L’Oréal Recognized by Climate Counts for its Leadership in Reducing Greenhouse Gases

 (3BL Media / theCSRfeed) NEW YORK, NY - December 8, 2011 - L’Oréal, the worldwide leader in cosmetics, known for its broad portfolio of beauty brands, cutting edge research on hair and skin, and marketing prowess, was recognized by Climate Counts, in its fifth annual score card for leadership in addressing climate change. In the household products sector, L’Oréal ranked first among its peers and sixteenth among the 136 companies scored overall. 

The fifth annual scorecard assesses 136 companies across 16 sectors. Climate Counts scored the largest companies by revenue in each industry, judging their actions to address climate change using 22 criteria and a 100-point scale. The criteria measure a company’s effort to assess its climate footprint, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support progress on climate legislation, and communicate their efforts clearly and comprehensively to consumers.   Since 2001, L’Oréal has been measuring its impact on global warming and reinforcing its commitment to climate change. The company joined the Global Compact in 2003, is also a member of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and the CDP’s Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration.  The company has published an annual Sustainable Development Report since 2005 and in 2009 announced ambitious goals to reduce the company’s scope one and scope two greenhouse gas emissions by 50% between 2005 and 2015.   “We believe, as a leader in our industry, that we need to be an authentic model for sustainability and we intend to set the bar high and work hard to meet the challenge,” says Francis Quinn, Director of Sustainable Development.   L’Oréal has introduced initiatives to reduce its environmental footprint through the use of renewable green energy sources in its operations including solar energy installations at its plants in India, Spain, Mexico, China, New Jersey and Arkansas, hydroelectric power in Arkansas, biomass in Belgium and is exploring geothermal and wind applications for some of its other international industrial facilities. Twenty percent of the company’s electricity used globally last year was from renewable sources and the company is working to identify the best available renewable technologies for each local facility.    About L’Oréal: L’Oréal is a worldwide leader in the cosmetics industry, developing innovative products to meet the diverse needs of consumers in 130 countries worldwide. With annual consolidated sales in 2010 of €19.5 billion, the company employs more than 66,600 people in 66 countries and manufactures 5.7 billion products in 38 manufacturing plants around the world. The prestigious portfolio of leading personal care products brands are developed by scientists in the company’s 18 research laboratories and 12 evaluation centers around the world and includes: L'Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline New York, SoftSheen·Carson, Lancôme, Giorgio Armani, Shu Uemura, Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, Viktor & Rolf, Diesel, Cacharel, Kiehl’s Since 1851, Ralph Lauren, Biotherm, L'Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Redken 5th Avenue NYC, Matrix, Logics, Mizani, Pureology, Vichy, La Roche-Posay, Sanoflore, Dermablend, SkinCeuticals and The Body Shop.    About Climate Counts:
Climate Counts is a non-profit organization bringing consumers and companies together in the fight against global climate change. Launched with financial support from organics pioneer Stonyfield Farm, the Climate Counts Company Scorecard was developed with oversight from a panel of business and climate experts from leading non-governmental organizations and academic institutions. Criteria were chosen for their effectiveness at accomplishing a single goal – solving the global climate crisis. Since 2007, Climate Counts researchers have used these criteria to now rate the climate actions of nearly 150 companies (representing approximately 3,000 brands) in 16 industry sectors. Companies are given the opportunity to confirm or provide public data sources. Information on all scored companies is available at www.climatecounts.org.   Press Contact: Pamela Gill Alabaster L’Oréal USA
212-984-4905 palabaster@us.loreal.com  

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