Henkel, L’Oréal, Unilever, Natura &Co and LVMH call industry to create cosmetic products scoring system

20 Sep 2021 --- Henkel, L’Oréal, LVMH, Natura &Co and Unilever are urging industry to co-develop an environmental impact assessment and scoring system for cosmetics products. PersonalCareInsights speaks with the companies’ representatives, who explain what the move entails and how it will benefit the personal care sector.

The companies have formed a consortium and are calling for cosmetics companies to join them in a global brands collaboration. The aim is to co-design an approach that is brand-agnostic, and which provides consumers with clear, transparent and comparable environmental impact information, based on a common science-based methodology. 

“The system must be clear and transparent for consumers to help them make more informed purchasing decisions. We will be guided by examples of existing mainstream scoring systems that consumers are already used to in other sectors, such as a lettering system (e.g. EU energy label),” says Joachim Kremer, senior Manager global sustainability at Henkel Beauty Care.

The ambition is for the overall score to inform consumers of the environmental impact of products, taking into account their whole product life cycle.Amplifying transparency
The new assessment and scoring system will aim to meet growing consumer demand for greater transparency about the environmental impact of cosmetics products, including formula, packaging and usage. 

“Consumers are demanding greater transparency of the origin of products and their environmental impact. The proliferation of environmental scoring initiatives across the cosmetics industry confirms that point, however, with no standard, comparable, industry-wide approach to communicating the environmental impact of cosmetics products it’s hard to make comparisons,” notes Louise Scott, Natura &Co's vice president, research and development capability.

To do this, a consortium will be created that is open to all cosmetics companies wishing to join and contribute to designing a system that allows consumers to compare cosmetics products within the same category. 

The ambition is for the overall score to inform consumers of the environmental impact of products, taking into account their whole product life cycle.

“This will enable consumers to be able to compare like-for-like products across different brands and help make informed purchasing decisions,” highlights a Unilever spokesperson.

“For companies, understanding their product footprints and impact score is a crucial step towards a science-based eco design process. The consortium will be developed in such a way as to be brand-agnostic, with the aim of attracting as much of the industry as possible,” they add.

Scientific methodology and scoring
It is proposed that the consortium works with sustainability consultancy Quantis to ensure a robust and scientific approach and that efforts to co-build the voluntary assessment methodology and scoring system are guided by and articulated around:

• A common method for measuring environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of products, backed by the principles of the “Product Environmental Footprint” (the European Union’s PEF scientific method for quantifying the environmental footprint of products).
• A common database of environmental impacts of standard ingredients and raw materials used in formulas and packaging, as well as during product usage.
• A common tool that enables each brand to calculate the environmental impact of individual products, usable by non-experts.
• A harmonized scoring system, for example using a score ranging from A to E, that enables the consumer to easily compare products. The methodology, database, tool and scoring system will be verified by independent parties.

Engaging all players in the cosmetics sector
This global initiative is intended to be open to all cosmetics companies, regardless of their size or resources. Other stakeholders will be informed and consulted throughout the process. The convening five companies will pool their experience and knowledge in developing environmental impact assessment methodologies (as is the case for Henkel, LVMH, Natura &Co, and Unilever) and an environmental and social labelling system (as developed by L’Oréal).

The consortium will also be consulting with external experts, including scientists, academics and NGOs to ensure the ongoing integrity of the approach.All companies will benefit from this pre-existing work and are invited to contribute their own experience. The consortium will also be consulting with external experts, including scientists, academics and NGOs to ensure the ongoing integrity of the approach. The work developed by the consortium will be published and made accessible on a strictly voluntary basis by both consortium participants and all other interested parties.

“It is possible for the cosmetics sector, as has happened in other sectors, to build a scientific environmental impact assessment of their products, based on a full life cycle assessment. It requires a cross-industry pooling of knowledge and expertise, particularly concerning the environmental impact data; this is exactly what the consortium founding members are embarking on,” says Philippe Osset, expert in the application of life cycle assessment to eco-design, consultant providing expertise for the European Commission and AFNOR.

“We hope that the rest of the industry will recognize the value in the consortium – why it has been set up and what it intends to do - and wishes to become a part of collectively realizing the vision to help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions,” Scott says. 

Cosmetics Europe has been actively following the process; other industry associations are being contacted to join the consortium.

“Cosmetics Europe will seek any opportunities to work together with the consortium to reach the final industry goal of providing meaningful information to consumers to help them make sustainable purchase choices,” supports John Chave, director general of Cosmetics Europe. 

By Kristiana Lalou