L’Oreal Hellas moves towards circular economy

On 4/7/2022, L’Oreal Hellas presented the results and the main objectives of the L’Oreal For The Future program.

In the presence of Alex Davison, General Manager of L’Oreal Hellas, Dimitra Petrides, Corporate Affairs & Engagement Director, Filippos Michopoulos, Head of the L’ Oreal for the future program, Dr. Anastasios Dimalexis, Consultant of the sustainability program and Ioannis Iliopoulos, CEO and Co-Founder of we4all, discussed the group’s commitments and future actions aimed at complying with the sustainability goals set by the European Union and the United Nations.

Sustainability seems to be a topical issue that is of particular concern to Greeks, with 44% stating that climate change has significantly affected our daily lives and 45% estimating that future developments may have a significant impact on our standard of living.

As Alex Davison pointed out, “The limits to which human activity must move must be limited, because if there is a violation of them we end up destroying the environment.”

The aim of the sustainable development program is to expand the sustainable ecosystem and “green” culture across the L’Oreal group.

Specifically, L’Oreal has set itself the goal of becoming a Low Carbon Emissions company.

The group’s vision is not only to reduce its environmental footprint, but also to cultivate an environmentally friendly consumer culture.

With the number of the company’s customers amounting to 1.5 billion educating them to assimilate more ethical and more sustainable habits is a major change.

58% of L’Oreal’s total actions are Carbon Neutral, its Kentucky plant utilizes renewable energy sources using solar panels while the water used during the production process is recycled through a water loop technology.

All the group’s facilities consume “green” energy, the distribution center in Avlona is an example to be imitated by the rest of the companies operating in Greece.

The heating of the space has been replaced by natural gas with pumps that consume exclusively sources of “green” energy, while in the outdoor area, in addition to solar panels, an ecosystem of biodiversity has been formed where various insects and reptiles circulate. With the help of Dr. Anastasiou Dimalexis, an assessment of the biodiversity of the area of Avlona ( city in Greece) was carried out and based on the data collected  the design of an ecosystem that is in harmony with the environment hosted by the distribution center was realized.

“The Importance of Biodiversity is enormous and our way of living must be in harmony with it. Greece hosts almost 1/4 of the plants of Europe and 2% of the animals of the entire planet”, he pointed out.

With the creation of green spaces, L’Oreal emphasizes the importance of nature’s existence not only in outdoor areas but also in urban centers.

The Roof of L’Oreal follows the same logic.

The concrete roof of the company’s headquarters has been transformed into a garden that is home to various kinds of insects.

Green islets unite one space with another, increasing the living space of wildlife in urban centers. With this initiative, L’Oreal wants to become a model to be imitated by other companies in order to take such “green” actions themselves. Such coordinated initiatives contribute to the vision of creating oases in urban centers as well as to the reduction of the environmental impact that the restriction of the Chalandri Stream had on the area.

Cosmetics, toiletries and circular economy

In the context of sustainable development, the company uses sustainable materials for the production of its Stands which it either reuses or has built in such a way that they are easily disassembled and recycled quickly, designed with 100% ecological know-how.

Also, emphasis is placed on the management of the end of life of materials and the utilization of certified PFC materials based on the principles required by the circular economy model.

Over 30% of the materials the company uses come from recycled materials, while it often gives a second chance to items that would otherwise end up in the trash.

For example, old cartons pass through Shredder and are used as a prefill for sending parcels, while with the help of marketing coordinated actions and forecasts are carried out for the production of the necessary volume of products for each purchase – avoiding the over-production of codes.

Also, 94% of the raw materials for the production of products have been collected in a sustainable way without the company’s actions resulting in deforestation or the destruction of ecosystems. In fact, most L’Oreal codes are based on natural materials, such as clay.

L’Oreal and we4all collaboration

In collaboration with the non-profit organization we4all, L’Oreal organized a tree planting campaign in the areas affected by last year’s fires.

Specifically, they planted over 6,000 trees, a volume that entails with 700,000 kg of oxygen and absorption of 130 mm. tons of carbon dioxide.

Also, more than 120 acres of woodland were cleaned, to avoid a possible fire, and above, roads were drilled over 5 kilometers.