L'Oréal 2024 Annual Report - Interview Christophe Babule & Ezgi Barcenas

At L'Oreal, shared value creation is our compass, guiding our decisions every day. We are committed to dual excellence, combining economic performance with positive social and environmental impact. Agility, as we operate in a world facing unprecedented challenges — economic uncertainty, social and political shifts, and environmental concerns — the agility of our teams is key to adapting, adjusting, and joining forces with our ecosystem to find solutions to the new challenges that emerge. Purposeful: in 2024, we continue to lead and act with purpose to drive meaningful impact further. Embracing our deep-rooted sense of responsibility and the power of purpose, we continue to pursue partnerships internally and externally to accelerate our transformation, fostering a culture of trust and resilience. Our teams continue to find ways to ignite innovation and harmonize our collective efforts. Purpose is fundamental to how we create shared value. This approach enables us to better serve our consumers while finding bespoke solutions to our shared challenges. Ultimately, a strong sense of purpose aligns our business strategy and our values with the needs of the world and our communities. Indeed, our approach is deeply purpose-driven, and collaboration is key. We actively seek out cutting-edge solutions and partnerships that align with our sustainability goals. Our venture capital fund, Bold, partners with innovative startups specializing in green sciences and biotechnology for a more sustainable future. Our recent three-way agreement with two companies, Abolis Biotechnologies and Evonik, exemplifies this purposeful approach. This partnership will enable the production of purpose-made sustainable ingredients at the scale needed to meet global demand for responsible beauty, in line with our commitment to prioritize bio-based ingredients in our beauty formulations. The key joint initiative this year was the validation of our new decarbonization trajectory by the Science Based Targets initiative. This rigorous process, co-led by our sustainability and finance teams, involved aligning our 2030 and 2050 ambitions with the latest net-zero standard, demonstrating our commitment to science-based targets and marking a significant milestone in our climate action journey. From a financial perspective, I'll highlight the launch of the Solstice Debt Fund, co-created with Chenavari Investment Managers, with our commitment to an initial 50 million euro investment. This pioneering initiative demonstrates how our strong financial performance enables us to invest in sustainability across our value chain. The fund aims to support the decarbonization efforts of our strategic industrial partners, amplifying our impact across the entire ecosystem. It is a concrete example of L'Oreal's dual excellence, combining financial performance with positive social and environmental impact. A significant beauty trend in 2024, one we are actively driving with our markets and brands, is the rise of refillable products. Our teams are rethinking packaging codes to make refills the new normal. For instance, our luxury division is reconciling desirability and sustainability on refills, striving to set a new industry standard. This shift in consumer behavior towards refills significantly reduces waste, promotes a circular economy, and empowers consumers to make more sustainable choices without compromising their beauty routines. Refills offer a compelling value proposition for consumers; they typically come at a better price point than purchasing a brand new product, offering savings over time. Using refills allows consumers to participate in sustainable practices while also benefiting from a more economical approach to beauty. Being future fit is rooted in our deep transformation agenda. We are building the L'Oreal of the future today. A key element of this is leveraging the power of tech and data. Internally, we are using data-driven insights to make smarter strategic decisions and optimize resource allocation. This helps us anticipate future trends and ensure that our investments are aligned with long-term sustainable value creation. Externally, we are using data to empower consumers with information and tools, like QR codes on products, enabling them to make more informed choices that align with their values. Data is a powerful lever for L'Oreal to remain future fit and continue to lead in the fast-changing beauty market. Looking at our external environment, climate emergency, nature crisis, and growing inequality all demand that we constantly adapt and innovate. So L'Oreal's future fitness comes from our ability to navigate this complex and evolving landscape. The close collaboration and dynamic partnership between our finance and sustainability teams ensure that our sustainability efforts on climate, nature, and livelihoods continue to inspire a broader movement toward global sustainable development. We are confident that L'Oreal is well-positioned to strengthen its global leadership while continuing to serve our consumers in communities around the world.