2021 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT

Improving biodegradability through eco-design

The Group is working to measure and increase the biodegradability of its formulas and reduce their water footprint at the end of life. These two parameters have been integrated in the SPOT product eco-design tool.

It is used by all teams of product formulators to assess the biodegradability and water footprint whenever new formulas are created.

100% of the formulas put into production for the first time in 2021 have been evaluated. 76% of them have an improved environmental profile.

Among the new products launched in 2021, the products below have formulas with biodegradability levels of over 98% across L’Oréal’s Divisions:

The Sharing Beauty With All programme led to a very significant increase in the percentage of raw materials of renewable origin and produced in accordance with the criteria of green chemistry. In 2021, via the L’Oréal for the Future programme, L’Oréal continued to work to achieve its commitments regarding the biodegradability of its raw materials portfolio. A total of 82% of the volume of raw materials was biodegradable in 2021 and was stable compare to 2020. A recalculation for the year 2020 was done based on the new methodology used in 2021.

Using eco-design to reduce the impact of the product use phase

Innovation is also used to reduce the impact of the phase during which consumers use our products. In the rinse-off cosmetics sector, the main impacts are the carbon and water footprints of the product use phase. As part of its new L’Oréal for the Future sustainability commitments, the Group aims to develop innovative solutions that enable consumers to reduce both the greenhouse gas emissions and the water consumption associated with using its products.

In the context of the Covid-19 crisis, the Group’s consumer shave focused on skincare products, the number one category for growth in the beauty market, and have demonstrated a desire for hair care and colouring, as well as hygiene products. These categories are the ones that contain most of the Group’s rinse-off products and therefore contribute heavily to the water consumption by the Group’s consumers.

At the same time as hair salons reopened and particularly dynamic growth in haircare and colouring was observed, the Group significantly reduced the water consumption associated with the use of its products in comparison to 2020.

The Group’s strategy to meet this challenge is based on three pillars:

• • A reduction in the quantity of water used for rinse-off products. This means the development of formulation bases that offer better rinsability. For example, the Garnier brand made available to its consumers solid shampoos that offer a 20% saving in the rinse volume used.
  • Innovation in routines: the Group continually adapts its innovation model to meet all beauty aspirations around the world. L’Oréal wants to allow its consumers to reduce the use phase by offering new innovations in the areas of product use and routines, with the goal of reducing the impact of the usage phase by eliminating the rinse phase, for example. In 2021, the Garnier brand, through its Ultra Soft universe, marketed leave-in conditioners contained in a cardboard tube. This eco-designed technology (91% biodegradable and 94% renewable ingredients) eliminates the usual need to rinse off with water as required by traditional conditioners.
  • The deployment of technologies: the Group is developing equipment that will reduce water consumption in salons by collaborating with its ecosystem to develop new solutions. The Group has also partnered with the Swiss start-up Gjosa to, optimise the rinse-off technology of shampoos and thereby limit the quantity of water used. In 2018, L’Oréal and Gjosa announced that they were designing a shower head that can rinse off shampoo using just 1.5 litres of water (instead of the 8 litres normally used). Called L’Oréal Water Saver, this sustainable hair-care technology for use in salons and at home was presented at the Consumer Electric Show in January 2021.

The emission factors⁽¹⁾ of the energy used in the countries in which L’Oréal sells its products vary according to their energy mix. Given the changes in the distribution of the sales and emission factors of the countries since 2016, greenhouse gas emissions have been favourably decor related from the water consumption associated with the use of the products.

In addition, this positive change in greenhouse gas emissions is also due to the reduction in the use of certain types of aerosols, thus reducing CO₂ emissions from the use phase of products that do not require water.

(1)The emission factors represent the carbon intensity of the energy required to heat the water associated with the use of the products. The energy emission factors vary from one country to another according to the rate of use of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix.