L'Oréal Türkiye Launches Sustainability Revolution

L'Oréal Turkey's Sustainability Revolution L'Oréal Turkey, implementing multiple innovative and ambitious sustainability projects simultaneously, continues to create positive impact on "Environment, Climate and Communities." [caption id="attachment_140544" align="aligncenter"] loreal fabrika[/caption] Through "L'Oréal for the Future," L'Oréal Turkey aims to create a new generation change model that respects the world's limited resources and the conditions facing communities. L'Oréal Turkey is transforming its Istanbul Production Facility into a water-conscious factory that recycles water, targeting annual savings of 10 million litres—equivalent to one day's water consumption for 53,000 Istanbul residents—in response to the growing drought threat in our country. Maintaining the beauty market's 1.5x growth claim and raising its market share to 25% in the first four months of 2022, L'Oréal Turkey stands out not only through financial results but also through concrete steps taken on sustainability. Among L'Oréal Group's 20 strategically important countries, L'Oréal Turkey positions sustainability at the center of business operations through a "100% Plastic-Free E-Commerce" approach in the online market, which represents 30% of its business volume. Applying one of the world's most comprehensive sustainability programs, "L'Oréal for the Future," across all areas, L'Oréal Turkey reduces waste and expands recycling impact through stands produced with "100% Eco-Design" principles. Aligned with the vision of "Creating Beauty That Moves the World" and the L'Oréal For The Future program, which outlines L'Oréal Group's innovative and ambitious sustainability commitments, L'Oréal Turkey continues its work without interruption, taking strong and concrete steps to ensure that the "Planetary Boundaries" defined by scientists are not exceeded, while simultaneously implementing multiple different sustainability projects. L'Oréal Turkey CEO Sinem Sandıkçı Gökçen shared her views on the matter as follows: "As a science-driven Techno-Beauty leader, L'Oréal Group has been certified for the sixth consecutive year as a world leader in corporate sustainability by CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), a non-profit global civil society organization that gathers information on environmental issues, encourages companies to disclose environmental data, and evaluates their actions. I am proud to say that L'Oréal Group became the first and only company to achieve "A" ratings for six consecutive years across all three environmental themes: "Climate Change, Water Security and Forests." Sustainability has always been at the heart of our business. We know that we must take concrete steps to address urgent environmental challenges facing our planet, and for many years we have been implementing comprehensive projects specifically in climate, water, environment, natural resources and communities. [caption id="attachment_140537" align="aligncenter"] L'Oréal Türkiye CEO'su Sinem Sandıkçı Gökçen[/caption] As L'Oréal Turkey, our work makes a major contribution to achieving the goals of our "L'Oréal for the Future" sustainability program. We continue to implement sustainability in Turkey in every possible area, particularly water conservation. This year, on World Environment Day, we wanted to share the excitement of our water-conscious factory that recycles water, which will be a first in Turkey's beauty sector, and we extend our gratitude to those who have contributed and hope it becomes an encouraging example for all sectors." "Climate changes occurring at the poles and thus throughout the world continue to pose a major threat to our future. L'Oréal Group is making a real difference by implementing one of the world's most comprehensive sustainability programs. As a scientist, I sincerely commend L'Oréal Turkey, particularly for the comprehensive and innovative sustainability projects it has implemented." said Prof. Dr. Burcu Özsoy, Director of TUBITAK Marmara Research Center (MAM) Polar Research Institute, who also emphasized the importance of protecting water resources, which is among the UN's global sustainability goals.  

Recycling Movement

At L'Oréal Turkey, everything is centered on a plastic-free world and an environment-focused recycling movement stands out at every stage of operations. Through recycling, upcycling and refill initiatives, L'Oréal Turkey positions sustainability at the heart of business operations. From 2021 to present, L'Oréal Turkey's "Plastic-Free E-Commerce" approach uses 100% recyclable paper instead of plastic for filling and protective materials, boxes and security tape in e-commerce and B2B shipments. 100% of stand materials used at sales points are produced with Eco-Design. To reduce waste, product display units no longer in use are transformed into bookshelves through upcycling initiatives and are reused. Under the project, 304 wall units have been recycled to produce bookshelves for 36 schools in various provinces across Anatolia, as well as cabinets for kindergartens, cat houses and directional signs. The project continues with an increased number of recycled display units. At L'Oréal Turkey Headquarters, organic waste such as food and beverages is converted into natural fertilizer through upcycling using a compost machine and is made available to employees for personal garden and plant care. This method produces an average of 252 kg of compost/organic fertilizer annually, returning waste to nature. L'Oréal Group introduced the first cosmetic bottle produced with recycled plastic using Carbios' enzymatic technology. Biotherm will be the Group's first brand to launch products in these groundbreaking innovative bottles, targeting production by 2025. This new enzymatic technology can be used to recycle all types of PET—transparent, colored, opaque and multi-layer—and plastics can be recycled infinitely using this technology. Garnier, pledging "Green Commitment," through its "One Green Step" campaign recycles five plastic bottles in collaboration with the civil society organization "Plastics for Change" for each social media share. For each person who creates and shares their own green step video under the campaign, 10 plastic bottles are recycled. The campaign targets recycling 2 million plastic bottles and raising awareness through sharing green steps. Kiehl's, a brand creating impact as one conscious of sustainability, gives consumers stars for each returned Kiehl's packaging, and consumers earn rewards based on the number of stars they collect. This way, Kiehl's encourages recycling, raises awareness and contributes positively to our planet's future. L'Oréal Professionnel Serie Expert products contain up to 95% recycled plastic, 100% of the water used in production processes is recycled, and the production facility operates in a CO2-neutral manner. The L'Oréal Professionnel Dia Light series, meanwhile, bases sustainability on tubes produced from 95% recycled aluminum, caps produced from 100% recycled plastic and boxes produced from recyclable cardboard. La Roche-Posay provides consumers with its Anthelios sunscreen product in packaging produced using recyclable materials. Reducing plastic use in packaging by 45%, La Roche Posay continues by 2025 with packaging produced from 70% recycled plastic, targeting 10,000 tons of pure plastic savings. Armani's MY WAY fragrance, demonstrating responsibility awareness, sources natural ingredients gathered from around the world in sustainable ways. Its innovative bottle can be refilled, offering a striking and effortless solution to reduce waste and support recycling. Through contributions to forest protection programs that protect ecological and biological diversity, MY WAY achieves carbon neutrality. Additionally, through MY WAY, Armani supports the socio-economic development of communities with limited resources through projects conducted with local civil society organizations.  

Environmental Movement

At L'Oréal Turkey, forest conservation and proper use of natural resources stand among the fundamental building blocks of the sustainability approach, and the Environmental Movement stands out as a determining criterion in all business activities. Since 1989, L'Oréal Group has not tested products on animals—14 years before it was legally banned. There are effective methods that do not involve animal testing to guarantee the safety of cosmetic products. For example, more than 40 years ago, L'Oréal Group developed reconstructed human skin to more accurately analyze the effects of cosmetic ingredients and products on human skin and pioneered this area. None of L'Oréal Group's brands tests cosmetic products and ingredients on animals. Garnier has recently been officially approved as "Cruelty Free" on a global scale by Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny program, an organization working to end animal testing. Other brands including IT Cosmetics, Pureology, Urban Decay and NYX Professional already hold PETA certification. Funds have been designated as 100 million euros to take necessary action on important environmental issues and to restore damaged natural marine and forest ecosystems, and 50 million euros to support women in difficult circumstances, to be deployed through projects implemented by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) worldwide. Discussions with CSOs in our country are ongoing at full pace. Kiehl's partners with ecording, a social enterprise developing environmental technologies against the global climate crisis for a better future through its Future Made Better program, and through this program, each Kiehl's purchase returns to nature as a seed planted by an ecoDrone. Kiehl's' Future Made Better program contributes to Turkey's afforestation and our planet's future. Developed an "Environmental and Social Impact Labeling System" with the goal of enabling consumers to make more sustainable choices and raising their awareness. Through this innovative system, the environmental and social impacts of products are transparently shared with consumers on a scale ranging from A to E, and consumers can now see the environmental and social impacts of the products they purchase on the label. The application, which began with the Garnier brand and its hair care products, will be gradually implemented across all brands and categories. In this system, approved by independent scientific experts, all data is audited and certified by the independent auditing body Bureau Veritas.  

Carbon-Neutral Movement

At L'Oréal Turkey, reducing carbon footprint ranks at the top of the priority list, and the environment-focused Carbon-Neutral Movement matters in all business activities. L'Oréal Turkey transports products using CNG vehicles to reduce CO2 emissions from product shipping. Compared to 2016, shipping-related CO2 emissions have been reduced by 43%. 71% of L'Oréal Turkey's vehicle fleet consists of hybrid vehicles. CO2 emissions were reduced by 42 tons in 2021.  

Water Conservation Movement

Global water demand is projected to increase by 55% by 2050. Within just five years, two-thirds of people will face water issues, and without urgent action, humanity will be dealing with the threat of water scarcity. The Water Saver showerhead, developed through collaboration between L'Oréal Group, a Techno-Beauty leader, and environmental innovation company Gjosa, was developed to provide a concrete response to increasing global water scarcity. This technology, developed for use in beauty salons, is directly attached to sinks and incorporates hair products directly into water flow through three different nozzles for shampooing, conditioning and special treatments. The Water Saver showerhead works by creating micro-ionized droplets colliding in a high-pressure single stream and can reduce water consumption per wash by up to 65%. With this feature, Water Saver is the world's first showerhead to use patented water-splitting technology to provide up to 65% water savings in hairdressing rinse areas. With the Water Saver head, only 2.4 liters of water are needed instead of 7 liters to rinse shampoo from hair. If 100,000 beauty salons use L'Oréal Water Saver technology, up to 6.8 billion liters of water can be saved. At L'Oréal Turkey headquarters, rainwater is collected and reused for garden and plant irrigation, saving an average of 6,000 liters of rainwater annually through this method. In response to the growing drought threat in our country, L'Oréal Turkey is transforming its Istanbul Production Facility into a water-conscious factory that recycles water, targeting annual savings of 10 million liters—equivalent to one day's water consumption for 53,000 Istanbul residents. Besides this new water conservation project, L'Oréal Turkey Production Facility has been implementing sustainability work in many areas for years. Leading these efforts are conducting inventory work to identify biodiversity around the facility, protecting plants and animals within the factory ecosystem and ensuring waste management with a zero-waste-to-nature approach. L'Oréal Turkey Production Facility also earned the Gold Award at the 2022 RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) Health and Safety Awards, held annually in the UK and internationally recognized for its occupational health and safety practices and achievements for employees.

L'Oréal for the Future Presents Innovative and Bold 2030 Targets

Climate By 2025, we aim to be carbon neutral across all our business areas by increasing energy efficiency and using 100% renewable energy. By 2030, we aim to have implemented innovations so that consumers reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the use of our products by an average of 25% per final product compared to 2016. By 2030, we aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to the shipment of our products by an average of 50% per final product compared to 2016. By 2030, we target our strategic suppliers to reduce their direct emissions by 50% in absolute terms compared to 2016.

Water

We will evaluate our formulas by 2030 using our environmental test platform to ensure they are respectful of aquatic ecosystems both inland and in coastal regions. By 2030, we target renewing ourselves as a Group to reduce water consumption related to consumer use of our products by an average of 25% per final product compared to 2016. We target having recycled and reused 100% of the water used in industrial processes by 2030. By 2030, we target our strategic suppliers to use water resources sustainably across all areas where they operate.

Biodiversity

• By 2030, 100% of the biologically-based ingredients in our formulas and packaging materials will be traceable and sourced sustainably, and none will result in forest destruction.
• By 2030, we target having improved land occupation, which is critical to obtaining our ingredients, to reduce negative impacts on natural habitats compared to 2019.
• By 2030, 100% of the buildings we use in our industrial facilities and operations will have a positive impact on biodiversity compared to 2019.

Resources

By 2030, 95% of the ingredients in our formulas will be biologically-based or obtained from abundant minerals or circular processes. By 2030, we will have reduced packaging intensity in our products by 20% compared to 2019. By 2030, 100% of the plastics used in our packaging will be obtained from recycled materials or biologically-based sources. (We aim to achieve 50% of this target by 2025.) By 2030, 100% of waste generated at our sites will be recycled and reused. By 2025, 100% of our plastic packaging will be refillable, reusable, recyclable or from biologically-degradable sources. By 2025, 100% of our new stands will be designed according to eco-design principles following circular economy principles, and 100% of our new stores will be designed in accordance with our sustainability principles.

Business Ecosystem

By 2030, we will ensure that 100% of our strategic suppliers' employees receive at least a living wage and that their basic needs and those of their dependents are met. By 2030, we will provide employment access to 1 million people from disadvantaged communities. By 2022, the Environmental and Social Labeling System for products will be applied to all of the Group's rinse-off products. By 2022, 100% of the Group's products will have eco-design. By 2030, 3 million people will benefit from our brands' social programs (access to water, education and vocational training).

Communities

By 2023, we will have made investments worth 50 million euros to support women in need. By 2030, the L'Oréal Nature Renewal Fund will have invested 50 million euros to help restore one million hectares of degraded ecosystems. By 2030, the fund will have contributed to controlling 15 to 20 million tons of CO2 emissions and will have created hundreds of job opportunities. By 2030, we will have invested 50 million euros to finance projects supporting a more circular economy.