Ch. 3 - Ethics & Social Responsibility

              As I mentioned in my previous post, this year L'Oreal has been recognized for the fourth time by Ethisphere Institute as one of the most ethical companies in the world. For L'Oreal, company behavior is as important as its economic performance or the quality of its products. L'Oreal's code of business ethics applies to all employees of the L'Oreal Group and its subsidiaries. The code of business ethics lays out the rules of good conduct that are expected from L'Oreal employees. Nowadays, many firms join United Nations Global Compact in order to extend their social responsibility aspect. L'Oreal has supported UNGC since 2003 and in September 2013 was selected for inclusion in the United Nation Global Compact 100 – a new global stock index that combines corporate sustainability and baseline financial performance. UNGC challenges businesses to support ten principles regarding human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption:

• Human rights: L'Oreal in particular fight the exploitation of the children in the workplace below 16 years of age.
• Labor:  L'Oreal respects worker's rights and fights with all kind of discrimination.
• L'Oreal supports the fight against corruption and publicly states a zero–tolerance policy on corruption.
• L'Oreal is working continuously to significantly reduce its environmental footprint. For example, in India, one of L'Oreal's factories named Pune Factory, works hard at achieving sustainable production with satisfying results.
• Reduce water consumption: Between 2005 and 2014, the Pune Factory has reduced its water consumption by 42%.
• 70% of the electricity used by the factory comes from wind energy.
• Since 2012, cardboard and paper containers have been replaced with recyclable plastic boxes that last longer.

With respect to social responsibility, L'Oreal also aims to eliminate forest destruction from all its supply chains by 2020 and at the same time empower consumers to make sustainable consumption choices. The program's goal is to benefit both the environment and society.

L'Oreal is also known for its community involvement. L'Oreal, together with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, established Award L'Oreal-UNESCO for exceptional women researchers who have contributed significantly to scientific progress. Each laureate is awarded a grant of $100,000. 

For 16 years, L'Oreal has been involved in the beauty industry charity project "Look Good...Feel Better" which was created for women with cancer. The goal of the project is to help these women look better and through looking better lift their spirits so that they can face the illness with greater confidence.