For the Greater Good: Alexis Perakis-Valat of L'Oréal

In this week's For the Greater Good podcast episode, IGA CEO John Ross speaks with L'Oréal President, Consumer Products Division Alexis Perakis-Valat about sustainability in the beauty industry.

Watch the video below or listen via your preferred podcast platform to learn why L’Oréal has invested so much in sustainability, which includes attracting talented employees, and what they are doing to make the beauty industry more sustainable.

Key Takeaways:

• When developing a new product at L'Oréal, amongst other criteria, they now consider: Does this product add something in terms of sustainability versus what they currently sell?
  
  
• "Every time we launch a product, we're making sure that it is better than before in terms of sustainability or social impact."
  
  
• 10-20% of L'Oréal's business is made of new products, so they "feed the industry with products that are better."
  
  
• More than half of L'Oréal's factories are carbon neutral, and they're working on water loop factories where all water used outside of the products is recycled, therefore producing no water loss. 
  
  
• Nearly all of L'Oréal's shampoos are packaged in 100% recycled plastic, which is an expensive undertaking. Perakis-Valat says the transition "actually cost four times what we had planned, but we don't regret one second because by doing that we're saving 27,000 tons of virgin plastic a year."
  
  
• L'Oréal has formed a collective initiative with their competitors in the beauty industry like Unilever, P&G, and Estée Lauder to create an eco-beauty score that serve as the industry norm and will rate the product's level of sustainability. "It will help our consumers all around the world make sustainable beauty choices."
  
  
• Another reason L'Oréal invests in sustainability is because they know it attracts the "best and the brightest talent" to work for them.
  
  
• Despite all of L'Oréal's efforts to reduce plastic waste, Perakis-Valat says that hot water causes the most negative environmental impact in the beauty industry due to the carbon dioxide emissions created by heating water. That is why L'Oréal is developing a no-rinse conditioner, to lessen the time spent in a hot shower.