- In March, the venture capital fund BOLD (Business Opportunities for L'Oréal Development) invested in a biotechnology venture led by Geno. The investment will contribute to the development of new sustainable ingredients derived from living organisms: harnessing Geno’s biotechnology expertise, L'Oréal will replace traditional ingredients with biosourced alternatives, such as those produced from plant sugars. These new ingredients will be used in a range of L’Oréal’s products, marking an essential step towards the Group’s goals of 100% eco- designed products and 95% of ingredients in its formulas biosourced, derived from abundant minerals or circular processes by 2030.
- L’Oréal launched several major biotech initiatives. Its venture capital fund BOLD invested in US biotech company Debut to co-develop a platform of over 7,000 increasingly high performing and more sustainable ingredients; the joint development program between L’Oréal and Debut aims to accelerate their go-to-market. It also announced a partnership with Bakar Labs, the pioneering biotech incubator of University of California Berkeley; the collaboration gives Bakar Labs’ start-ups free access to L’Oréal’s 3D-reconstructed skin models, an innovative tool for animal-free safety and efficacy testing.
- At Viva Technology 2023, L’Oréal unveiled its latest Beauty Tech innovations: inclusive solutions such as HAPTA, designed to enable people with hand motion disorders to apply makeup; diagnostic tools (SPOTSCAN, META PROFILER™, K-SCAN); personalised solutions (3D shu:brow); and sustainable solutions like L’Oréal Professionnel’s WATER SAVER, which has saved over 66 million litres of water to date.
- L'Oréal and Verily – an Alphabet precision health tech company – also announced the launch of My Skin & Hair Journey, the world’s largest, most diverse multi-year skin and hair health study. Involving thousands of women in the US, the study will help researchers better understand the biological, clinical and environmental factors that contribute to skin and hair health.
- At the World Congress of Dermatology (WCD) in Singapore, L’Oréal unveiled new research on pigmentation and the impact of hormonal variations on women’s skin and scalp.
- On 22 September, L’Oréal’s Venture Capital fund BOLD (“Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development”), announced a minority investment in Chinese biotech company Shinehigh Innovation, to establish a long-term partnership for the co-development of innovative and sustainable beauty solutions.
- On 28 September, Le Visionnaire – Espace François Dalle was inaugurated. It is located at 14 rue Royale in central Paris, the site of L’Oréal’s original headquarters (and the birthplace of the professional business). The 4,200 square metre space is dedicated to transmitting corporate culture, creativity, and inspiration – and to inventing the future of beauty.
- In November, L’Oréal presented its latest tech enabled offerings and partnerships at the sixth annual China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, one of the world’s largest trade shows, with a record 18 beauty tech innovations spanning inclusive, sustainable and personalised Beauty Tech solutions.
- In November, L’Oréal announced an industry-first partnership with Cosmo International Fragrances to develop a Green Sciences based extraction process to revolutionise the art of fine fragrance creation.
- In January 2024, Nicolas Hieronimus and Barbara Lavernos gave the Opening Keynote speech at CES in Las Vegas, making L’Oréal the first beauty company to be invited to do so. The Group won a record seven CES Innovation Awards.
ESG performance
- In March, L’Oréal was again ranked among the world’s most gender-equitable companies by Equileap. L’Oréal was ranked number one in France in Equileap’s 2023 Gender Equality Ranking and placed 11th globally among 3,500 companies in 23 countries. Since Equileap’s launch six years ago, L’Oréal has been recognised in every ranking published.
- L'Oréal has been recognised by the international organisation Ethisphere as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the 14th time. The award recognises the Group’s long-term commitment and its role as a leader in applying ethical principles to its sales practices, business and corporate culture.
- The rating agency Sustainalytics granted “Industry Top Rated” status to L'Oréal in its 2023 ESG Risk Ratings. With a score of 20.1, the Group is classified as a “Medium Risk" company and ranks the Group in fourth position within the "Personal Products" sub-industry and in the top 10 companies in the "Household Products" industry.
- The Fragrance Foundation has announced that it will honour Nicolas Hieronimus, L’Oréal’s Chief Executive Officer, with its prestigious Hall of Fame Award in New York in June 2023. The award seeks to honour the extraordinary contribution of Nicolas Hieronimus to the fragrance industry for more than a decade, as well as his leadership and vision, reflecting the values of environmental responsibility, diversity, equity and inclusion promoted by the Foundation.
- L'Oréal was recognised by Standard & Poor’s Global for its sustainability performance, with a solid Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) rating of 85 points out of 100. The score underlines L'Oréal’s sustainable transformation towards a more responsible and inclusive business model through the implementation of an ambitious sustainability strategy.
- At the 25th L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards, five women scientists were recognised for their outstanding work. A medal of honour and a financial endowment were also given to three researchers who have been forced to flee their country and have shown exemplary courage, resilience and commitment to science.
- To coincide with Earth Day, in April L'Oréal announced three new projects supported by its Fund for Nature Regeneration. NetZero, ReforesTerra and Mangroves.Now were chosen for their innovative approaches to soil carbon sequestration, reforestation and mangrove restoration as well as their potential to have a far-reaching, positive impact on the environment and local communities.
- L'Oréal featured on Fast Company’s 2023 list of 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators, which recognises organisations around the world that demonstrate an inspiring commitment to encourage and develop innovation at all levels.
- In September, the Group announced the creation of the €15 million L’Oréal Climate Emergency fund to help vulnerable communities prepare for and recover from climate disasters through partnerships with local relief organizations and international NGOs. The new fund builds on L’Oréal’s longstanding commitment to address growing humanitarian and environmental challenges, bringing its total commitment to more than €200 million.
- In September, L’Oréal was awarded the EcoVadis Platinum Medal for its environmental and social performance with a score of 83/100. This puts L’Oréal in the top 1% of the world’s best performing companies (out of 100,000 assessed).
- In August, L’Oréal was ranked third in the“Top 25 Most Diverse & Inclusive Companies” by Refinitiv. The constituents of the Diversity & Inclusion Index include the most diverse and inclusive companies.
- L’Oréal is the only company in the world to have received for the eighth consecutive year a triple ‘A’ score from the global environmental nonprofit CDP. L’Oréal is recognized as part of companies leading the way in environmental transparency and demonstrating outstanding performance in addressing climate change, protecting forests and ensuring water security.
- L'Oréal and renowned companies from the beauty, scent and personal care sector gathered for the first time in the Value of Beauty Alliance to highlight the positive impact of the industry. The Alliance members presented in Brussels to key stakeholders from the European Union Institutions a new report titled ‘What is the Value of Beauty?’.
- In January 2024, a consortium of 15 cosmetics industry companies, including L'Oréal Groupe, announced that they have joined forces to create the TRaceability Alliance for Sustainable CosmEtics (TRASCE) to enhance traceability in key ingredient and packaging supply chains across the industry.
