Freedom of association and right to collective bargaining: Violations of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, such as discrimination against employee representatives, may occur in all regions of the world in which L’Oréal operates. Employees’ freedom of association and right to collective bargaining must be respected:
In regions where freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are limited or discouraged, L’Oréal authorises its employees to meet independently in order to discuss their professional concerns.
In addition to the action taken as a result of the risk analysis conducted on the business activities of the Group and its Suppliers, L’Oréal conducts initiatives in addition to those implemented under the French law on Duty of Vigilance. These are described in chapter 4.
For example, L’Oréal set up actions with the aim to improve the working conditions of the Indian communities whose livelihood depends on the mineral mica. Since 2017, L’Oréal has been one of the 20 founding members of the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI). This year, the RMI has 100 members. The RMI has three goals:
L’Oréal also participates in the development of the RMI audit standard to facilitate member collaboration and effectively put in place the collective actions necessary in cooperation with local authorities. L’Oréal also supports the establishment of a price calculated using the living wage approach in addition to diversified income contributing to more resilient living conditions.
L’Oréal requires its Suppliers to have their own due diligence processes in place as regards their own scope of supply of Indian mica. In 2024, 99% of Indian mica used in the Group’s formulas came from suppliers committed to obtaining their supply from verified processing sites.
The Group has set up two ambitious programmes aimed at improving working conditions for the employees and communities our suppliers work with: the Living Wage and Inclusive Sourcing programmes.
Living Wage programme
In 2023, L’Oréal was awarded Living Wage Employer accreditation by Fair Wage Network, an international NGO, in recognition of its worldwide status as a committed Living Wage Employer.
As part of its commitment to fair pay for all of its employees, L’Oréal aims to ensure that all of the employees of its strategic suppliers are paid at least the living wage, in line with best practices.
In order to roll out this approach to its strategic suppliers, L’Oréal engages in dialogue, takes a collaborative approach and establishes common strategic frameworks with partners within its supply chains, other companies, civil society, governments, etc.
L'Oréal’s programme for engaging its strategic suppliers in adhering to the principle of a living wage has been in place since 2022. It consists of a series of meetings over several months with a group of suppliers and partners, such as the Fair Wage Network, the Wage Indicator Foundation and the IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss the Group's methodology and expectations, and for suppliers who have already adopted the approach, for them to give feedback on their experiences. This encourages companies to share best practices and talk about any potential difficulties. Suppliers are asked to commit to paying all their employees a living wage.
In 2024, personalised support had been put in place for 70% of the Group’s strategic suppliers, and at the year-end more than 150 suppliers had pledged compliance by 2030. At end- 2024, 6% of the Group's strategic suppliers had confirmed their compliance.
Inclusive Sourcing programme
With its many industrial and administrative sites all over the world, L’Oréal is heavily involved in the life of local communities and in the areas neighbouring its sites and suppliers through its Inclusive Sourcing programme, set up in 2010.
The programme harnesses the Group’s purchasing power to promote social inclusion by allocating a portion of L’Oréal’s total purchasing volume to committed suppliers, who give access to employment and a sustainable income to people from socio-economically vulnerable communities who are often excluded from the labour market. It also supports suppliers that traditionally struggle to access calls for tender from multinational companies.
The programme concerns all the Group’s suppliers and values their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The Inclusive Sourcing programme concerns, for example: fair trade producers, companies which employ people with disabilities, social insertion enterprises, or companies owned by minorities(1) (when this is permitted by national legislation).
The Inclusive Sourcing programme contributes to L’Oréal’s goal of empowering 100,000 additional people who are socially or economically vulnerable to access employment by 2030(2).
In 2024, an additional 71,349 people were supported in accessing employment through the Inclusive Sourcing programme and thanks to Fondation L’Oréal’s Beauty for a Better Life programme.
