"We can't solve all the world's problems, but we will do business in the best way for the planet" (Photo: ShutterStock)
"With great power comes great responsibility."
This well-known motto was well internalized by the global skincare giant L'Oreal.
Presence in 150 countries with 35 brands, 90,000 employees, 7 billion product units sold per year and revenues of approximately 38 billion euros per year - all these give the old French corporation significant market dominance and great economic power.
Already years ago, the captains of the group realized that resources and efforts had to be channeled to place the issue of sustainability at the center of the business strategy.
"Why would a corporation like L'Oreal even bother with this issue?" asks Daniela Prosky-Sion, VP of Communications and Sustainability at L'Oreal Israel, and hastens to answer: "We are market leaders in all the categories we are in and in all the countries we are in.
We have popular brands such as Garnier, Maybelline and Lancome.
L'Oreal is a huge manufacturer, distributor and marketer and is part of the contemporary commercial reality where production is increasing due to the rate of population growth in the world - something that affects the environment.
It is clear to the management of the company that the climate crisis is the work of modern man.
They also understand that it is not possible for one factor to solve the problem and that there is a need to combine the hands of the various sectors: governments, environmental organizations and yes - also companies and corporations.
They also have a role in this important task.
From technology companies whose servers they own and consume a lot of electricity have a large environmental impact to companies like ours, which produce masses of products that are marketed all over the world."
Each brand takes on an edge
This understanding led L'Oreal to choose to take responsibility, to serve as an example and to be the right marker of the field of corporations that help preserve the quality of the environment.
About two and a half years ago, the group launched "L'Oreal for the Future" - a new sustainability strategy that came to address the issue.
"We can't solve all the world's problems - but at our mother's door we will do business in the best way for the planet," says Prosky-Sion.
"L'Oreal embarked on a long research journey with environmental organizations and environmental scientists who advised it on the areas it should focus on in order for its business activities to be conducted with a sign of sustainability. The goals were set by external parties - international environmental experts - so by definition this is a more challenging task, without self-assumptions, which is valid for all brands The group. Each brand takes on agendas and communicates them - and thus all the brands together create a cumulative effect."
What did the experts define?
"They said: You are a 110-year-old company, and if you want to continue to be a successful company for another 110 years and operate without harming the planet, you must concentrate in several directions, chief among them the use of green energy, reducing waste and reducing the consumption of water, energy and plastic. We accepted their recommendation and set off, from your "To the corporation until the last employee in each local company.
The task is even linked to the bonus of many people in the company, meaning it is completely anchored in the business-personal goals of employees.
If they do not act as expected of them - they will earn less."
"The transparency of what it offers people to put on their bodies is very important to L'Oreal" (Photo: ShutterStock)
And how do you implement in practice?
In our logistics center in Caesarea we switched to solar panels as well as working with ecological wrapping paper ('pops'), over the existing and familiar non-recyclable one.
Our entire fleet of vehicles has been converted to hybrid vehicles, which helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The trucks go out to distribute goods every two or three days and not every day as before.
The number of business flights in the company was also reduced."
Broad and effective dialogue with consumers
Beyond the activity on the issue of sustainability, L'Oreal chose to focus on another important issue: social challenges.
For the past three years, the group has been running a project to deal with sexual harassment in the public space, called Stand Up.
On dedicated websites that she established, she offers an online training program that includes a comprehensive study that helps identify what, in fact, is sexual harassment and how to intervene when you witness it.
The Israeli branch of the group even works in cooperation with the Association of Assistance Centers for Victims and Victims of Sexual Assault and also did a campaign on the issue in cooperation with the Tel Aviv Municipality.
"The Stand Up project comes to say: if you witness sexual harassment - don't stand by," says Prosky-Sion and talks about another social project: the Maybelline brand, also from L'Oreal, leads an agenda to reduce the phenomenon of anxiety and depression among young people.
In Israel, the brand is a member of the ARAN association with the aim of making its aid channels accessible, which provide psychological first aid to young people. "This is an ongoing project in which we launched various campaigns and worked with influencers.
We have found working with influencers to be an effective tool and we use it often.
Also in the field of sustainability, a year ago we established a selection of influential women.
It is led by the model, actress, TV host and beauty queen Bemil.
Liran Kohner, with 30 other influencers by her side.
Together they have about half a million followers - which creates a broad platform for dialogue with the target audience about beauty from a sustainability angle.
Every month we take a different angle of the field and the influencers present it in their digital assets and create a lively discussion.
This is an example of how to conduct a broad and effective dialogue with our consumers and illustrate to them how everyone has some ability to influence and do.
It is enough to recycle a bottle of shampoo or a container of cream after use instead of throwing it in the regular trash.
Or look at the packaging of a product you buy and make sure that the ingredients in it are good for the environment."
And how did the user know what components are good for the environment?
"We set up a website with a detailed glossary that explains each and every component. There aren't many companies that do things like this, but for L'Oreal, the transparency of what it offers people to put on their bodies is very important. This way, our customers can choose a product that is known and clear about what is behind it. We will continue to act this way consistently. I feel that L'Oreal is already being recognized for taking care of and taking action on these important issues."
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