In addition, in partnership with the eco-organisation CITEO, several L’Oréal brands in France(1)(1) Cadum, Garnier, L’Oréal Paris, Narta, Ushuaïa, Vichy etc. are pursuing a sorting awareness campaign (media, advertising etc.). Lastly, the https://www.beaute.fr/platform supports consumers in their process to sort their beauty products at the end of life.
Environmental impact and tools
To assess the impact of its finished products, the Group makes the following tools available to its design centres:
- Sustainable Product Optimisation Tool (SPOT), a tool for assessing the impact of the product (including its packaging, formula and production). Since 2017, this has made it possible to meet the Group’s sustainability commitments (see subparagraph 4.3.1.3.1.);
- a tool to help reduce the environmental impacts of transportation packaging of packaging components from suppliers to factories and transportation packaging of finished products from factories to the Group’s distribution centres, particularly through optimisation of palletisation.
To share its research and results with the cosmetics industry, in 2018 the L’Oréal Group created the Sustainable Packaging Initiative for Cosmetics (SPICE) with the environmental consulting firm Quantis. The purpose of SPICE is to share the best practices and methodologies of each cosmetics player in order to harmonise and enhance the methods used to assess the cosmetic packaging environmental footprint. L’Oréal shares its own SPOT Packaging methodology through the SPICE initiative. Tracking of work and achievements, as well as the plan for the coming months, are accessible on the open platform www.Open-Spice.com. The SPICE initiative now has more than 34 members worldwide. The dedicated SPICE tool was launched in July 2020.
To increase transparency towards consumers, L’Oréal has initiated the roll out of the Product Impact Labelling (PIL) tool. This involves allocating a score on a scale from A to E for the environmental impact of products, which is made available on the websites of certain Group brands for eight formula categories (see subparagraph 4.3.1.3.2. B).
Since 2018, L’Oréal has been working with its teams and suppliers to implement a global programme to eco-design POS materials and furnishings, which is based on:
- 14 robust and pragmatic golden rules;
- learning support for teams and suppliers;
- monitoring indicators;
- sharing best practices; and
- inter-team events on sustainability, including suppliers.
The principles behind these golden rules relate in particular to materials: recycled materials and those from biobased sources, their weight, recyclability or separability and optimisation of electricity consumption (for permanent POS). L’Oréal tests and develops circular economy processes with its suppliers and local operators, notably in the context of uninstalling, recycling or donations. L’Oréal continues to share its best practices, for example with the French Federation for Beauty Companies (Fédération des Entreprises de la Beauté – FEBEA).
In 2023, L’Oréal continued the roll-out of its Sustainable Retail Box programme. This action plan, aligned with the highest standards, sets out actions for the design and responsible construction of operated stores(2)(2) Materials, energy, accessibility, water management, construction waste, interior air quality, ergonomics etc.. In 2023, of the Group’s 134 new or renovated stores, 104(3)(3) Consolidated data based on a questionnaire filled out directly by the sales outlets. recorded an eco-design rate of over 100% and/or are certified LEED Gold.
For our permanent POS materials, as well as our operated stores, the Group uses design firms that are experts in lighting to optimise energy consumption without compromising the quality of in store lighting. The pilot projects are promising, in particular for the reduction of environmental impacts. In 2023, the teams continued to roll out the operational guidelines launched since 2020 for new developments.
In 2023, 99% of advertisingdisplays at points of sale were eco-designed and 78% offree-standing stores, whether new or refurbished, were designed and built in line with the Group’s principles of sustainable development.
TARGET 2025: 100%
4.3.1.3.2. Involving consumers in the Group’s transformation
A/ Product quality and safety: a priority
L’Oréal develops and designs cosmetic products that meet the needs of both consumers and professionals in terms of quality. As consumer safety is an absolute priority for L’Oréal, assessing the safety of these formulas and their ingredients is central to any new product development process. It is also a prerequisite for any new product being brought to the market. As a result, global consumers have access to cosmetic products of identical quality, with proven safety records.
L’Oréal factories worldwide manufacture cosmetic products that comply with ISO international standards. Nearly all factories are ISO 9001 certified and implement the requirements of ISO 22716 on Good Manufacturing Practice for cosmetic products. This standard sets out the requirements for production, filling and packing, control, storage and shipping in order to obtain a cosmetic product that complies with the defined quality.
100% of the Group’s products undergo a rigorous safety assessment. A safety report is then established.
The Worldwide Human and Environmental Safety Evaluation Department specifically evaluates the safety of raw materials and finished products. It establishes the toxicological profile of the ingredients used and the formulas before they are marketed. It draws on data from a wide range of sources: literature, in silico experiments, in vitro tests on cellular models and clinical trials evaluating tolerance in humans. These same safety standards are applied everywhere to protect the health of consumers worldwide. Once the finished product is marketed, potential adverse effects are monitored to ensure the safety of the product over its lifetime.
(1) Cadum, Garnier, L’Oréal Paris, Narta, Ushuaïa, Vichy etc.
(2) Materials, energy, accessibility, water management, construction waste, interior air quality, ergonomics etc.
(3) Consolidated data based on a questionnaire filled out directly by the sales outlets.