Ethics Day: an opportunity for internal ethics discussions

Every year, Ethics Day is the occasion for sincere and transparent discussion between employees worldwide and L’Oréal’s CEO, Executive Committee members, and Country General Managers. The eagerly awaited event attracts more participants each year.

Ethics Day appeals to more and more employees

In 2021, L’Oréal’s new CEO, Nicolas Hieronimus, hosted his first ever Ethics Day livestream alongside Jean-Christophe Sautory, Chief Ethics, Risk & Compliance Officer. The 100% digital event—simultaneously interpreted into English, French, Mandarin and Spanish—fosters sincere and transparent discussion with employees worldwide. Employees were able to speak directly to members of the Group’s Executive Committee and Country Managers to ask them questions about L’Oréal’s ethics policy and how it applies to specific situations encountered at work, or to offer suggestions.

With over 8,000 questions submitted and nearly 40,000 connections worldwide, employee participation and engagement were particularly high in 2021. The event’s open-dialogue format consistently kindles enthusiasm. Thanks to instant chat and voting, employees were able to select the topics they felt were most important. A lot of questions were answered live. The 2021 edition bested previous years, with 77 ethics dialogue sessions organised accross all entities, countries and Zones.

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Ethics Day Lessons

In 2021, the theme for Ethics Day was “Ethics Drives Us All”: a choice that reaffirms the crucial place of Ethics in the Group’s vision and underscores its collective nature. The goal is to give all employees the key tools they need to make the best possible decisions every day.

Ethics Day is an important event for management teams and for the Ethics, Risk & Compliance department, because it’s the perfect opportunity to discuss ethical dilemmas—which aren’t always easy to unpack—with employees. The day is also an opportunity to roll out concrete action plans ensuring continuous improvement in our ethical commitments and policies. Ethics Day is more than a special day for discussing ethical questions; it also encourages employees to champion these values at the company and with stakeholders on a daily basis.