Nutritional breakdowns, ethical trade branding, recycling information – and now estimates of a product’s climate impact. Consumers across the globe are starting to see a new kind of information on goods packaging, indicating the level of planet-heating gases emitted by making the items they are buying. This fresh wave of efforts at “carbon footprint” labeling is being praised by some as empowering consumers to help tackle climate change. Now is the time – consumers are interested. Even if they don’t know what a gram of carbon is, it begins to develop the carbon literacy in our consumers and in society writ large.
There are also broader efforts, such as a global push for the cosmetics industry, which includes Estee Lauder Companies, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, L’Oréal Group and 33 others. Little is yet known about how consumers react to carbon labels, although globally 54% of respondents to a 2021 survey by environmental consultancy Carbon Trust said they would be more likely to pick a product with such a label over a similar one without.
An important part of achieving sustainability is accurately assessing the impact of products and acting to reduce that impact. We think our responsibility is to share this information with consumers so they can make informed, sustainable choices. People are willing to do their part for the environment, but to achieve this, transparency is key. That is why we developed a Product Impact Labelling system to inform consumers on the environmental and social impact of our products.
In order to provide consumers with clear and useful information, this Environmental and Social Impact Labelling includes a score on a scale from A to E, with an “A” product considered as “best in class” in terms of its environmental impacts in its category. The score will give an accurate vision of the impact of a L’Oréal product by taking into account 14 planetary impact factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity, ocean acidification or impact on biodiversity, measured at every stage of a product’s life cycle.
The beginning
In 2022, the score of the environmental and social impact of our products was calculated for 83% of the Group’s rinse-off products. The cosmetic labelling, first launched for Garnier haircare products in France in 2020, is now available in 23 European countries, as well as in the United States, in Canada, in Mexico and in Indonesia, on the websites of 5 of their international brands: Garnier, L’Oreal Paris, La Roche Posay, Vichy and Biotherm, for three product categories: haircare, skincare and bodycare.
In parallel, they are a member of the EcoBeautyScore Consortium, which brings together 60 companies and professional associations from the cosmetics industry. The Consortium’s aim is to co-develop an industry-wide environmental impact assessment and scoring system for cosmetics products. The approach has a global scope and may help provide consumers with clear, transparent, and comparable environmental impact information, based on a common science-based methodology. Until this new system is published, L’Oréal will continue to deploy its own product impact display system.
The methodology
Aware of the environmental challenges the world is facing, they committed in 2013 to improve the environmental and social footprint of their products year after year. To develop this Product Environmental and Social Labelling system, they consulted 11 independent scientists and experts to define an impact assessment methodology, in line with the European Commission guidelines.
The “Overall Environmental Impact” measures all the environmental impacts of a product throughout its life cycle, i.e. during the production of ingredients, the production of packaging, the manufacturing of the product, its use and the recycling of packaging.
For cosmetics, the carbon footprint and the water footprint are two key elements of a product’s Environmental Impact. Each product can then be ranked in comparison to other L’Oréal products in these same category. For example, a shampoo is compared to more than 1,000 other shampoo products from L’Oréal, shampoo products with a score of “A” have the most favourable footprint. To go further and to guarantee the accuracy of our data, they asked Bureau Veritas Certification to take a critical look at this display.
Lastly, additional information about the manufacturing conditions, the packaging and the social contribution of a product (e.g. whether it has raw materials or packaging suppliers that support a disadvantaged community) is provided in the “Environmental and Social Impact” section of the descriptive sheets.
L’Oréal USA
L’Oréal USA is the largest subsidiary of the L’Oréal Group, the world’s leading beauty company. Through its management of over 35 iconic beauty brands, L’Oréal USA has generated more than $8 billion in sales annually. Products are available across all distribution channels including hair salons, department stores, mass market, pharmacies, medi-spas, e-commerce and more. L’Oréal USA’s commitment to growth is generated through sustainable innovation and driven by the company’s L’Oréal for the Future ambition which demonstrates sustainable development across the Group’s value chain. The company is headquartered in New York City, employs more than 11,000 people, and operates administrative, research, manufacturing and distribution facilities across 16 states.
L’Oréal USA today announced the roll out of L’Oréal’s Product Impact Labelling system in the United States. The initiative, first launched in France in 2020, gives consumers the relative environmental impact of their product compared to other L’Oréal products in the same category. Products are given a ranking on a scale from A to E by considering 14 planetary impact factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity, ocean acidification, and impact on biodiversity, measured at every stage of a product’s life cycle—from ingredients to packaging, manufacturing process, transport and ultimately use and disposal.
“L’Oréal’s Product Impact Labelling system is a core component of the L’Oréal for the Future program, which outlines their sustainability commitments for 2030. Its rollout in the United States has the power to help change consumer behaviour and, therefore, accelerate the beauty industry’s progress toward greater sustainability,” said Marissa Pagnani McGowan, Chief Sustainability Officer for North America. “This comes at a time when sustainability is increasingly becoming a focus for more American consumers. Using principles of environmental science, this tool will empower consumers, support more informed purchasing decisions and foster a culture of greater brand transparency.”
Alongside the announcement, L’Oréal USA revealed the findings of a new study conducted in partnership with Morning Consult, which surveyed 2,000 American adults. Key findings include:
- More than half of Americans (54%) expect to find information about sustainability-related factors on company websites.
- Most Americans are concerned with at least one of the pre-determined environmental impacts. Human destruction of various environments is the most recognized issue at over 50%, followed by water scarcity at 43%, air pollution like dust and dirt at 37%, and ozone depletion at 35%.
- Nearly 60% of Americans believe they have become more sustainable in the past year.
“The survey results show that consumers have clear expectations for sustainability—a critical source of innovation for our teams, from the supply of raw materials to the composition of our formulas. To meet their expectations, we set actions plans to improve the environmental profile of lower ranked products,” said Sanford Browne, President, Research & Innovation for North America. “With our leadership in green sciences, we can leverage cutting-edge processes like biotechnology, green chemistry, and extraction to reveal new dimensions of product performance and reduce our environmental footprint, compared to traditional methods. By 2030, our goal is for 100% of our products to incorporate into their design improvements in formulas, production, packaging and other aspects that help reduce their impact compared to previous generations of products.”
Pioneered by Garnier’s haircare products, the Product Impact Labelling system will roll out progressively across L’Oréal’s brand portfolio including Kiehl’s, L’Oréal Paris, Redken and CeraVe. Following the ingredient list, consumers can find the Product Impact Label of Garnier haircare products on the product information webpage.
Grounded in global standards for environmental science and life-cycle analysis, the methodology behind the Product impact labelling system was co-developed with 11 international and independent experts and scientists between 2014 and 2016. The independent auditor Bureau Veritas has verified the application of L’Oréal’s methodology and the accuracy of their data, issuing a favourable assessment in March 2022 (Bureau Veritas certificate). L’Oréal’s methodology aligns with the European Commission’s Product Environmental Performance recommendations.
L’Oréal will continue to improve its best practices on transparency and sustainable consumption as part of its sustainability commitments for 2030, L’Oréal for the Future, and the 2021 “EU Green Consumption Pledge.” The company has committed to sharing the learnings of the impact labelling initiative with the 60 members of the EcoBeautyScore Consortium, aiming to develop an industry-wide environmental impact assessment and scoring system for cosmetics products. L’Oréal has committed to transitioning from its own product impact labelling to the EcoBeautyScore once it becomes available in late 2023.
L’Oréal Canada
L’Oréal Canada has launched its Product Impact Labelling system in Canada. The initiative provides consumers with science-based, transparent information about a product’s environmental and social impact, compared to other L’Oréal products in the same category. This transparency gives consumers the power to make sustainable choices, which 80% of Canadians have expressed a desire to do.
The survey conducted by Leger also revealed that 69% of Canadian consumers expect companies to provide information about the environmental impact of a product. L’Oréal’s Product Impact Labelling System provides a product’s “Environmental Score,” ranked on a scale of A to E, which is the cumulative score of 14 planetary impact factors measured at every stage of a product’s life cycle from ingredient production, packaging and manufacturing of the product, to consumer use (for example the average quantity of hot water used during showering), biodegradability and end-of-life packaging disposal.
The labelling will also display key information regarding a product’s social impact, including compliance with the fundamental principles of the United Nations on labour standards and the number of suppliers committed to social inclusion and having contributed to the product.
Grounded in global standards for environmental science and life-cycle analysis, the methodology behind the Product Impact Labelling system was co-developed with 11 international and independent experts and scientists between 2014 and 2016. The independent auditor Bureau Veritas has verified the application of L’Oréal’s methodology and the accuracy of our data, issuing a favourable assessment in March 2022 (Bureau Veritas certificate). L’Oréal’s methodology aligns with the European Commission’s Product Environmental Performance recommendations. “With leadership comes responsibility. This is why, as part of our L’Oréal for the Future sustainability program, our goal is for 100% of our products to be ecodesigned by 2030,” said Maya Colombani, chief sustainability officer for L’Oréal Canada. “The Product Impact Labelling system allows us to set action plans to achieve this using, for example, green science and packaging optimization.”
