L'Oreal expands sustainability efforts with world's 1st fully-integrated plastic offset program

MANILA, Philippines — According to a report from the World Bank, the Philippines generates 2.7 million metric tons of plastic waste annually and 20% of plastic wastes are leaked into the ocean. This is a critical environmental challenge that needs to be addressed through a collective effort.   

The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act (RA No. 11898) that passed into law in July 2022 is a practical approach on efficient waste management, waste reduction and development of environment-friendly packaging to promote sustainable consumption and principles of a circular economy, while incorporating the responsibility of the producer throughout the products lifecycle. Through this policy, obliged enterprises (OE) are responsible for proper and effective disposal of their product's packaging in the post-consumer stage by utilizing biodegradable materials or improving the recyclability and reusability of waste.  

Participating OEs in the Philippines are required to establish a comprehensive EPR program, which should include suitable and effective recovery, treatment, recycling or disposal methods.

Recognizing the need to act with urgency on environmental challenges, L'Oréal Group in the Philippines is accelerating efforts to recover, sort and recycle plastic equivalent to 100% of its yearly plastic footprint volume starting in 2023, going beyond government targets set for industries at 20% for 2023 until 80% by 2028. 

L'Oréal Groupe, in partnership with PCX, a registered producer responsibility organization (PRO), announced its commitment to recover, sort and recycle plastic equivalent to 100% of its yearly plastic footprint volume starting in 2023, going beyond the 20% recovery target mandated by the local government this year.

In line with its sustainability commitments under the L'Oréal for the Future program, L'Oréal Groupe fully supports the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022 regulated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Philippines.  

The recovery targets set by DENR start at 20% for 2023, 40% for 2024 and increase by 10% each year until 80% in 2028. Through its partnership with PCX, L'Oréal Group is accelerating its commitment towards a sustainable business model pledging 100% recovery or 5X the mandated targets by the DENR and 5 years ahead of industry-wide deadline.  

The company's commitment to recover and manage 100% of its plastic footprint volume in the Philippines is part of the L'Oréal for the Future, program, the group's sustainable development strategy for 2030, set in accordance with the science-based targets initiative. L'Oréal for the Future is built on three main pillars, namely transforming the group's activities to respect planetary boundaries, empowering its business ecosystems to transition to a more sustainable business, as well as contributing to solving urgent social and environmental challenges that the world is facing.  

"L'Oréal is committed to promoting a circular economy. Our focus is to create products that reflect this aspiration - from the design to the post-use of our products. To amplify this vision, the Group has committed to ensuring that 100% of the plastics used in L'Oréal's product packaging will come from recycled or bio-based sources by 2030. As we work hard to achieve this goal, we share our full support and commitment to the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act in the Philippines as an effective way to reduce our impact," said Yannick Raynaud, Country Managing Director of L'Oréal Group, Philippines.

"With plastic pollution being most prevalent in the Philippines, we recognize our crucial role in ensuring that private companies like us become a catalyst for change. Our commitment to going above and beyond the yearly EPR targets serves as an inspiration and challenge to demonstrate our responsibility towards our planet," she added.  

"As the world's first fully integrated plastic offset program, we are inspired by the strides that the Philippine government and the participating companies are taking together. Tackling plastic waste is an important issue, and we're pleased that L'Oréal has gone above and beyond requirements to address the plastic pollution challenge in the Philippines with urgency," said PCX Founder and Executive Chairperson Nanette Medved-Po. 

Sustainability has been a fundamental priority globally for the L'Oréal Group for over 15 years, with the beauty leader implementing a sustainable packaging strategy well before the local EPR Act was introduced this year. L'Oréal has reduced the intensity of plastic through light weighting and right sizing; replaced the use of virgin plastic; and redesigned to recycle and refill. 

To deliver on these goals, L'Oréal doubles down on the "3Rs" strategy :  

• Reduce the quantity of packaging by redesigning to use less material, reducing the weight of our packaging for the same amount of formula or implementing reuse and refill models.  In 2021, Kiehl's introduced the Refillables Program in the Philippines offering shampoo, conditioner, shower cleanser, hand soap, and hand and body lotion in one-liter pouches transferrable to reusable containers. 
• Replace impactful material with better alternatives that have lessened environmental impact, such as utilizing Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) Plastic instead of virgin plastics. In the Philippines, the Garnier Micellar Water bottles sold in-stores are made of 100% PCR recycled plastic.   
• Recycle: L'Oréal is building strategic partnerships to design even more recyclable packaging and actively contribute to the development of a circular economy.   

Today, the company is proud of its sustainable packaging achievements that reinforce its conviction and ambition to accelerate toward a circular economy.   

Since 2017, 100% of the company's products created or renovated have been evaluated using a multi-criteria (14) lifecycle analysis to reduce impact on the environment. 

In 2022, 98% of the paper used for product leaflets and 99.9% of the cardboard used for folding boxes for finished goods were certified as coming from sustainably managed forests. 
78% of the volume of plastic PET used by the Group worldwide is from recycled origin, in 2022. 26% of the plastic used in their packaging came from either recycled or biobased sources. 
 By 2030, L'Oréal commits to reduce the amount of packaging used in its products globally by 20% in intensity compared to 2019.  

In the Philippines, L'Oréal was the first beauty company to roll out the Green Parcel Program in 2020, reducing plastic use in its fulfilment process. Fast forward today, all of the company's brands (L'Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline, Kiehl's, Kerastase, L'Oréal Professionnel)) ordered from e-commerce platforms like Lazada, Shoppe and Tiktok Shop come in a plastic-free wrap and packaging, using FSC-certified paper box, honeycomb wrap, and paper tape.  Since the implementation of the Green Parcel Program in 2020, the company has saved more than 25 metric tons of plastics and counting.  

On top of that, 100% of merchandising materials at point-of-sale are also built with eco-design principles starting from conception, production, transportation, to end-of-life management.  

During the conception stage, the company optimizes weight of the materials used, uses only Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or PEFC certified papers, cardboards and wood, and ensures that materials have renewable or recyclable components. During production, sustainable printing process is prioritized, and lamination on cardboard is prohibited. During transportation, shipment is optimized via flat pack and stackable units when possible.  

At the end of life, multi-material POS that are separable are disassembled and sorted per type and are recycled accordingly. 

To date, the company claimed to be one of only five companies working with PCX that has pledged to recover and recycle 100% of its yearly plastic waste volume in the Philippines by 2023.