L’Oréal’s Ezgi Barcenas on driving sustainability and social impact in the beauty industry

Ezgi Barcenas, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer and General Manager at Fondation L’Oréal, shared her insights on how the beauty giant is integrating sustainability across its global operations. Speaking on CNBC-TV18’s Climate Clock, Barcenas emphasised L’Oréal’s long-standing commitment to “dual excellence”—delivering strong economic performance while generating positive social and environmental impact.

Highlighting the company’s scientific legacy, she explained that sustainability at L’Oréal spans the entire value chain—from sourcing and product design to operations and end-of-life solutions.

“Sustainability is the ultimate brief for design,” she noted, emphasising the company’s focus on continuous improvement, innovation, and operational discipline across four pillars: climate transition, safeguarding nature, driving circularity, and empowering communities.

Barcenas detailed the company’s progress on emissions reduction, including a 50% cut in scope 1 and 2 emissions over the past five years and 100% renewable electricity in India since 2023.

Collaboration with supply chain partners has also helped address scope 3 emissions, earning L’Oréal recognition as a supply chain engagement leader by CDP.

The discussion also covered social initiatives, particularly gender empowerment. Programs like Beauty for a Better Life, implemented in partnership with Sambhav Foundation and Naandi Foundation, provide professional training and employment opportunities to women from vulnerable backgrounds, achieving a 75% employability rate within three months of program completion.

Innovation, technology, and collaboration remain central to L’Oréal’s sustainability strategy. Through different initiatives, the company engages startups and partners worldwide to co-design sustainable solutions, from new ingredients to packaging.

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