L’Oréal’s Sense of Purpose (raison d’être) is a core principle for the Group, to see ourselves as a high-performing, committed, responsible, inclusive company showing solidarity in decades to come. L’Oréal’s raison d’être is included in the strategic orientations defined by its Board of Directors and in its business model.
L’Oréal’s sense of purpose was developed following the work implemented over almost two years, initiated and driven at the highest level by Mr Jean-Paul Agon and Mr Nicolas Hieronimus, as well as several members of the Executive Committee. L’Oréal’s raison d’être was the result of dialogues with the Group’s employees in three of its key countries (France, the United States and China) and many external stakeholders, including consumers. The progress made was discussed several times in the Executive Committee. For L’Oréal, the aim was to collect and formalise its contribution to the world as a company, its values and its commitments in one document.
This raison d’être was approved on 6 February 2020 by the Board of Directors, who incorporated it into their Management Report published in the 2019 Universal Registration Document and presented to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on 30 June 2020.
L’Oréal was presented with the Award for ESG Purpose and Commitments at the 2022 General Meeting and Gender Balance Awards ceremony, organised by the Institut du Capitalisme Responsable.
A single sentence epitomises L’Oréal’s Sense of Purpose: “Create the beauty that moves the world.” It is defined in concrete actions made to consumers, employees, clients, suppliers, shareholders, service providers and communities. L’Oréal is committed to efforts to combat climate change, by respecting biodiversity and preserving natural resources, and to championing the cause of women. The majority of the Group’s brands have supported their causes since 2018, combatting violence against women with the Abuse is Not
Love programme from Yves Saint Laurent Beauty, campaigning against street harassment with L’Oréal Paris and the Stand Up programme, helping women get access to reading with Lancôme’s Write her Future programme or supporting environmental causes with Biotherm’s Water Lovers programme. In 2022, Biotherm launched an ambitious mission to use yacht races, including the Route du Rhum 2022 and The Ocean Race in 2023, to raise public awareness of the threats affecting the oceans. Furthermore, L’Oréal has become the official sponsor of the Orient Express Racing team, the French contender in the 37th America’s Cup.
In its Management Report, disclosed in the present document, L’Oréal’s Board of Directors reports on the implementation of the commitments included in its raison d’être, and on the progress towards the goals set:
L’Oréal has defined a clear vision that is broken down into two points: its Sense of Purpose (raison d’être), which is detailed above, and Beauty for eac L’Oréal aims to offer women and men around the world the best in cosmetics in terms of quality, effectiveness, safety, sincerity and responsibility in order to meet all their needs and all their beauty wishes in their infinite diversity. More than ever, L’Oréal’s vision takes on its full meaning and represents a strong anchor in this increasingly unpredictable and complex environment.
L’Oréal’s strategy is to combine both universalisation and singularisation. Universalisation involves the globalisation of brands by taking regional characteristics into consideration in order to serve and retain 1.5 billion consumers. Singularisation takes into account a growing global trend towards self- affirmation for both men and women by providing a diverse range of offers and personalisation. The goal is to offer inclusive beauty by responding to the specific aspirations of consumers in every region of the world. In contrast to standardisation, it is based on careful attention to consumers and a deep respect for their differences.
