According to L'Oréal, for several years, staff at the Yichang plant have focused on improving energy efficiency to subsequently reduce its carbon footprint.
The plant is reported to be one of the company's best performers with regards to sustainability, having reduced CO2 emissions by 45% between 2005 and 2014, and obtaining the LEED Gold environmental certification last year.
“Our world-class Yichang plant is L’Oréal’s largest make-up production center in Asia-Pacific,” says Alexis Perakis-Valat, Executive Vice-President, Asia Pacific Zone and CEO of L’Oréal China.
“For Yichang to become carbon neutral demonstrates our continued confidence in the long-term prospects for China and the Asian market, as well as our strong commitment to sustainable development.”
Green goals
In fact, L’Oréal’s investment plan for the extension and connection to hydropower was signed at the start of the month in the presence of French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang in Toulouse, France.
This project is part of the strategic agreement regarding the use of clean and renewable energy such as hydropower and solar panels.
L’Oréal operates 43 plants globally, with three located in China (Yichang, Suzhou and Guangzhou). With an investment totaling more than 200 million RMB (24 million euros), the 70,000 m2 Yichang plant is the company's largest make-up production center in Asia-Pacific, with a production capacity exceeding 210 million products annually.
Expansion always, in all ways..
Cosmetics maker L’Oréal has also set its' sights on cracking the African market, having signed a production and distribution partnership for the Ivory Coast, with specialised distributor CFAO earlier in the year.
The agreement covers cosmetics products in the country only for now, but the French firm believes it will speed up its expansion and development throughout the continent, particularly in hair and body care.
“L’Oréal has been present in French Africa through its well-known French brands for many years. The awareness of these L’Oreal brands locally is high,” a company spokesperson tells CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com.
“Our objective now is to accelerate our distribution on the continent. Our ambition as a challenger in Africa is still the same: Become the number 1 beauty company in Africa.”
L’Oréal believes the partnership with CFAO will speed up its expansion and development of its hair care and body care brands in Ivory Coast thanks to a manufacturing facility suited to the company’s needs.