L’Oréal is a beauty powerhouse, with 37 global brands, operations in 150 countries, and €41.18bn ($45.7bn) in annual sales. It’s recognized as a sustainability leader, reaching carbon neutrality at many production sites. But there’s a problem, and it’s emotional.
For the biggest share of L’Oréal’s carbon footprint comes not from production or logistics, notes Kiri Trier, General Manager Sustainability for the company’s DACH region, but from the way consumers use its products. Shampoo rinses, long showers, and discarded packaging make up Scope 3 emissions – and they’re the hardest to control.
So, how can L’Oréal make sustainable options both more desirable and convenient? And how can it inspire pride and a sense of purpose in choosing environmentally conscious products? The answers to these critical questions will determine whether the company can significantly progress toward net-zero emissions from its Scope 3 footprint.
Internally, L’Oréal has built a sophisticated sustainability engine, backed by thousands of researchers, a strong science-based targets framework, and a growing team of over 450 dedicated sustainability professionals worldwide. But all that can only go so far without a shift in the way consumers interact with the company’s products.
Trier sees the issue clearly: many consumers don’t associate beauty routines with environmental impact, and fewer still are actively seeking low-impact alternatives. Another obstacle is the outdated belief that L’Oréal still carries out animal testing, despite ending the practice in 1989. Misinformation, habits, and inertia are potent barriers to change.
L’Oréal’s brand architecture further complicates the picture. The company has dozens of brands across every market segment – from Garnier to Kérastase, Maybelline to Lancôme – each with its own identity, clientele, and tone. Encouraging sustainable behavior across such a vast and diverse portfolio requires precision and authenticity. There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all message.
As Trier explains, the goal is more than raising awareness – it’s to spark curiosity, shift perceptions, and make sustainable beauty products glamorous, ones which customers actively desire.
“First, Trier focuses on nudging behavior, finding subtle, high-leverage ways to guide consumers toward better choices.”
For Trier, addressing L’Oréal’s consumer-side sustainability challenge means activating change across three fronts: behavior, brand, and trust. As she sees it, they’re deeply interconnected, each reinforcing the others in a system designed to help consumers change their habits, not through guilt or pressure, but through relevance, ease, and pride.
“Many customers are unaware and hesitate to change their habits,” she says. “There’s a lack of curiosity, so we need to encourage more interest. Sustainability must become glamorous.”
First, Trier focuses on nudging behavior, finding subtle, high-leverage ways to guide consumers toward better choices. L’Oréal’s refill initiatives are a clear example: launched initially for shampoos and fragrances under brands like Mugler and Prada, the program gives consumers an alternative to single-use packaging. But offering refills is only half the battle. Consumers must be aware of the option, understand its benefits, and see it not as a trade-off, but as a premium, modern choice, notes Trier.
Trier and her colleagues are working closely with retailers to make sustainable products more visible in-store, while also expanding environmental labeling to help consumers make informed decisions quickly and easily. Other initiatives include incentivizing recycling, introducing return systems, and exploring new ways to gently shift default behaviors, all grounded in a nuanced understanding of consumer psychology.
But behavior change doesn’t happen in a vacuum – it depends on trust, relevance, and identity. It’s the reason why Trier believes strongly in L’Oréal’s brand-centric, science-driven approach. Rather than enforcing a top-down, uniform sustainability strategy, the company gives each of its 37 global brands the freedom to shape its path, while providing the tools, data, and scientific rigor to ensure credibility.
Decentralization allows each brand to connect authentically with its audience. Garnier, for instance, focuses on sustainable packaging and mass accessibility. Lancôme, by contrast, leans into ethically sourced ingredients and premium quality. Kérastase, embedded in salon culture, explores circular models with professional partners. “We have a very strong focus on the circular economy topics – how to close the loop and activate the consumer,” says Trier. “We are also science-based target initiative committed.”
L’Oréal has developed robust internal structures to support these diverse efforts, including a social impact measurement initiative in partnership with a French university. This bottom-up analysis evaluates the social footprint of individual brands, helping them prioritize sustainability goals and build trust with data-backed claims, thereby avoiding greenwashing and strengthening loyalty.
Transparency is another cornerstone of Trier’s strategy, and one that’s increasingly technology-driven. “At L’Oréal, we have more than 4,000 researchers who explore new scientific territories,” she says. “We have more than 450 dedicated sustainability people globally – a community that’s 100% focused on sustainability topics.”
Trier works closely with these teams to build a bridge between science and storytelling. L’Oréal’s digital capabilities, which are powered by more than 6,400 tech specialists, enable consumer-facing tools like Product ID, a system that tracks the full environmental and social impact of individual products across their lifecycle. Virtual try-ons showcase sustainable product alternatives, integrating transparency into the shopping experience in real time.
The company is also using influencer partnerships to humanize its sustainability message. One example is the German TV personality Janin Ullmann’s video series with Garnier, which gives consumers a behind-the-scenes look at how products are made and what sustainability looks like in practice. Trier believes these initiatives build trust by inviting consumers into the process, not just as buyers, but as participants. She sees the intersection of science, brand voice, and digital innovation as L’Oréal’s strongest asset in overcoming its consumer challenge.
Companies must account for the full lifecycle of their products or services, especially how customers use and dispose of them.
The work by Trier and her team offers valuable insights for anyone trying to shift consumer behavior at scale:
Operational sustainability is essential, but insufficient in itself. Companies must account for the full lifecycle of their products or services, especially how customers use and dispose of them. If Scope 3 is your biggest impact area, make it your strategic priority.
Nudges, design choices, and frictionless alternatives can steer customer behavior more effectively than messaging alone. Reframe sustainability as ease, elegance, or value, not sacrifice.
In decentralized or multi-brand businesses, resist the urge to standardize. Equip units to build sustainability narratives that resonate with their specific audiences, grounded in shared science but tailored in tone and strategy.
Consumers and stakeholders expect proof, not promises. Use digital tools, traceability systems, and credible storytelling to build confidence and show impact, not just intentions.
Shifting perceptions is as critical as shifting systems. Make sustainability aspirational by tapping into identity, culture, and pride. If people want to make a better choice, they will.
Perhaps most importantly, the team is doubling down on cultural relevance.
L’Oréal’s path forward hinges on scale and integration. While early pilots around refills, labeling, and digital engagement show promise, the company now faces the challenge of embedding these approaches across more brands, more markets, and more consumer segments.
Trier sees product design as the next major lever – embedding circularity and low-impact usage into the DNA of every new launch, not as an add-on, but as a core value proposition. She’s also exploring new incentives, business models, and loyalty systems that reward sustainable participation, giving consumers a reason not just to act once, but to build lasting habits.
Perhaps most importantly, the team is doubling down on cultural relevance. Making sustainability glamorous isn’t just a marketing line; it’s a mindset shift. Achieving that will require bold campaigns, diverse voices, and creative platforms that resonate emotionally as well as ethically.
“We’re not just trying to reduce emissions,” says Trier. “We’re trying to change perceptions, to make sustainability something people want to be part of.”
This case series was developed as part of a research project supported by Capgemini Invent.
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