Growth: it’s for sharing

Helping access for access to employment and ensuring social inclusion
Across its supply chain, L’Oréal supports people in difficulty who are trying find work, and has set itself a target of enabling 100,000 people to find a job by 2020. 
To achieve thatthis, a number of different programs are being pursued, including Solidarity Sourcing. Launched in 2010, the program dedicates a proportion of the Group’s purchasing to companies that hire people who have either been excluded from the labor market, who belong to communities that are financially vulnerable financially, or who work in small set-ups. In 2016, for example, the Group ordered certain promotional materials from factories located in areas of China that have been affected by economic migration. The initiative enabled 160 mothers to be guaranteed a decent salary that helped to meet their families’ needs – and to work near their homes.

Another project has been to establish a sustainable supply chain for shea butter after working with local communities in Burkina Faso. The objective is three-fold: to provide a fair income without intermediaries for the women who gather shea nuts; to create value locally by providing training on good gathering practices; and to help the environment by preserving the local shea trees. Since 2014, 100% of the shea butter used by several of the Group’s brands has been provided by this sustainable sourcing program – helping 35,000 people by the end of 2016.

In total, Solidarity Sourcing helped about 48,700 people who are either socially or financially disadvantaged to find a job in 2017.

Suppliers on the same wavelength
For L’Oréal, sharing the benefits of growth also means working hand in hand with suppliers. CSR is one of the five criteria used by L’Oréal to select its suppliers, representing 20% of the total assessment. In 2020, 100% of L’Oréal’s strategically important suppliers will take part in its sustainable development program.

The Group also helps suppliers to draw up their own environmental strategies, offering them various training tools and encouraging them since 2009 to work with the CDP (previously  Carbon Disclosure Project), and specifically its CDP Supply Chain program. The aim? To encourage suppliers to set targets and draw up action plans for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

To learn more about responsible beauty at L’Oréal:

Read “Our commitments”, along with our “Corporate Social Responsibility” (Source: 2017 L’Oréal Annual Report)
Read about our sustainability program, initiatives and results at: sharingbeautywithall.loreal.com