The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has released its 2021 Social Impact and Sustainability Report which highlights the beauty giant’s progress towards global sustainability and ethical responsibility goals and sets new PCR and virgin plastic packaging targets.
The Beauty Inspired, Values Driven report highlights key initiatives across inclusion, diversity, equity, climate, packaging, social investments, responsible sourcing and green chemistry.
The Estée Lauder Companies President and Chief Executive Officer Fabrizio Freda said: “Despite the pandemic, we remained steadfast in prioritising the health and wellbeing of our employees, consumers, and communities around the world, while delivering on our long-term commitments.
“Doubling down on our social impact and sustainability strategy is an important part of our goal to continue delivering long-term value and remain the global leader of prestige beauty.”
The Estée Lauder Companies Executive Chairman William Lauder added: “As The Estée Lauder Companies marks its 75th anniversary, it is important to recognise that the company’s success has long been rooted not only in its business strategy, but in a deep understanding of its core values.
“These values, including respect for the individual, uncompromising ethics and integrity, generosity of spirit, and fearless persistence are what will accelerate our commitments into the next 75 years and beyond.”
Over the past year, ELC has progressed its racial equity and gender equality commitments, achieved its post-consumer recycled material goal ahead of schedule. It made strong progress on its science-based targets for scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions. The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation (ELCCF) underlined its commitment to girls’ education and has extended its goal to include women’s advancement. It also continued to financially support employees facing hardships through the ELC Cares Employee Relief Fund.
“In fiscal 2021, we worked hard to continue developing long-term solutions to help protect our planet, drive inclusion and equity, and put people at the heart of everything we do—all while meeting our business objectives,” said The Estée Lauder Companies Global Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability Senior Vice President Nancy Mahon, “While we’ve made great progress, we know there is more collective action needed to help address ongoing and new challenges in the next decade.”
Inclusion, Diversity and Equity
- ELC announced a new set of gender equality commitments towards achieving gender pay equity by 2023 and increasing women’s representation from underrepresented groups across regions and affiliates.
- It also established an Equity and Engagement Centre of Excellence to drive progress towards equity across the organisation.
Climate & Energy
- ELC was included in the CDP Climate A list in 2020 and achieved a distinction reached by only the top 5%. The company was honoured with RE100’s 2021 Enterprising Leader Awards acknowledging its progress towards 100% renewable electricity.
- ELC’s largest renewable agreement – a 22 MW Virtual Power Purchase Agreement for a wind farm in Oklahoma— became fully operational, generating enough clean, renewable energy to cover its North America.
- ELC expanded its renewable energy portfolio through a new, on-site solar installation in Hillmount, Canada, bringing its total solar capacity to 5.7 MW.
Packaging
- ELC committed to increasing the amount of PCR material in packaging by +25% or more by the end of 2025.
- It has vowed to reduce virgin petroleum plastic packaging to -50% or less by the end of 2030.
Product Formulation
- ELC introduced a green chemistry programme into its product development process
- Seven ELC brands — Estée Lauder, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Bumble and bumble, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, and Smashbox — have published full ingredient glossaries on their websites for enhanced transparency.
Responsible Sourcing
- ELC completed a two-year HER project programme in partnership with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) to support women in its supply chain.
- ELC joined the Global Shea Alliance, a non-profit organisation that promotes sustainability practices in the shea supply chain.
Social Investments
- ELC’s largest social impact programme, The Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, has funded more than US$108 million in cancer research, education and medical services.
- The MAC Viva Glam programme has raised more than US$500 million since 1994 in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
- ELCCF became an inaugural donor to Co-Impact’s Gender Fund with a pledge of US$15 million over five years to achieve transformative systems for gender equality.
- ELCCF supported Grantmakers for Girls of Colour (G4GC) ‘Black Girl Freedom Fund’.
- ELCCF partnered with local NGOs to help enhance the livelihoods of waste collectors in women.
- ELC’s long-time partnership with The Young Women’s Leadership Schools (TYWLS) programme was extended to include all TYWLS New York City Schools with girls in high school.
Employee Experience
- The ELC Cares Employee Relief Fund awarded more than 13,700 grants and distributed more than US$7.9 million through June 2021 to employees all around the world.
- ELC Good Works, the company’s charitable matching gifts and volunteer platform, was globalised enabling US$2.9 million to be donated for more than 3,5000 non-profit organisations across 19 markets.
- ELC received 68 National Safety Council Awards in three categories across 36 supply chains and 14 global brand operations.
