Change & Become More Sustainable
An Interview With Penny Bauder
… How I must change the core of my being. Nobody is born an entrepreneur. You must take the time to readjust yourself to the person you want to be businesswise. There is a lot of self development that goes into becoming a great entrepreneur.
As part of my series about companies who are helping to battle climate change, I had the pleasure of interviewing Valérie Beauregard. Valerie is a branch manager at Canus USA. Canus contributes to nourishing a better world by offering skin care products made with fresh goat’s milk, manufactured in partnership with dairy milk producers, while being socially involved in the community. These products are globally distributed and are manufactured in accordance with eco-responsible principles and values that promote and enhance well-being.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My father, André Beauregard, who is still working to this day for the company, brought me alongside him on this adventure. I hopped on my first business meeting at four years old and loved it! I always knew I wanted to be a business girl, and then a businesswoman. Seeing my dad’s work and how it impacts families inspired me to pursue this career path.
What is the mission of your company? What problems are you aiming to solve?
Nature by Canus contributes to nourishing a better world by offering accessible skin-care products made from fresh goat’s milk manufactured in partnership with our dairy milk producers while being socially involved in the community. These premium products are distributed and produced by following responsible principles and values that promote and enhance family members’ well-being.
Nature by Canus is working hard every day to make its operations more environmentally friendly. For example, all our plastic bottles are recyclable, but unfortunately, the bottle’s sleeve is not. We are currently working on a sleeve you can easily tear to facilitate sorting.
We are also working on bettering our body wash formulation to make it even more sustainable and plant based.
We are aiming to solve numerous skin conditions.
We choose ethical sourcing and partners with sustainable objectives to smooth the progress of deforestation, habitat displacement and destruction, and many more.
What are the initiatives that you, or your company are taking to address climate change, or sustainability? Please, give an example for each.
Nature by Canus produces sustainable, traceable, carbon-negative palm oil for our Nature by Canus bars of soap. Handpicked from a strictly organic, 4,000-hectare plantation, palm fruits are pressed without consuming external energy. With this unique and innovative system, we are now producing more energy than we are using. We are always prioritizing ethical sourcing when looking for raw materials.
Due to our commitment to sustainability and reducing our environmental impact, we have removed EDTA from our products, and replaced it with tetrasodium glutamate diacetate. Its primary advantage is its excellent properties regarding human toxicity. Tetrasodium glutamate diacetate, made from plant material, is a high purity, versatile, and biodegradable ingredient.
Our bars of soap are 100 % biodegradable. We are also eco-printing on its packaging with plant-based ink containing no organic volatile compound. And we are using thinner cardboard for our packaging with 8 % less corrugation.
Nature by Canus has equipped its warehouses with smart lighting to reduce energy consumption, and its shipping boxes are made with 100 % recycled cardboard.
Nature by Canus is working with vertically integrated manufacturers to reduce its production carbon footprint.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Please, share a story, or give an example.
Our CEO, André Beauregard, said that we hope to stand out from the competition by making smarter decisions. The number of consumers of sustainable and more socially conscious products is blooming every day, and Nature by Canus goal is to deliver a line of products they can enjoy with their minds at ease. Eco-friendly suppliers are already here, you must look around, find them, and partner together. You also must make space for other companies to join you on this adventure. Support one another because it is the hardest path, but it is very much worth it in the end. Do not be afraid to invest in your brand and what you are doing for yourself and the Earth. Another way to grow greener is put into practice vertical integration. It benefits your company by allowing you to control the supply chain, reduce costs, and improve efficiencies.
The youth led climate strikes of September 2019 showed an impressive degree of activism and initiative by young people on behalf of climate change. This was great and there is still plenty that needs to be done. In your opinion what are the five (5) things parents should do to inspire the next generation to become engaged in sustainability and the environmental movement? Please, share a story, or give an example.
Teach them how to sort their waste at an early age so it becomes an automatism.
Teach them to work with their hands, to sew, to repair. Basically, teach them to DIY.
Teach them to always prioritize public transportation, such as taking the bus and the subway. If you must take the car, consider carpooling.
Teach them to support and buy from local efforts, and eco-friendly efforts.
Teach them to grow their own urban garden.
What are your five (5) things I wish someone told me before I started, and why?
To surround myself with people smarter than I am to grow faster and go further.
To bet on attitude and not only on talent because you can always teach someone to do things, but you cannot change their attitude.
How hard it is going to be.
How I must change the core of my being. Nobody is born an entrepreneur. You must take the time to readjust yourself to the person you want to be businesswise. There is a lot of self development that goes into becoming a great entrepreneur.
To believe in my team workers and what they can accomplish.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Please, share a story.
My dad teaches me a lot. I always followed him around. He showed me how to read the market, to respect my partners, etc. My first learning was how to properly shake someone’s hand when introducing myself. As I was a kid, I was not as tall as the people standing in front of me, and I had to step on a chair to look at them in the eyes. He taught me to be honest and fair, regardless of the situation. Later in life, I had the chance to study at École d’Entrepreneurship de Beauce, which gave me the opportunity to meet other businesspersons who shared many of their good and bad experiences to provide us with a much-appreciated head start in management. I also want to thank all my colleagues for making Nature by Canus nourish a better world every day.
You are a person of great influence and doing some great things for the world! If you could inspire a movement that would bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Naming one movement is hard for the dreamer and optimistic person I am. Working in the business of cosmetic and personal care, it would be a dream come true if every human could have easy access to hygiene and personal care products. Too many people are still dying every year due to a lack of hygiene. I obviously also want them to have easy access to clean water and education.
Do you have a favorite life lesson quote? Can you tell us how that was relevant to you in your life?
I have two (2) favorite quotes:
There is no problem, only solutions. Living by this quote makes you positive and open-minded.
Alone you go faster, but together you go further. By nature, I like things to move quickly. I always have new ideas and projects in mind. Alone you can do a lot and do it fast, but you will be missing energy and time twice as fast. I believe that if you want to achieve great things, you need to be a team. Teamwork will bring more talents, more ideas, more resources, more sales, etc. You gain more in the long run.
What is the best way for people to follow you on social media?
On Instagram — @naturebycanusus
On Facebook — Nature by Canus
This was so inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Valérie Beauregard of Nature By Canus: Five Strategies Our Company Is Using To Tackle Climate… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.