Our Commitments for 2030
We have set ourselves bold, measurable targets for 2030 on climate, water, biodiversity and natural resources, in accordance with what scientific experts demand and what our planet needs.
- Fighting Climate Change
- Managing water sustainability
- Respecting Biodiversity
- Preserving Natural Resources
Fighting Climate Change
For more than 20 years, we have worked to reduce the CO2 emissions linked to our industrial activity.
To achieve this, we improved energy efficiency across all our facilities (buildings, equipment, etc.), increased the use of local renewable energy wherever possible and achieved the targets defined for the sites without carbon offsetting projects.
We elaborated our renewable energy strategy according to the local possibilities offered by the industrial sites in the various countries where we operate: for most of our carbon reduction projects, we used locally produced renewable energy, or directly produced our own renewable energy (biomass, biomethanisation, solar panels, etc.).
In 2017, we were among the first hundred companies to set Science-Based Targets (SBT) approved objectives on.
Our overarching climate change objective for 2030 is to align our greenhouse gas emissions to the +1.5°C scenario, meaning we will reduce by 50% per finished product all our greenhouse gas emissions (scopes 1, 2 and 3).
To achieve this, we have set numerical targets for every aspect of our activities to include not only our production and distribution facilities but also the raw material supply chain and the indirect impacts associated with the use of our products by their final consumers.
Our targets
- 100% – By 2025, all of our sites will have achieved carbon neutrality by improving energy efficiency and using 100% renewable energy.
- -25% – By 2030, we will innovate to enable our consumers to reduce the CO2 emissions resulting from the use of our products by 25% compared to 2016, on average and per finished product.
- -50% – By 2030, we will reduce by 50% on average and per finished product, the greenhouse gas emissions linked to the transport of our products, compared to 2016.
- -50% – By 2030, our strategic suppliers will reduce their direct emissions (scopes 1 and 2), by 50% in absolute terms, compared to 2016.
Respecting Biodiversity
The planet is moving towards a sixth mass extinction. The destruction of natural ecosystems, in particular due to agriculture, is threatening our planet and communities’ resilience to climate change.
Most of L’Oréal’s raw materials are derived from renewable sources, and are largely of plant origin. The group, which uses approximately 1,600 raw materials from nearly 350 species of plants, sees biodiversity as an important and growing source of innovation and is committed to sourcing its ingredients in a sustainable
Our commitments for 2030 will help strengthen our efforts to protect biodiversity along our entire value chain while minimizing the land occupancy needed for all our activities. Science indicates that the conversion of natural habitats for expanding agriculture, towns and infrastructures is the primary cause of biodiversity loss.
We have therefore decided to act on this parameter, by measuring in an innovative and scientifically robust way the biodiversity footprint (in terms of ecosystem occupation) of our industrial activities and the industrial activities of our suppliers (sourcing, packaging and ingredients).
Our targets
- 100% – By 2030, 100% of the bio-based ingredients for formulas and packaging materials will be traceable and will come from sustainable sources. None of them will be linked to deforestation.
- 0 – To limit our impact on natural habitats, we are committing to holding flat, by 2030, the total land occupancy vital to the sourcing of our ingredients, compared to 2019.
- 100% – By 2030, 100% of our industrial sites and all our operated buildings will have a positive impact on biodiversity, compared to 2019.
- 85% – In 2019, 85% of new or renovated products had an improved environmental or social profile.
- 100% – 100% of our supplies of palm oil, palm oil derivatives and palm kernel oil derivatives have been certified sustainable in line with RSPO criteria since 2012.
- 100% – 100% of paper used for the instructions included with products is certified as sustainable.
Preserving Natural Resources
- 95% – By 2030, 95% of our ingredients in formula will be bio-based, derived from abundant minerals or from circular processes.
- 100% – By 2030, 100% of the plastics used in our packaging will be either from recycled or bio-based sources (we will achieve 50% by 2025).
- 20% – By 2030, we will reduce by 20% in intensity the quantity of packaging used in our products, compared to 2019.
- 100% – By 2025, 100% of our plastic packaging will be refillable, reusable, recyclable or compostable.
- 100% – By 2025, 100% of our new displays will be eco-designed, taking into account circular economy principles for end of life management and 100% of our new Free Standing Stores will be designed and build following our sustainability principles.
- 100% – By 2030, 100% of the waste generated in our sites will be recycled or reused.
What we’ve achieved so far
- 59% – Today, 59% of L’Oréal’s raw materials are derived from renewable sources.
- 13,204 – In 2019, the Group replaced virgin materials with 13,204 tons of recycled materials (PCR), an increase of 52% on 2018.
- 97% – In 2019, L’Oréal recovered 97% of the waste that could not be avoided at source, by reusing or recycling, or harnessing it to produce energy.
For More Sustainable Packaging
Since 2007, L’Oréal has implemented a responsible packaging policy based on three pillars, known as the “three Rs”: Respect, Reduce and Replace.
The Group uses a global, systematic eco-design process, ahead of product design, for the packaging of finished products and also for packaging used during transport.
L’Oréal extended this process to include point-of- sale (POS) advertising materials in 2015. It systematically analyses the environmental profile of its packaging in order to identify opportunities for improvement.
Respecting the environment
For its paper, cardboard and wood-fibre based packaging, the Group has set itself a target of using only materials from responsibly managed forests where biodiversity is protected.
In 2019, 100% of the paper used for product use instructions, 99.9% of the cardboard used for product boxes and 94% of the paper and cardboard used in POS was certified (FSC or PEFC).
Since 1st January 2018, the Group has not used any PVC-based material in the production of its finished products
Reducing and optimising resources
Designing packaging of an optimal size and weight with fewer resources, including large sizes and refillable formats, represents another major opportunity to drive improvement.
In this way, in 2019, the Group reduced the weight of Garnier’s 300ml shampoo bottles by 8% in Europe, representing a saving of 30 tonnes of PET plastic.
Replacing materials with more sustainable alternatives
L’Oréal replaces conventional materials with alternatives from recycled or renewable sources (recycled or biosourced materials) at every possible opportunity. In 2019, the Group replaced virgin materials with 13,204 tonnes of recycled materials (PCR), an increase of 52% on 2018.
This progress results primarily from its efforts to integrate recycled materials within plastic and glass packaging.
With a strong commitment to developing innovative solutions for plastics recycling, L’Oréal also signed an agreement with Carbios in 2017 to co-create a consortium to industrialise the bio-recycling technology designed and developed by Carbios.
Read their booklet
Refs
L’Oréal for the Future, our sustainability commitments for 2030
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