Championing environmental & social progress

In 2025, we announced the launch of L’AcceleratOR, our sustainable innovation acceleration programme, endowed with €100 million over five years. Launched in partnership with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), L’AcceleratOR aims to identify, pilot and scale innovative solutions from pioneering companies ranging from startups and SMEs to established players.

L’AcceleratOR focuses on seven key priority areas: low-carbon and climate-smart solutions; water resilience; nature-based solutions; alternative ingredients and materials; eliminating fossil plastic use; managing plastic waste; enhancing circularity and resource management; and promoting sustainable and inclusive business models.

From nearly 1,000 applications received, 13 companies have been selected for participation in the first cohort:

Next-Generation Packaging & Materials:

• Kelpi (UK): Harnessing seaweed to create recyclable, low-carbon packaging.
• Bioworks (Japan): Producing novel bioplastics derived from sugarcane and other plant-based materials.
• Blue Ocean Closures (Sweden): Creating fiber-based caps and lids as an alternative to plastic packaging tops.
• Pulpex (UK): Developing the next generation of recyclable paper bottles.
• PULPAC (Sweden): An innovation company in low-carbon, paper-based packaging processes.
• RAIKU (Estonia): Turning natural wood into high-end, shock-absorbing protective packaging.

Nature-Sourced Ingredients:

• Biosynthis (France): Crafting renewable and biodegradable raw materials.
• P2 Science (USA): Bringing green chemistry and bio-sourced materials to the market
• Oberon Fuels (USA): Converting wood and pulp waste into renewable ingredients for spraying formulas.

Circular Solutions:

• Novobiom (Belgium): Using the natural power of fungi to turn complex waste into high-value products.
• REPLACE (France): A single-step technology that transforms complex and multi-layer waste into durable new items.
• Gàs Verde (Brazil): Producing biomethane to replace fossil fuels in industrial processes and transportation.

Data Intelligence:

• Neutreeno (UK): A digital system to help companies calculate and cut emissions in their supply chains.

They will enter an intensive support phase led by the CISL innovation team, focusing on pilot readiness, including expert mentoring and coaching. They will also have the opportunity to access L’Oréal’s global resources to launch six-to-nine-month pilot projects and potentially have their solutions scaled across the Group’s international operations.

L’Oréal marked World Refill Day in June with the launch of a global campaign, #JoinTheRefillMovement. Inspired by our L’Oréal for the Future ambitions to limit resource use and reduce packaging waste, the initiative aimed to educate consumers about refill solutions and encourage more sustainable beauty habits.

#JoinTheRefillMovement was L’Oréal’s first global, multi-brand and multi-category activation, uniting a dozen brands across four Divisions, including Lancôme, Kiehl’s, L’Oréal Paris, Kérastase and La Roche-Posay, and encompassing makeup, skincare, fragrance and hair products. While consumers generally express interest in buying more sustainable products, many remain unaware of refillable options and their lower environmental impact: for example, purchasing a 100ml refill of La Vie Est Belle Elixir instead of two 50ml bottles saves 74% on glass, 66% on plastic, and 61% on cardboard. Through advertisements and social media content across 50 countries, our campaign highlighted the benefits of refills, the simplicity of the refill gesture and how consumers can make impactful choices.

Developing lightweight and refillable formats that combine performance, desirability and sustainability has long been a focus for L’Oréal. By fundamentally adapting our global manufacturing sites, we have achieved a 17-fold increase in refillable options over just five years. Communicating the tangible impacts – such as a 70% reduction in packaging weight for a refillable bottle of Lancôme Génifique serum, or that the Mugler fragrance refill fountain saves 800,000 bottles and 107 tonnes of glass – underscores our commitment to embedding sustainable practices and helping make refills the new norm. Refills typically come at a more accessible price point and encourage loyalty. Furthermore, refill users are our most engaged customers, purchasing more frequently and exploring twice as many beauty categories as others.

In 2025, the L’Oréal Climate Emergency Fund deepened its commitment to addressing the impacts of extreme climate change-driven events, supporting diverse projects to bolster community resilience. Our partnerships with local organisations strengthen early warning systems, empower vulnerable populations—especially women and marginalised groups—to manage climate risks, provide crucial humanitarian assistance, and integrate innovative solutions for improved forecasting and decision-making, globally.

In Kenya, we collaborated with Slum Dwellers International in Nairobi on a project that integrates mental health into climate resilience through a youth-led, peer counseling network across six informal settlements that leverages their 1,300-member youth climate action groups. Our partnership with The Foundation in Support of the World Health Organization is focused on safeguarding the wellbeing of Somali populations against climate shocks by enabling early detection, strengthening local health services and infrastructure, and management of climate-related epidemics in a highly exposed country.

With World Vision France in Peru and Ecuador, we are supporting the development of an AI-powered early warning system for Amazonian communities. It integrates traditional indigenous knowledge with scientific data to enhance communities’ understanding of climate risk and allow them to better anticipate and adapt to floods or other climatic threats.

With women currently constituting only 35% of science graduates globally, we are working to address the under-representation of women in science. The “For Girls in Science” programme, initiated by the Fondation L’Oréal, will now be scaled up internationally through a strategic partnership with UNESCO. This ambitious initiative aims to inspire more young girls to pursue careers in science by raising awareness among students and teachers to combat the systemic exclusion of women from science.

Since 1998, the Fondation L’Oréal, in partnership with UNESCO, has been taking concrete action to shift the paradigm. Our programme has already supported and highlighted over 4,900 women scientists from more than 140 countries.

Utilising UNESCO’s extensive network of associated schools that spans 180 countries, the programme will provide innovative educational tools, train teachers, and showcase inspiring female role models. Through this, we have the ambition to reach five million young people by 2030, fostering a new generation of potential female scientists.