L'Oréal receives 'Triple A' status for its environmental efforts

L'Oréal has proven that it is getting serious about corporate sustainability, with its latest accolade. The beauty giant has been awarded a place on the ‘A List' from non-profit environmental body CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) for climate change, water security and forests. 

The organization scores around 6,800 companies annually in terms of the steps they are taking regarding climate change, deforestation and water security, rating them from A through to D minus. L'Oréal's scoring makes it one of only two companies to have received A's in all three categories this year, and the only company to have done so three years in a row.

"Sustainability drives our research, our innovation and our operations in exciting ways and reinforces our commitment to our employees and the communities in which we operate," said Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO of L'Oréal, in a statement. "L'Oréal's teams, committed on a day-to-day basis all over the world, can be proud of this recognition, which demonstrates L'Oréal's strong commitment on the path to transformation towards a more sustainable model and encourages us to go further and faster in tackling the major environmental challenges that the world faces today."

Last October, L'Oréal was one of more than 290 major brands that signed 'The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment,' led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with UN Environment, which aims to reduce plastic waste via measures such as eliminating single-use plastic from supply chains and ensuring that 100 percent of plastic packaging can be easily and safely reused, recycled, or composted by 2025. Other beauty brands have also been focusing on reducing their environmental impact recently, including the personal care giant Procter & Gamble, which joined forces with several major companies to launch an ‘Alliance to End Plastic Waste' designed to tackle plastic waste levels in the ocean earlier this month.