The Future of Skincare?
How This Sunscreen Could Change Everything

17 feb 2025 / ESG Matters

A Future-Fit Perspective on Adaptive Sunscreen Technology

Innovation in skincare is taking a significant step forward—imagine a sunscreen that ‘knows’ the weather and adapts to provide optimal protection. A recent development by Kao Corporation introduces a weightless, breathable sunscreen that adjusts its UV-blocking properties in response to environmental conditions. But beyond convenience, how does this align with the Future-Fit Business Benchmark (FFBB), and what role does such innovation play in shaping a truly Future-Fit Society?

Applying the Future-Fit Business Benchmark to Cosmetics and Personal Care

Private equity firms excel at assessing financial risk, but a critical new dimension is emerging—one that considers extra-financial risks.

For firms seeking a future-ready approach, the Future-Fit Business Benchmark offers a structured framework. The Benchmark’s Break-Even Goals (BE) define the minimum thresholds companies must meet to ensure they do no harm, addressing issues like sustainable sourcing, environmental impact, and product safety. Not incorporating this approach can present systemic risks, leaving investments vulnerable. 

Integrating Break-Even Goals into investment strategies helps future-proof portfolios, ensuring resilience in a rapidly evolving market. As financial and societal accountability converge, private equity firms must adapt.

From a sustainability standpoint, Kao Corporation’s adaptive sunscreen can possibly contribute to improvements in performance for multiple Break-Even Goals outlined in the FFBB:

  • BE05－Operational Emissions Do Not Harm People or the Environment: If production and formulation processes minimize emissions, particularly volatile organic compounds (VOCs), this product aligns with a lower-impact manufacturing approach.
  • BE17－Products Do Not Harm People or the Environment: Sunscreens often contain chemicals that can contribute to water pollution, particularly in marine ecosystems. If Kao ensures the formula is reef-safe and biodegradable, it directly supports this goal.
  • BE19－Products Can Be Repurposed: Packaging innovation matters. Sustainable packaging, whether recyclable or refillable, enhances circular economy practices and reduces single-use plastic reliance.

Thematic and Strategic Alignment to Accelerate a Future-Fit Society

Private equity firms looking to align their investments with specific themes or strategic priorities—such as expanding healthcare access, advancing medical innovation, or strengthening workforce development—can use Positive Pursuits (PPs) to identify businesses that actively contribute to these goals. While Break-Even Goals ensure companies do no harm, Positive Pursuits highlight those creating meaningful progress.

Examples of Positive Pursuits that are possibly relevant to the cosmetics and personal care industry:

  • PP05－Others Depend Less on Inadequately Managed Natural Resources: By using reef-safe minerals, plant-based oils, and ethical UV filters, the sunscreen reduces reliance on petrochemicals, non-renewable minerals, and unsustainable palm oil, encouraging more responsible sourcing industry-wide.
  • PP10－Others Generate Less Waste: Implementing a closed-loop packaging system would reinforce Kao’s role in supporting waste elimination.

Using Progress Indicators for a Future-Fit Business

Tracking progress without a clear end goal risks becoming business as usual. To drive real change, private equity firms must embed backcasting—starting with the desired future state and mapping the steps needed to get there—into their measurement approach. The Future-Fit Business Benchmark provides Progress Indicators that help firms set long-term sustainability goals, assess where portfolio companies stand today, and create a strategic roadmap to bridge the gap between current performance and future success. Rather than arbitrarily tracking ESG metrics, measurable progress with an end goal in mind can drive systemic change. To ensure investments contribute to long-term patient and societal benefits, integrating progress indicators into deal assessments can provide clarity:

For Kao and other industry leaders, integrating progress indicators into their reporting is essential. By measuring the percentage of sustainably sourced ingredients, carbon footprint per unit of production, and recyclability of packaging, Kao can showcase its trajectory toward Future-Fitness while providing transparent updates on continuous improvements.

Final Thought: A Business Model Transformation Opportunity

Adaptive skincare represents a shift toward smarter, more responsive products that ideally align with sustainability, resource efficiency, and consumer well-being. Companies looking to adopt the Future-Fit Business Benchmark can use this innovation as a case study: How can product design align with planetary boundaries while meeting consumer needs? Accredited Advisors from Future-Fit Foundation can support organizations in embedding such thinking into their strategy—ensuring that products not only perform but also contribute to a regenerative economy. For those in Asia time zones, FFAPA can be your first point of contact.

Would your business benefit from a Future-Fit approach? Let’s talk.
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THIS ARTICLE WAS CREATED BY

ESG Matters

Founded by one of the sustainability pioneers Dr Glenn Frommer, ESG Matters specialises in ESG data analytics, intelligent sensing technologies and sustainability advisory. Since 2014, ESG Matters has been a creator of digital platform solutions to meet the needs of sustainable impact investing and green financing. Working closely with listed companies, SMEs, and various growing organisations, ESG Matters aims to address the global market through providing business process outsourcing (BPO) services and solutions to achieve the relevant sustainable development goals (SDGs) and building resilience to climate change.

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