News updates: Beiersdorf, L'Oréal, Puig and Weleda

Puig said to be prepping for an IPO​

Spanish fragrance and cosmetics company Puig is rumoured to be planning to become public in 2024 with an estimated valuation of €8bn.

According to Spanish newspaper Expansión, ​the Barcelona-based company has hired Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan as global coordinators to prepare for its stock market debut.

It noted that four months ago, Puig had reorganised its corporate structure to consolidate all its businesses under a public limited company (Puig Brands SA), as the original parent company Puig SL could not be publicly traded.

The company, which owns Charlotte Tilbury and Fragrance brands like Jean Paul Gaultier and Carolina Herrera, recorded its best ever results in history for the second consecutive year in 2022. It closed last year with a net profit of €400m – up by 71% on 2021, with net revenues of €3.62bn – a 40% increase.

Beiersdorf reduces CO2e footprint of deodorant aerosol cans​

As part of its sustainability strategy, Beiersdorf has announced that all its deodorant cans in the European assortment of NIVEA, 8X4, Hidrofugal, and Hansaplast will contain at least 50% recycled aluminium and will weigh 11.6% less thanks to material reduction.

The German company said that this will reduce CO_2e​ emissions in the aerosol can value chain by around 58%, with an overall reduction of around 30 tonnes of CO_2e​ per year.

Isabell Niggemann, Global Procurement Manager Sustainable Packaging said: “This brings us closer to reaching our ambitious climate target that we have set with our CARE BEYOND SKIN Sustainability Agenda: The absolute reduction of our CO_2e​ emissions across Scope 1, 2 and 3 by 30 percent by 2025."​

Beiersdorf had opened a new state-of-the-art production plant in Leipzig-Seehausen with the technology to process the lighter cans. The company said the plant operates on a virtually CO_2e​-neutral basis thanks to exclusive use of renewable energies and biogas for heat generation.

It also has plans to expand the plant into an "Energy+" site, which would mean that more energy would be generated than consumed through the plant's own renewable energy generation.

L'Oréal introduces a Climate Emergency Fund

L'Oréal has created a new €15m fund, The Climate Emergency Fund, to help populations that are vulnerable to climate disasters.

The French multinational said that climate-related disasters had increased five-fold over the past 50 years, that nearly three-billion people live in at-risk areas and that this number could reach four billion by 2050.

The fund will take two types of action: prevention to help minimise the impact of climate-related disasters before they occur through planning and early warning systems; and reconstruction to restore critical infrastructure and vital services such as health care, shelter, and access to food and water after a disaster has occurred.

The first two beneficiaries are The Solutions Project, a US-based non-profit, and Start Network, a global alliance of more than 80 local, national and international NGOs.

Alexandra Palt, Executive Director for Social and Environmental Responsibility and L'Oréal Foundation stated: "We are strengthening our commitment to support vulnerable communities towards greater resilience, in collaboration with organisations that deploy innovative solutions on the ground.”​

Weleda adds sustainability credentials to London Fashion Week​

London Fashion Week has taken place across the UK capital this weekend and Weleda has enjoyed a strong presence. The Swiss-headquartered brand had a Skin Food popup in Bloomsbury, sponsored The Model Zone, and sponsored the Di Petsa runway show.

Eco-friendly fashion designer Petsa is renowned for her signature ‘wetlook’ dresses, as worn by celebrities like Bella and Gigi Hadid, Kylie Jenner and Nicki Minaj.

The company worked with zero-waste make-up artist Crystabel Riley, a member of the Advisory Board of the Sustainable Beauty Coalition.

Riley shared that she would be using the brand’s staple Skin Food Original​ and its new Skin Food Face Care to prep skin backstage ahead of the show. ​

She said: “I have been working backstage at London Fashion Week since 2018, operating with a 'low-waste' approach. I choose to abandon wet wipe and cotton bud culture and favour reusable cloths and brush techniques. When creating looks, I try to use as many multi-use products as possible, and Weleda Skin Food is such a multi-tasking hero.” ​

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