The L'Oréal Fund for Nature Regeneration was also set up in 2020 to support projects aimed at restoring natural ecosystems, helping to protect biodiversity on a global scale. The €50 million impact investment fund is managed by Mirova and targets a financial return combined with the creation of environmental and social value. By the end of 2024, out of more than 100 projects initially analysed, 24 had been selected for in-depth study, and 16 had ultimately benefited from commitments totalling €27 million. Among these projects, ReforesTerra particularly stood out for its ambition to restore 2,000 hectares of land degraded by livestock farming in the Amazon. The innovative project combines the planting of new trees by small-scale farmers and the natural regeneration of forests, encouraged by the creation of "clusters" to attract wildlife and help species spread.
L'Oréal is taking action to reduce its impact on biodiversity and restore ecosystems. This section details the initiatives launched under this topic, in particular measuring the biodiversity footprint, sustainable sourcing practices and the fight against deforestation.
Given its role in pollination, air and water purification and soil fertility, to take but a few examples, biodiversity is vital for humanity. The degradation of its ecosystems weakens L'Oréal's own resilience to climate change. To assess its impact on biodiversity, the Group worked with The Biodiversity Consultancy to develop an approach that quantifies land cover through:
The assessment is expressed in MSA.ha (Mean Species Abundance), a measurement of biodiversity loss. The approach also takes into account the vulnerability of local species using the Species Threat Abatement and Recovery (STAR) metric, based on data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This footprint measurement provides a better understanding of the potential impact on biodiversity within the Group's value chain. Combined with risk analyses, it will enable action plans to be targeted at priority biobased materials.
L'Oréal is striving to ensure that the land cover required to produce its plant-based ingredients remains unchanged. This ambition is based on:
L'Oréal is consolidating these initiatives with ongoing research and the development of assessment methodologies, and is actively involved in international bodies such as the Science-Based Targets for Nature network, the B4B+ club of CDC Biodiversity, and the One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) collective.
Details of the Green Sciences programme
The Green Sciences programme covers all the scientific fields on which R&I relies to achieve L’Oréal’s objectives in terms of the preservation of natural resources and biodiversity. The programme is a prerequisite for sustainable innovation. It focuses on developing ingredients/raw materials around four pillars based on recent developments in life and environmental sciences: sustainable cultivation, biotechnology and fermentation, eco-designed extraction and physical transformation processes, and green chemistry.
Sustainable cultivation involves guiding and implementing agro-ecological cultivation practices within supply chains. By applying these responsible farming techniques with its supplier partners, L'Oréal aims to preserve water resources, contribute to soil health and biodiversity preservation, strengthen carbon sequestration while respecting populations and their ecosystems. Green transformation processes, such as biotechnologies, green extraction, and green chemistry, enable the transformation of raw materials to obtain the necessary ingredients for formulations, and offer responsible and sustainable products to consumers, while respecting safety and performance requirements.
