Report Alert - Cosmetics company L’Oréal has published its 2008 Sustainable Development Report, available in pdf and hard copy at www.loreal.com

“L’ORÉAL has been built around fundamental values which have guided us throughout the life of our company, and continue to do so today. Our values have shaped our culture, and they underpin our reputation,” said Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, Chairman

The company has introduced three significant long term environmental targets to:

• Halve greenhouse gas emissions,
•  Halve water use per unit of finished product,
•  Halve waste generated per unit of finished product, by 2015 from a base year of 2005, at its factories and warehouses.

“Values such as integrity, responsibility and respect for people and the environment have been a key part of L’Oréal’s DNA since the early days.” Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, Chairman

The business, whose 23 brands are sold to customers in over 130 countries, details key achievements of 2008, including how it:

• Was rated among the 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the world by Innovest and Corporate Knights.
• Achieved its aim of sourcing all pulp used in cardboard packaging from sustainably managed forests.
• Opened two new laboratories dedicated to research into eco-toxicity and natural and organic cosmetics.
• Launched its first range of organic products, and incorporated fair trade ingredients into its mainstream brands.
• Used reconstructed skin models and reconstructed corneas to assess the effectiveness and safety of raw materials, as alternatives to animal testing.
  
  Put 5,000 managers through its diversity training course since 2006.
  Reduced the accident rate by 18%.
• Was recognised with the Stanley C. Pace Leadership in Ethics Award from the Ethics Resource Centre awarded to Jean-Paul Agon, CEO.
• Published the results of its annual survey on the implementation of its ethics programme.
• Commissioned 688 labour standard audits at suppliers’ and subcontractors’ production sites.
• Involved 30% of suppliers (by revenue) in the Carbon Disclosure Project’s ’Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration’ survey to encourage supplier disclosure on carbon emissions.
• Formalised its long-standing and strong consumer policies and commitments into a comprehensive Corporate Consumer Responsibility vision.

The report has been verified by two independent third parties and includes a Global Reporting Initiative content index.

L’Oréal welcomes your feedback via sustainabledevelopment@loreal.com

The full report is available for download