L'Oréal unveils new moves towards more sustainable future

To further enhance awareness and action regarding carbon neutrality and environmental protection, beauty giant L'Oréal has announced new initiatives with its partners.

Under the theme of "Beauty with Heart for The Planet" at the Shanghai International Carbon Neutrality Expo in Technologies, Products and Achievements, L'Oréal called for industry partners, suppliers and consumers to help make even the slightest change towards more sustainable future.

This year, L'Oréal's booth featured a "Refill Merry-Go-Around" to showcase its core refillable products, which was designed to seamlessly integrate sustainable alternatives into the values and rituals of consumers, creating a sense of belonging and genuine reward.

The French cosmetic giant has put in place the "Reduce, Replace and Recycle" initiatives for its product packages and is aiming for carbon neutrality in all aspects of a product's design, manufacturing and distribution.

The booth also highlighted "Green Sciences" based on four pillars: sustainable cultivation, biotechnology and fermentation, green chemistry and green extraction.

A strategic collaboration for consumption incentive program was jointly launched by L'Oréal with JD.com during the expo. It will involve identifying the green product labels to win green points with incentives and interactive measures to further enhance consumers' sustainable consumption experience while shopping on e-commerce platforms, to cultivate energy-saving consumption habits, and help the whole industry transition towards green consumption.

A latest L'Oréal Global Sustainability Accelerator was announced earlier this year, endowed with a 100-million euro (US$114.2 million) investment over five years to help identify, test and expand sustainable solutions across several key areas, including developing low-carbon alternatives, sourcing sustainable ingredients, etc.

The accelerator program welcomes applications from high-potential startups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and established innovative companies with pilot-ready solutions. Focus areas align with L'Oréal's four sustainability pillars: Climate, Nature, Circularity, and Communities.

JeeSeon PARK, Chief Sustainability Officer of L'Oréal North Asia and China, noted: "Innovation is L'Oréal's DNA, and we're extending this focus to the realm of sustainability. We welcome startups with groundbreaking ideas to join us on this exciting endeavor."

As the winner of 2023 L'Oréal BIG BANG Beauty Tech Innovation Program in China, Shanghai Yuanyi Environmental Technology Co Ltd launched the "Embark the Journey Towards a Zero Waste Future" program with L'Oréal during the expo, aiming to fully recycle non-saleable products.

At this year's Big Bang China competition, Sustainability Track was set up to encourage business models, products, and brands with innovative technology to solve sustainability challenges in the beauty industry.

L'Oréal also acknowledged 10 strategic suppliers in the North Asia zone for their outstanding contribution in terms of decarbonization, to encourage industry-wide awareness and action.

"We sincerely invite more 'Partners of Tomorrow' to join us. We seek collaboration from all stakeholders – government associations, upstream and downstream partners, and consumers – as we embark on a journey toward sustainability. Together, we can revolutionize the beauty industry and build a more sustainable world," Zhenzhen Lan, Chief Corporate Affairs and Engagement Officer of L'Oréal North Asia and China, added.