Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) are a variety of volatile carbon compounds, with the exception of methane. These compounds come from both natural and man-made sources, including the use of solvents and industrial processes.
L'Oréal is working to identify and control the risks associated with NMVOCs. Firstly, L'Oréal's facilities ensure that they comply with local requirements set by operating permits. In addition, a solvent management plan has been put in place at the most exposed facilities, covering more than 90% of solvents used, which is used to monitor NMVOC emissions. It provides a comprehensive view of discharges and facilitates the implementation of corrective measures.(1)
L'Oréal's sustainable purchasing policy (see section 4.4.2.2) is based on working closely with suppliers to limit the environmental footprint in the value chain. Two main objectives have been defined to reduce upstream pollution:
L'Oréal's Research & Innovation (R&I) policy puts sustainable innovation right at the heart of its environmental strategy. This includes formulating new products from more sustainable raw materials as well as reformulating existing products to help minimise their environmental footprint. For the eco-design of its products, L'Oréal uses the Sustainable Product Optimisation Tool (SPOT), which is based on life cycle analysis.
For each new product, SPOT measures the improvement in relation to an average of existing products. For each updated product, improvement is measured and compared to the previous version of the product. All product formulator teams use this tool, for example to assess the impact on water whenever new formulas are created and to reduce that impact (see section 4.4).
In addition, the R&I teams work to change the way raw materials are sourced, processed and used through the Green Sciences programme (see section 4.5) built on four pillars: sustainable agriculture, biotechnology and fermentation, green extraction and transformation and green chemistry. This policy is overseen by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Research, Innovation and Technology, who devises the related strategy. The Group's R&I teams work with the Divisions and brands to accelerate product transformation and eco-design.
Pollution of water: The local sites carry out annual self-assessments or internal audits to ensure optimal management of industrial effluents. Each facility is equipped with a monitoring system for real-time tracking of regulated indicators, such as COD, pH and effluent temperature, as well as substances that could disrupt treatment facilities. This system not only detects the risk of overshoots, but also prevents any non-compliance and triggers the necessary corrective actions. With the Waterloop technique (see section 4.4.2.1), all of L’Oréal's production sites will be able to improve their water treatment and recycling capacities. L'Oréal emphasises achieving the internal objective of limiting COD to 1,000 mg per litre of effluent, starting from the design phase of Waterloop projects, to ensure that the trajectory defined by the Group is achieved.
Pollution of air: each year, L'Oréal assesses the non-methane volatile organic compound (NMVOC) emissions resulting from the use of solvents. This assessment is the result of certain local restrictions (such as operating permits in France) and a constraint introduced by the Group. The raw materials team compiles data on the quantities of solvents purchased per facility. L'Oréal then identifies the sites where these products are most widely used. Solvent emissions are then calculated as part of the Solvent Management Plan, and a ratio is applied to all facilities in order to estimate overall discharge. The Solvent Management Plans also include methods and action plans to reduce NMVOC emissions in L’Oréal’s plants. As a result, the most high-risk plants are still required to draw up a Solvent Management Plan to understand their emissions and identify reduction factors.
