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Managing Water Sustainably

Achievements 2022
At L’Oréal, water, as an essential component in creating and using our products, is central to our business. Our ability to operate effectively and meet all the needs of our consumers depends on sustainable water access, management and conservation. That is why L’Oréal has committed for years to ensure contribution to high water quality and sustainable water quantity across all its value chain, and throughout the watersheds and communities we serve and operate in. Product innovation will play a vital role in our efforts to conserve this valuable resource.

Our targets

100%

By 2030, we will evaluate all our formulas thanks to our environmental test platform, to guarantee they are respectful of all aquatic ecosystems, whether continental or coastal.

-25%

By 2030, we will innovate to enable our consumers to reduce by 25%, on average and per finished product, the water consumption linked to the use of our products, compared to 2016.

100%

In 2030, 100% of the water used in our industrial processes will be recycled and reused in a loop.

100%

In 2030, all our strategic suppliers will use water sustainably in the areas where they operate.

What we’ve achieved so far

14%

 of L'Oréal sites use 100% reused and recycled water in their on-site industrial processes.» à la place de 

5

Five of our factories are “waterloop factories”, meaning that all the industrial water is retreated, recycled and reused in a loop

Read the Water Report 2022

L’Oréal Water Policy

At L’Oréal, water, as an essential component in creating and using our products, is at the heart of our business.

Our ability to operate effectively and meet all the needs of our consumers depends on sustainable water access, management and conservation...

Read More About L’Oréal's Water Policy

Focus On Optimizing Water Consumption On L’Oréal Sites

To reduce its water consumption, L’Oréal has been channeling its efforts into a multipronged approach involving the respectful use of the resource – minimized to a needs-only basis – and the development of water reuse and recycling projects on sites. In 2017, our Burgos plant in Spain became the Group’s first “Waterloop Factory". Today, all the water used in Burgos for industrial processes is recycled.

The L’Oréal-Gjosa partnership

We need water - a fundamental element of all life on Earth and a global strategic issue - for cosmetic products, especially hygiene products, with the largest amount needed being during the use phase. Water consumption, due to the energy needed to heat it, is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the quantity of water needed to use cosmetic products will help address two objectives: fighting climate change and adapting to it.

To do this, L’Oréal partnered with Gjosa, an environmental innovation company, and in January 2021 unveiled L'Oréal Water Saver. This innovation revolutionizes hair washing by reducing water consumption while improving the experience and effectiveness of care, in hairdressing salons and at home.
Start-up Gjosa has developed a low-flow shower head (2.4 liters of water per minute instead of the usual 7 liters) that decreases the flow of water while accelerating the speed of the droplets.

To optimize the process, L’Oréal scientists developed easier-to-rinse shampoos applied directly through the showerhead. Certain parameters were adjusted under real conditions of use, to ensure the right rinse and contribute to reducing energy consumption and water use by almost 65%. 

Discover more about Water Saver

 

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