FRANCE. L’Oréal Group hosted its first-ever Virtual Transparency Summit today (4 March). The Summit outlined the company’s enhanced commitment to creating products that are more effective, safe and respectful for the environment.
L’Oréal Group announced that it will transition 95% of all ingredients to renewable plant sources, abundant materials or circular processes; and ensure that 100% of all product formulas are respectful to the aquatic environment by 2030.
To achieve these goals, L’Oréal Group has committed to adopting more Green Science practices. Green Science uses cutting-edge technologies to enable the sustainable sourcing of natural ingredients. It also embraces recent advances in agronomics, biotechnology, green chemistry and modelling to advance the group’s sustainability goals.
As of 2020, 80% of L’Oréal Group’s raw materials are easily biodegradable, 59% are renewable or plant-based, 32% are natural or natural-origin, while 29% were developed using Green Chemistry principles.
According to L’Oréal Deputy Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Hieronimus, the Summit aims to address consumers’ enhanced demand for sustainability, safety and transparency amid the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis. He said: “Holding a Transparency Summit is very important for L’Oréal. COVID-19 has increased many pre-existing concerns from consumers about health and sustainability and they deserve products that are good for them and the planet.
“Science and technology are the solutions to these world issues, but at the same time, consumers expect full transparency from brands and companies. In this context, L’Oréal wants to speak transparently with our consumers.”
Hieronimus added, “With Green Sciences, we are entering a new chapter for L’Oréal Research & Innovation, which has been a key driving force behind the company since its creation. Our ambition is that by 2030 we will be able to offer women and men around the world increasingly effective, safe cosmetics that respect the environment.
“Our goal is to reshape the beauty industry by leveraging science and technology, increasingly inspired by nature, to create beauty that moves the world.”
L’Oréal Research & Innovation employs approximately 4,000 scientists working across 50 disciplines in 21 different facilities to help advance the company’s sustainable mission. In 2020, the Group invested 3.4% of its total sales (US$1,160 million) to research.
Today, L’Oréal Research & Innovation is driven four key pillars: product safety, respect for the environment, ethical and scientific study and solidarity sourcing.
“Our group was born from science, which has been at the heart of our company and is a fundamental pillar in our business today,” commented L’Oréal Group Chief Research, Innovation and Technology Officer Barbara Lavernos. “We are the best in cosmetics in terms of safety and performance and this historic expertise in science supports our dedication to transparency and sustainable development.”
Lavernos added, “Thanks to Green Sciences we are able to take up this ambitious scientific and technical challenge. This virtuous, circular economy-based approach will allow us to achieve new levels of performance and discover unprecedented cosmetic benefits without compromising on quality or safety, in the service of beauty that is respectful of the planet.”
The plenary session also offered insightful keynote addresses from L’Oréal Global Consumer Insights Director Julia Sarhy, L’Oréal Group Global Head of Human and Environmental Safety Evaluation Stéphane Dhalluin, and L’Oréal Director for Sustainable Innovation Laurent Gilbert.
The Summit also highlighted some of L’Oréal Group’s key transparency and sustainability initiatives. The first is the group’s expanded ‘Inside Our Products’ website, which provides information on product formulations covering nearly 1,000 listed ingredients.
The website — originally launched in 2019 — is now available in 45 countries in eight languages. The Inside Our Products website will be promoted through an integrated social media campaign, across 20 different counties, beginning this month.
Transparency information is also being rolled out across the websites of L’Oréal’s brand portfolio. The L’Oréal Paris brand has launched its own strategic transparency communication platform called ‘The Other Side’ which provides the public with information on the safety, efficacy and environmental impact of its products.
In addition, L’Oréal is also launching an education campaign that highlights the environmental and social impact of its cosmetics products as part of the L’Oréal for the Future programme. The campaign is currently being rolled out around the world with support from the Garnier brand.