L'Oreal Announces Its New Sustainability Commitment for 2020 "Sharing Beauty With All"

AsiaNet 54749

CLICHY, France, Oct. 24 / PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

    Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO of L'Oreal, announced today the new

commitment L'Oreal has made to transform by 2020 the sustainability footprint

of the company while achieving its business ambition.

    (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131023/648091-INFO )

    Achieving growth sustainably

    L'Oreal's ambition is to win 1 billion new consumers by means of its

universalization strategy which aims to answer all the diverse beauty needs of

men and women around the world. Part of the Group's growth strategy is its

commitment to produce more but with less impact and to engage consumers, who

are at the heart of its business, to make sustainable choices by offering them

products that are both sustainable and desirable. In order to achieve this,

L'Oreal commits to improving every part of its value chain, from research to

operations, while sharing its growth with the communities it touches through

"Sharing Beauty With All".

    Jean-Paul Agon, said: "L'Oreal has a strong legacy in sustainability and a

thorough ambition for the future. We are proud to announce "Sharing Beauty With

All", our sustainability commitment for 2020. We believe consumers are at the

heart of our sustainability drive and we want to reach the next billion

consumers while making a positive impact on the world. By accelerating

sustainable innovation within our business, and harnessing the power of our

brands to inform consumers, we will raise awareness about sustainability and

encourage consumers to make more sustainable choices."

    These commitments are the result of 2 years of exchange with various

stakeholders throughout the world. L'Oreal will report regularly on its

progress against each goal with the help of a panel of independent assessors,

chaired by Jose Maria Figueres, an authority in the world of sustainability,

and consisting of international experts*.

    "Sharing Beauty With All" is a commitment in four areas:

    1. Innovating sustainably - By 2020, we will innovate so that 100% of

products have an environmental or social benefit.

    Every time we invent or update a product, we will improve its environmental

or social profile against at least one of the following criteria:

    - The new formula reduces the environmental footprint.

    - The new formula uses renewable raw materials that are sustainably sourced

or raw materials derived from green chemistry.

    - The new packaging has an improved environmental profile.

    - The new product has a positive social impact.

    2. Producing sustainably - By 2020, we will reduce our environmental

footprint by 60 % whilst bringing beauty to one billion new consumers.

    - We will reduce CO2 emissions at our plants and distribution centers by 60

% in absolute terms, from a 2005 baseline.

    - We will reduce our water consumption by 60% per finished product unit,

from a 2005 baseline.

    - We will reduce waste by 60% per finished product unit, from a 2005

baseline.

    - We will send zero waste to landfill.

    - We will reduce our CO2 emissions from transportation of products by 20 %

per finished product unit from a 2011 baseline.

    3. Living sustainably - By 2020, we will empower every L'Oreal consumer to

make sustainable consumption choices while enhancing the beauty of the planet.

    - We will use a product assessment tool to evaluate the environmental and

social profile of 100% of new products and all brands will make this

information available to allow consumers to make sustainable lifestyle choices.

    - All L'Oreal brands will assess where they have the biggest environmental

and social impact, and make commitments to improve their footprint. Every brand

will report on its progress and raise awareness among consumers about

sustainable lifestyle choices.

    - Our consumers will be able to influence our sustainability actions

through our consumer sustainability panel.

    4. Developing sustainably

    a. Employees: By 2020, L'Oreal employees will have access to health care,

social protection and training, wherever they are in the world.

    - We will provide health coverage for employees, which is aligned with the

best practice of the country they are based in.

    - We will provide financial protection for all employees if unexpected life

events such as incapacity or permanent disability, occur.

    - Every L'Oreal employee will have access to at least one training per year

wherever they are in the world.

    b. Suppliers: By 2020, 100% of our strategic suppliers will be

participating in our

supplier sustainability program.

    - All strategic suppliers will be evaluated and selected on social and

environmental performance.

    - All strategic suppliers will have completed a self-assessment of their

sustainability policy with our support.

    - All suppliers will have access to L'Oreal training tools to improve their

sustainability policies.

    - 20% of strategic suppliers will be associated with our solidarity

sourcing program.

    c. Communities: By 2020, we will enable more than 100,000 people from

underprivileged communities, equivalent to the size of our global workforce, to

access work.

    We will achieve our goal through programmes in the following areas:

    - Solidarity sourcing

    - Inclusive distribution

    - Beauty professionalization

    - Mentoring and community education

    - Employment of disabled people and under-represented socio-ethnic groups

    *Our panel of international experts:

    - Sze Ping, Chinese environmentalist, former Greenpeace activist, Executive

Director of Greenovation Hub.

    - Mehjabeen Abidi-Habib, Pakistani researcher in human ecology, specialist

of natural resources management.

    - HRH Celenhle Dlamini, South African, one of the Directors of Ubuntu

Institute working on the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals.

    - Zem Joaquin, American, eco-luxury specialist and founder of "

eco-fabulous " website aiming to make sustainability desirable.

    - Analisa Balares, American, Founder and CEO of Womensphere[TM], developing

media tools, online communities, and an award to inspire and support women

willing to make a difference.

    - Christian de Boisredon, French, promoting the concept of "impact

journalism" through Sparknews, in order to give visibility to positive

initiatives throughout the world.

    To know more about "Sharing Beauty With All" and L'Oreal's past

achievements in

sustainability: http://www.loreal.com/sharingbeautywithall

    About L'Oreal

    L'Oreal, the world's leading beauty company, has devoted itself to all

forms of beauty in the world for over 100 years and has built a unique

portfolio of 28 international, diverse and complementary brands.With sales

amounting to 22.5 billion euros in 2012,

L'Oreal employs 72,600 people worldwide. In 2013, the Ethisphere Institute, a

leading international think-tank for business ethics, corporate social

responsibility and sustainability, recognized L'Oreal as one of the World's

Most Ethical Companies. This is

the fourth time that L'Oreal has received this distinction.

http://www.loreal.com

    Press contact:

    Carolyn GIANG | Tel: +33-(0)1-47-56-8788 | Carolyn.Giang@loreal.com

SOURCE: L'Oreal