FUTURE OF BEAUTY
The beauty giant has committed to a radical green transformation to meet the challenges facing our planet. We spoke to Merit Aumre Johansen, who is spearheading the joint task of dramatically reducing CO2 emissions from suppliers, as well as helping local communities through its solidarity purchasing and inclusion programs.
L’Oréal is consistently achieving the highest scores amongst corporate giants, when it comes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, what lies behind the overall strategy?
As the world leader in beauty, the desire to respect, preserve, and restore the beauty of the world, is a core commitment. We aim to do whatever is necessary. L’Oréal has decided to take its efforts even further through a program called “L’Oréal for the Future”. Our commitments towards 2030 mark the beginning of a more radical transformation and embody our view as to what a company’s vision, purpose, and responsibilities should be, to meet the challenges facing the world.
Our 2030 commitments mark a crucial new stage in rising to the challenges facing our world. Taking into account our business, beauty, our position as leader, and our global presence.
Over the last ten years, we have undertaken an in-depth transformation to reduce our impact across our entire value chain. We have totally reinvented the way we design and make our products, with sustainability as a fundamental requirement. We have exceeded our already ambitious objectives, and we have proven that decoupling impact and growth is definitely possible. However, as environmental and social concerns increase, we know that this is no longer enough. This is an emergency. Together, we have one decade to act.
Can you tell us a little bit more about the “L’Oréal for the Future” program?
With L’Oréal for the Future, we aim for an even more radical transformation. More radical, because our commitments put L’Oréal in line with the only possible scenario for humanity: respecting planetary boundaries across the entire lifecycle of our products.
It is our responsibility also to take into account our impact beyond L’Oréal. We must help our 1.5 billion consumers to limit their impact when they use our products, and encourage them to make sustainable choices. We want to keep rallying our suppliers and clients in this process of sustainable transition, co-creating disruptive solutions. Only together can we have a real impact. We are also allocating 150 million euros to support vulnerable women and the fight against the environmental emergency, two causes that reflect the historic values and commitment of our Group.
On the sustainability aspect, what has been most visible in the L’Oréal Nordic HQ at Havneholmen?
The latest most visible steps in the office have been the Sustainability week with Green Steps program and speakers from Stockholm Resilience Center, Google (Circular economy), and our own Green Science possibilities from Nordic Scientific & Regulatory Affairs Team. At the same time, we started to discover together “Green Routines” – what changes we can make in our everyday lives in order to improve our personal climate footprints. It is well visible that our small deliveries inside of Copenhagen are done by bike.
Surely, there is a big and visible difference in the sustainability aspect of the coffee machines in the office. We love to know how many flights we are saving, and how the coffee waste is used.
What inspires you personally when it comes to sustainability?
Life on the planet Earth, human impact with very quick evolution, and our way to be addicted to consuming without being really conscious about it. What can I do to create the change? My inspiration is nature, the beautiful places on the Earth, the recovering systems.
With this in mind, my family of 5 people, search, plans, and execute more sustainable possibilities for everyday life in the city. Most of the time, enjoyable and simple solutions. Solar panels. A kitchen garden that includes growing mushrooms from the rest of our coffee grounds. Honey bees. Bicycling every day. As little packaging as possible.
Finally, how do you drink your coffee?
I love coffee. I like to ask myself – mhmm, what kind of coffee would I like to enjoy now? Nougat espresso in the morning. Latte before lunch. Ice coffee for a warm afternoon. To be honest, sometimes, I just enjoy the fresh coffee aroma.
