L’Oréal USA has reached carbon neutrality for all 25 of its sites in the U.S., spanning 12 states, including its manufacturing and distribution facilities, administrative sites, and research and innovation sites.
L’Oréal USA is the largest subsidiary of the L’Oréal Groupe.
With more than 35 iconic brands under the L’Oréal USA umbrella, and more than 3 million units of its most popular products produced daily, L’Oréal USA said the recent milestone is in-line with the beauty company’s global sustainability commitment, L’Oréal for the Future, which states that all L’Oréal-operated sites worldwide must reach carbon neutrality by 2025.
“L’Oréal’s sustainability ambition is a transformational effort that has touched every department, becoming a source of pride, inspiration and education for all our 11,000 U.S. employees,” said Stéphane Rinderknech, President & CEO, L’Oréal USA. “Our brands and products are some of the most recognizable in the world, and more than two out every three products we sell in the United States are manufactured here.”
L’Oréal USA’s strategy included energy optimization, whereby all manufacturing facilities implemented measures to reduce energy consumption, ranging from a switch to LED lighting to more specialized equipment, such as high-efficiency air compressors and vacuum pumps. It also included implementing direct renewable energy projects. According to the company, 70 percent of L’Oréal USA’s sites have on-site renewable energy projects. The company also established renewable energy in L’Oréal USA’s administrative offices, including the installation of solar panels at its Berkeley Heights office. In addition, L’Oréal uses onsite gas for space and water heating. To address the company’s gas usage, L’Oréal USA sites procure RNG from landfill gas projects in Texas and New York that capture and convert methane produced from the natural decomposition of organic materials.
Long-term goals include reducing its entire inventory of greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1, 2 and 3) by 25 percent by 2030, in absolute terms compared to 2016, and by 2050 aims to further reduce emissions and become a net zero company.