How Guerlain Is Leading the Way for Sustainability in Beauty Brands

Lindsay Judge   |   09-06-2019

As Guerlain makes a name for itself in the sustainable beauty movement, we discover what it’s doing to support the cause.

 

 

In 2007 Guerlain made the decision to include a sustainable development plan in its company strategy. Guerlain has identified as a pilot in the LVMH Group’s environmental strategy from the inception thanks to the vision of its Chairman and the Guerlain teams. The commitment, driven by Chairman and CEO Laurent Boillot is structured around six issues. These are:

 

  • Biodiversity – To contribute to protecting raw materials and ecosystems on sites – a source of inspiration and innovation for the Beauty of the World, and vital for Guerlain.
  • Eco-Design – To perfect how they innovate and manufacture while limiting the environmental impact of products and activities.
  • Social Responsibility – To promote diversity and improve the working conditions and lives of employees and local communities, and to support charitable associations close to the brand.
  • Transport – To control CO2 emissions caused by shipments and travel.
  • Sustainable Procurement – To adopt a sustainable development approach in collaboration with partners, suppliers and service providers.
  • Eco-Responsibility – To be eco-friendly on a daily basis and adopt the best citizenship practices on all sites.

 

Today Guerlain ensures that through every department and area of its business sustainability is taken into consideration. A board that includes 15 team members from each department oversees the action plan to ensure their area of the organisation is practising in a sustainable manner that’s coherent with the rest of the company.

 

Facts & Figures

 

There are many steps that Guerlain has taken to ensure sustainability in its products, packaging, production and more. Here are some of the highlights that are supporting the cause today:

 

  • By 2020 one hundred per cent of all Guerlain’s products will be eco-designed.
  • Since 2009, 10,000 orchids have been replanted by Guerlain in the Tianzi Reserve in Yunnan, China. Guerlain has also revived the growing of Vetiver in India in Tamil Nadu in the Coimbatore region. It is a sustainable industry as one hundred per cent of the plant can be used and – thanks to crop rotation – yields are thirty to forty per cent higher.
  • Ninety-five per cent of Guerlain’s perfume bottles are recyclable thanks to CEDRE – LVMH’s recycling platform.
  • Seventy-two per cent of the company’s waste from Industrial sites in France is recycled.
  • Guerlain’s overall CO2 emissions aim to be down by fifty per cent by 2020 compared with what it was is 2007.

 

 

THE BLACK BEE ISLAND

 

Ouessant Island off the coast of France is the place where the unique Black Bee has found it’s a safe haven. This rare species of bee is protected by Guerlain and safeguarded for the use of its royal jelly. The Brittany Black Bee Conservation Association works closely with Guerlain to protect the unique species which can’t be found anywhere else in the world.

 

The rare honey produced by the Black Bee is created in one of the purest ecosystems in the world. The bee gathers nectar and pollen from a unique flora and produces the purest of honey. You can discover these sustainable ingredients, with unique healing benefits in Guerlain’s Abeille Royal Age-Defying skincare range.

 

Ouessant Island, Brittany, France

 

Chairman and CEO Laurent Boillot on Sustainability

 

“Nine years ago, when I took the helm at Guerlain, I was naturally keen to showcase these core values in our strategy by creating a dedicated sustainable development and by setting up a steering committee representing all the departments in our House. Our approach has since been based on six issues at stake, which are also included in the Management Committee’s objectives, placing sustainable development at the heart of our company’s strategy. We have a permanent goal. I often say that while we can’t save the planet on our own, we can play our part. And our ambition grows with every new initiative.

 

“I am incredibly proud of the actions and initiatives we have launched within the company and which are described in the pages of our second Sustainable Development Report. Committing to a more sustainable planet is an ideal opportunity to promote the culture of beauty and goodness and pass on a beautiful legacy to future generations. In the name of Beauty…”

 

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