In recent years, it has been predicted that global warming will increase to dangerous levels if no substantial action is taken. By 2100, Asia is expected to be significantly hotter, with the potential for temperatures to rise by 5º Celsius (equivalent to 9° Fahrenheit) compared to 2.5º Celsius (equivalent to 4.5° Fahrenheit) in Europe. To prevent this, various businesses are supporting the United Nations Race to Zero campaign, a commitment to reach net zero globally by 2050. In support of these efforts across Asia, L'Oréal Group's North Asia Zone has become the company's first zone worldwide to achieve carbon neutrality across all sites, including plants, distribution centers, offices, and research and innovation centers.
The achievement spans sites throughout the geographic markets of Mainland China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan, marking a noteworthy milestone in the company's efforts to resist the ongoing threat of climate change. The news was shared at L'Oréal’s 2022 North Asia & China Indirect Sourcing Supplier Day in Shanghai on July 22. At the event, L'Oréal gathered 100 strategic suppliers and key stakeholders to continue the conversation surrounding solutions and collective efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.
Fabrice Megarbane, President of L'Oréal North Asia and CEO of L'Oréal China, comments on the accomplishment: "With the United Nations warning that every country, city, organization should adopt plans for net zero—the call to action has seen L'Oréal North Asia Zone rise to the challenge and show true leadership. As a company, we recognized the gravity of the global environmental crisis more than 20 years ago and began reducing our environmental footprint in our manufacturing plants and distribution centers back in 2009. With the launch of our ambitious sustainability commitment in 2020—L'Oréal for the Future—which states that all L'Oréal sites worldwide must reach carbon neutrality by 2025, the North Asia Zone accelerated its efforts to achieve its goals, which we are immensely proud of."
Carbon neutrality was achieved on all sites through dynamic measures and strategic approaches. In Mainland China and South Korea, the most significant contribution to the overall effort was the installation of onsite renewable energy-generating facilities. In Suzhou, L'Oréal's BeautyCos plant has onsite solar panels that can generate 1.2MM kWh of electricity annually and has done so consecutively since 2015. As well as this, the rooftop solar panels installed at the Suzhou distribution center have provided 100% of its electricity needs, which total 4.4MM kWh, since 2019.
The BeautyCos plant is an example of how a range of sustainable energy solutions can work together to achieve carbon reduction goals, with a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system built on-site, using biogas to produce high-efficiency heat, electricity, and steam. The biogas used is sourced from a biomass energy project at Suzhou Industrial Park, using kitchen and landscaping waste as raw materials for energy generation. As a stand-alone distribution center, BeautyCos achieved carbon neutrality in 2019.
All five of L'Oréal North Asia's markets source local renewable energy. In Mainland China, L'Oréal’s Yichang Tianmei plant achieved carbon neutrality through the use of hydropower in 2018. In 2021, L'Oréal Korea began participating in Korea's RE-100 system, an initiative on renewable power, and received renewable certification from Korea Electric Power Corporation for the energy used across distribution centers. In Gotemba, Japan, L'Oréal installed electrical boilers that use renewable electricity, helping to meet the plant’s carbon neutrality goals by participating in the Green Power and Heat Certificates initiative for its office, plant, and research and innovation center. L'Oréal Taiwan was the first company across the five markets to use renewable energy through power purchasing agreements with local authorities and the landlord of the building where the market operates, allowing the achievement of carbon neutrality in 2021. Hong Kong's L'Oréal site similarly achieved carbon neutrality in 2020, with the implementation of efficiency measures for energy through the installation of LED lighting, reducing energy consumption and sourcing local renewable energy for its offices.
Pankaj Gupta, SVP of L'Oréal North Asia and China Operations, says: "From today, in North Asia, each L'Oréal product is produced and stored in plants and warehouses that are carbon neutral. Going forward, we will further collaborate with our stakeholders to reduce CO2 emissions along the entire industry value chain through product innovation and consumer empowerment programs, transportation upgrading and collaboration with strategic suppliers."
By 2030, the L'Oréal Group aims to have reduced all its greenhouse gas emissions by 25%, with a further goal to reach net zero by 2050.
