What is responsible lobbying?
Responsible lobbying: the importance of sincerity and transparency
Not all countries have laws framing the participation of lobbyists in public debate. As a result, certain companies, like L’Oréal, have opted to voluntarily promote their responsible lobbying strategy. In 2014, L’Oréal initiated and signed the Common Statement on Lobbying alongside seven other members of Transparency International France. Transparency International France is the French branch of Transparency International, an NGO that fights against corruption.
Since then, other organisations have joined the cause and signed the Statement. It is open to all companies, professional federations and associations, unions and NGOs who want to make progress on this issue through their commitments to ethics, social responsibility and governance, whether or not they are members of Transparency France.
L’Oréal’s Responsible Lobbying policy
As the world’s leading cosmetics group, L’Oréal feels it has a duty to be proactive and take part in the development of regulations in countries where the Group operates when these regulations might impact its business—all the while recognising the legitimacy of other stakeholder representatives and taking into consideration the interests they represent.
The Group published its commitment to acting sincerely and transparently in its Responsible Lobbying policy. It includes, for example, the obligation to inform management of real or potential conflicts of interest, to only communicate reliable, verifiable and up-to-date information, and to be listed in any existing lobbyist or interest group registers, in full compliance with current regulations. This policy, in line with L’Oréal’s Code of Ethics, was approved by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Committee, and presented to the Board of Directors. In the spirit of continuous progress, the policy, which is available on the L’Oréal website, may be updated on a regular basis.
