4.3.1.2.3. Reducing the environmental impact associated with transporting L’Oréal products
L’Oréal has a long-standing commitment to reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by the transportation of its products(1)Finished products.. The Sharing Beauty With All programme initiated the reduction of GHG emissions by 24% per unit sold per kilometre between 2011 and 2020.
As part of its new commitments, L’Oréal is going further and has set itself a target of reducing GHG emissions by 50% per finished product by 2030, in comparison to 2016. The scope of consolidation covers the transportation flows of finished products from the production sites to the first customer delivery point. The commitments have been shared with the entire internal and external ecosystem. As such, sustainable transportation was ranked as a priority and one of the major strategic components of the Group’s sustainability transformation.
L’Oréal’s sustainable transport strategy is based on five pillars. It focuses in particular on the two greatest contributors to GHG emissions associated with product transportation: air and road transport.
The five pillars of the sustainable transport strategy include:
1. Limit air travel and provide for specific monitoring
The reduction of air transport is one of the pillars of the distribution strategy. As such, it is included in the Divisions’ budget targets and is integrated into our purchasing strategies, for example by favouring local production.
In 2023, the Group transported 0.2% of its products by weight by air, representing 19% of its transportation-related carbon footprint. As a result, the total carbon footprint of air transport in 2023 was reduced by 44% compared to 2022.
These results reflect a continuous decrease for four consecutive years.
This is illustrated by the exemplary work of our Luxe Division, which organised for some promotional kits to be manufactured two months early, enabling it to reduce the use of air travel by 95% for worldwide shipments from France.
2. The Greener Lanes prgramme dedicated to long-distanceroad transport
This programme implements solutions that will reduce CO2 emissions on long-distance road flows with the highest emissions. In 2023, transportation of finished products by road represented 67.6% of the Group’s GHG emissions for the transport of finished products.
To cut these emissions, new solutions are being rolled out gradually for all flows between the Group’s factories, distribution centres and customers:
- the use of multimodal transport, for example river or rail freight, rather than road;
- the use of energy with a lower environmental impact, such as biogas or biofuel vehicles, to replace diesel.
For example, for the first time in 2023, L’Oréal ran regular, express freight trains between Europe and Asia, which reduced its use of air transport to this destination.
3. The Greener Last Mile (GLAM) programme designed toimplement solutions that will reduce CO2 emissions from urban transport
The Group is also specifically addressing the environmental impact of urban transport. It aims to deploy lower impact solutions, such as electric vehicles, cargo bikes or natural gas vehicles.
4. Performance management, an important aspect of theGroup’s strategy
For several years, the Group has committed to a sustainable decarbonisation policy and applied robust action plans that are specific to each country.
Digitalisation, a strategic driver, facilitates access to data. B analysing the precise data associated with the upstream and downstream transport from the distribution centres of the Group’s subsidiaries, the sourcing and transport teams are able to prioritise their actions according to their impact.
This regular monitoring of action plans and performance for the different modes of transportation are crucial. It provides the Group’s stakeholders with the visibility they need to implement the Group’s carbon footprint reduction strategy.
The Transport Management Systems (TMS), which are operational in a number of countries, provide access to transport operational data for consolidating and analysing performance in a pertinent manner.
5. Working in partnership with the stakeholders in itsecosystem: a key driver of the Group’s carbon footprintreduction roadmap
The Group selects and assesses its suppliers and transportation partners based on an alignment with their environmental and social policy. It also considers the actions they take to support the Group in its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.
The ability of these partners to create innovative sustainable solutions, such as green energies (biogas, biofuel, electricity or hydrogen) or alternative modes of transport (cargo bikes, train), is an essential selection criterion. The Group also conducts regular monitoring to identify new opportunities. Alongside its partners, the Group also organises workshops focused on decarbonising transport.