4.3.1.1.5. Protecting biodiversity on operated sites
The Group wishes to limit the impact of its activity on biodiversity throughout its value chain and at each site it operates. Biodiversity protection initiatives and awareness‑raising activities for employees and local stakeholders have been running for several years at many sites.
L’Oréal has rules governing land use when constructing new buildings (see section 4.3.1.1.2.). In addition to these, since2018, each site with green or non-artificial spaces has been asked to implement an appropriate structure to roll out a specific biodiversity roadmap. Partnerships with local external organisations (associations, specialist firms etc.) are established to carry out on-site biodiversity inventories and propose appropriate action plans.
These inventories take into account local, regional and national challenges, and consider the proportion and connection of green spaces, the diversity of habitats and vegetation layers, the number of species (flora and fauna), including protected, endangered, and invasive species. The inventories help to establish a basis of scientific knowledge in order to define targeted biodiversity action plans, conducted with associations or local experts, in line with the ecosystem in which the sites operate.
At the end of 2022, 94 sites had carried out a biodiversity inventory, 71% of them are industrial sites.
To advance this theme further, the L’Oréal for the Future programme aims to ensure that all buildings and industrial sites operated by the Group have a positive impact on biodiversity by 2030 compared with 2019.
A methodology for monitoring this commitment was developed in 2021 and rolled out to all of the Group’s sites in 2022. The status “biodiversity net positive” is granted based on:
- the achievement of a target for the improvement of habitat and biodiversity quality. At site level, this improvement is measured using an indicator called the Site Biodiversity Score (SBS). The information required to calculate it is taken from biodiversity inventories. This indicator assesses and monitors the quality of biodiversity on a given site. Sites without green or non-artificial spaces must engage in offsite projects, whose evolution in terms of biodiversity quality is integrated into the calculation of the SBS of the site; and
- the achievement of a biodiversity culture threshold. The development of a biodiversity culture involves raising awareness among and training all teams at a site, incorporating biodiversity considerations into the rollout of new projects (extending a building etc.) and into the everyday life of the site (responsible purchasing, awareness of food waste etc.).
In addition, phytosanitary products (insecticides, fungicides and herbicides) used in the maintenance of green spaces can have adverse effects on the environment and human health. L’Oréal therefore wishes to end their use, and the sites operated by the Group must report on whether or not these products are being used.
The Group commits to ensuring that phytosanitary products are not used in the maintenance of outdoor green spaces on any of the sites it operates by 2030. At the end of 2022, 152 sites, i.e. 90% of L’Oréal sites, maintained their outdoor green spaces without the use of phytosanitary products.
4.3.1.1.6. Preserving resources and reducing waste on operated sites
For several years, there has been an ambitious approach to waste reduction and recovery in the Group within the framework of the Sharing Beauty With All programme. The L’Oréal for the Future programme is continuing this work. This is an ambitious challenge, in light of L’Oréal’s exacting definition of waste. Indeed, any substance, product or material leaving a site that is not a finished product intended for consumption is considered as waste, regardless of how it is treated.
The L’Oréal for the Future programme sets a target for 2030 of preserving natural resources: 100% of the waste generated on the operated sites will be reused or recycled.
Furthermore, building on the Sharing Beauty With All programme, the Group has set targets for reducing the waste generated by its sites by 2030:
- reducing the waste generation of factories and distribution centres by 30% per finished product, compared to 2019; and
- reducing the waste generation of administrative sites and research centres by 30% per 100 hours worked, compared to 2019.
Reducing waste generation at source
The reduction of waste generation is something that involves the Group’s entire value chain, and is enabled in particular by:
- eco-designing products, packaging components and transport packaging in a way that aims to reduce waste and improve their recyclability (weight reductions, optimisation, reuse etc.);
- mapping the waste generated using, in particular for the Group’s industrial sites, an internal L’Oréal tool that carries out a comprehensive analysis of the different types of waste on site: the WasteScan tool. Each type of waste is quantified and compared with a benchmark value in order to identify potential reductions and to prioritise the actions to be taken.