L'Oréal USA joins U.S plastics pact to accelerate progress toward american circular economy for plastic

In-line with its global sustainability commitment, L'Oréal for the Future, beauty leader joins 60+ brands, retailers, government agencies, and NGOs in collaboration to advance all plastic packaging in the U.S., to become reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

New York, NY – August 25, 2020 – Today, the U.S. Plastics Pact, a collaborative led by The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), launched as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Plastics Pact network. The U.S. Plastics Pact is an ambitious initiative to unify diverse public-private stakeholders across the plastics value chain to rethink the way we design, use, and reuse plastics, to create a path toward a circular economy for plastic in the United States.

The U.S. Plastics Pact brings together companies, government entities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), researchers, and other stakeholders in a pre-competitive platform for industry-led innovation. The U.S. Plastics Pact will drive collaborative action and deliver a significant system change toward a circular economy for plastic, enabling companies and governments in the U.S. to collectively meet impactful goals by 2025.

“L’Oréal is committed to doing our part to protect the planet from the global climate crisis we are facing, and we are transforming our business to do so,said Danielle Azoulay, Head of CSR and Sustainability, L’Oréal USA.“We know that the impact of our global sustainability commitment, L’Oréal for the Future, will reach its full potential through collaboration—across our entire value chain, our industry and beyond it. We are proud to be part of the U.S. Plastics Pact and join over 60 organizations in working together toward system-wide change toward a circular economy for plastic in the United States.”

In June 2020, L’Oréal launched an unprecedented new sustainability program, “L’Oréal for the Future,” the Group’s latest set of bold sustainability targets for 2030. Recognizing the growing environmental and social challenges the planet is facing, “L’Oréal for the Future” accelerates the beauty leader’s transformation towards a business model that respects planetary boundaries and reinforces its commitments to both sustainability and inclusion around the world.

In line with the Ellen McArthur Foundation’s vision of a circular economy for plastic, which unites more than 850+ organizations, underpinned by common definitions and concrete targets, the U.S. Plastics Pact brings together plastic packaging producers, brands, retailers, recyclers, waste management companies, policymakers, and other stakeholders to work collectively toward  scalable solutions tailored to the unique needs and challenges within the U.S landscape, through vital knowledge sharing and coordinated action.

In joining the U.S. Plastics Pact, L’Oréal USA commits to deliver these four targets:

1.         Define a list of packaging to be designated as problematic or unnecessary by 2021 and take measures to eliminate them by 2025. 

2.         By 2025, all plastic packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable.

3.         By 2025, undertake ambitious actions to effectively recycle or compost 50% of plastic packaging.

4.         By 2025, the average recycled content or responsibly sourced bio-based content in plastic packaging will be 30%.  

Results of measurable change in each of the target areas and transparent reporting are key outcomes of the U.S. Plastics Pact. Progress of the U.S. Pact will be tracked through WWF’s ReSource: Plastic Footprint Tracker, which provides a standard methodology to track companies’ plastic footprints and publicly report on of their plastic waste commitments each year. The report will be made publicly available each year.

The U.S. Pact is launched as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastics Pact network, joining Plastics Pacts in Europe, Latin America and Africa as a globally aligned response to plastic waste and pollution that brings together shared ambition, combined expertise, and collaboration to create regional and national solutions toward a circular economy in which plastic never becomes waste.

"This is an exciting step on the journey towards a circular economy for plastic in the United States, one that keeps plastic in the economy and out of the environment,”says Sander Defruyt, Lead of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative.“This effort will not only help to create solutions in the US, but across the world, as part of our global network of Plastics Pacts. We are looking forward to working with all those involved to drive real change, by eliminating problematic and unnecessary plastic items, innovating to ensure all plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and circulating it in practice. We encourage others to join us on this journey towards a United States free of plastic waste and pollution."

The next step for the U.S. Plastics Pact will be to create a roadmap, laying out the steps to achieving the targets outlined above. For more information on how to join the U.S. Plastics Pact and drive collective action, visit the visit the website usplasticspact.org or contact[email protected]. 

ABOUT L’ORÉAL USA

L'Oréal USA is the largest subsidiary of the L'Oréal Group, the world’s leading beauty company. L’Oréal USA manages a portfolio of more than 35 iconic beauty brands, including Garnier, Giorgio Armani Beauty, Kérastase, Lancôme, La Roche-Posay, L’Oréal Paris and Yves Saint Laurent Beauté. L’Oréal USA also serves as the international hub for the product development and marketing strategy for L’Oréal’s 20 American brands: Baxter of California, Carol’s Daughter, CeraVe, Clarisonic, Color&Co, Dermablend, essie, IT Cosmetics, Kiehl’s, Matrix, Maybelline New York, Mizani, NYX Professional Makeup, PulpRiot, Pureology, Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Redken, Softsheen-Carson, SkinCeuticals and Urban Decay. Generating more than $7 billion in sales annually, L’Oréal USA is committed to growth through sustainable innovation, driven by the company’s Sharing Beauty With All ambition for sustainable development across the Group’s value chain. The company is headquartered in New York City, employs more than 11,000 people, and operates administrative, research, manufacturing and distribution facilities across 14 states, including Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Washington. For more information, visit www.lorealusa.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @LOrealUSA.   

About The Recycling Partnership

The Recycling Partnership is a national nonprofit organization that leverages corporate partner funding to transform recycling for good in states, cities, and communities nationwide. As the leading organization in the country that engages the full recycling supply chain from the corporations that manufacture products and packaging to local governments charged with recycling to industry end markets, haulers, material recovery facilities, and converters, The Recycling Partnership positively impacts recycling at every step in the process. Since 2014, the nonprofit change agent diverted 230 million pounds of new recyclables from landfills, saved 465 million gallons of water, avoided more than 250,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, and drove significant reductions in targeted contamination rates. Learn more at www.recyclingpartnership.org

About World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

WWF is one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, working in nearly 100 countries for over half a century to help people and nature thrive. With the support of more than 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat the climate crisis. Visit www.worldwildlife.org to learn more and keep up with the latest sustainability news by following @WWFBetterBiz on Twitter and signing up for our newsletter and news alerts here. 

About The Ellen MacArthur Foundation

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was launched in 2010 with the aim of accelerating the transition to the circular economy. Since its creation, the charity has emerged as a global thought leader, putting the circular economy on the agenda of decision-makers around the world. The charity’s work focuses on seven key areas: insight and analysis; business; institutions, governments, and cities; systemic initiatives; circular design; learning; and communications. Further information:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org | @circulareconomy

About The New Plastics Economy and The Plastics Pact

Since 2016, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative has rallied businesses and governments behind a positive vision of a circular economy for plastic. Its 2016 and 2017 New Plastics Economy reports captured worldwide headlines, revealing the financial and environmental costs of waste plastic and pollution.

The Plastics Pact is a global network of initiatives that brings together all key stakeholders at the national or regional level behind a common vision with a concrete set of ambitious local targets. It builds a unique platform to exchange learnings and best practices across regions to accelerate the transition to a circular economy for plastic - a New Plastics Economy - in which it never becomes waste or pollution. Further information:www.newplasticseconomy.org | @circulareconomy

L’Oréal USA Media Contact:

Molly Erman, [email protected]