1/3
of the planet land area is covered by forests!
The 4 key roles of forests
The 4 key roles of forests
of our global forest cover, over the past 300 years. This alarming reduction is primarily attributed to human activities.
When confronted with this topic, one word likely comes to mind: deforestation.
But what exactly is deforestation? And why is the reality much more intricate?
We’ll see how these two high-stakes phenomena coexist.
Deforestation is the intentional clearing of forests or trees, typically to make way for agricultural activities, logging, urban development, or other land uses.
Forest degradation is the harm or negative alterations to forest ecosystems, which can occur through various factors (such as pollution, wildfires, invasive species, climate change, or unsustainable logging practices).
- Definitive forest cover loss
- The conversion of a forest area to a non-forest area
- Relatively well covered by the media and measured by the scientific community
- Non-permanent forest cover loss
- The conversion of a semi-natural or natural (including primary) forest
to monospecific plantations - Less visible, thus less covered and relatively unknown to the public
3/4
is attributed to agriculture.
Note: The conversion of primary forests into planted forests is considered deforestation by the AFI and degradation by the RDUE.
More than half
is attributed to forestry.
The industry can use intensive and unsustainable forest management practices (clear-cuts, use of pesticides, damages to soil and watersheds…).
Heavy environmental and social stakes
- Wildlife’s natural habitat erasure that threatens biodiversity
- Damaging forests and reducing their diversity undermines their resilience to the vagaries of climate change
- Weakening the root systems of trees accelerates soil erosion
- Logging and timber extracting operations, pesticide leaking as well as effluents from industrial processing may deteriorate water quality and cycle
- Indigenous and local communities can be displaced and have their rights to land tenure violated
- Some operations use exploitative and unsafe labor conditions
- Potential non-respect of human rights.
Local communities, citizens and NGOs regularly expose human and labor rights violations, land grabbing, unsustainable practices like the clearcutting of trees, and limits of existing forest certifications to tackle these issues.
Overall, controversies are on the rise within the industry.
Over the past two decades, the EU and Member States have tightened their legislations to create a more sustainable approach to reliance on nature from businesses.
Here are some of the most significant:
Let’s review some legislation! What are the requirements?
- Objectives: reduce global deforestation risks by enforcing responsible sourcing practices, using EU market access as leverage.
- Obligations: the regulation prohibits the placement or export of products derived from deforestation or degradation on the EU market. Products must comply with the legislation of their country of production, and companies have a due diligence obligation (including supply chain mapping, risk analysis, and mitigation plan).
- Objectives: to emphase corporate responsibility in mitigating risks related to human rights violations and environmental degradation.
- Obligations: impose requirements on large companies with substantial operations in the EU to conduct due diligence for human rights and environmental impacts within their own operations and throughout their supply chains.
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive entails that businesses are legally bound to prevent and address adverse impacts of their actions across their entire value chain, all over the world. The Directive is designed to anchor human rights and environmental considerations in companies’ operations and corporate governance. It’s a huge leap toward more serious corporate sustainability practices! In a global industry like forestry, it is a game changer.
As the global leading Beauty company, L’Oréal acknowledges its special role in preserving forests.
« L’Oréal for the Future » (L4TF) initiative oversees the Group’s efforts towards sustainable management of timber resources.
Read to discover our sustainability requirements!
« By 2030, 100% of the ingredients in our formulas and bio-sourced packaging materials will be traceable and originate from sustainable sources, none of which will contribute to deforestation. »
of timber-based products! L’Oréal’s commitment embraces every category of timber-based products under its scope. Covering everything from tubes to folding boxes, direct to indirect packaging, retail, promotional, travel – timber is everywhere! L’Oréal streamlines reporting for simplicity and reliability by employing a single tool and questionnaire for all sourcing commodities. All items referred to by L’Oréal must align with the L’Oréal 2030 Forest Policy targets.
The Timber Strategy, L’Oréal’s sustainable sourcing strategy for timber is built on four key actions:
We ensure that 100% of timber based materials we buy will be certified by 2030.
You may know the main certifications existing for timber: FSC & PEFC.
L’Oréal recommends FSC certification as the most robust standard recognized on the market, and it is required for timber originating from high-risk countries.
Certifications are a very useful tool to mitigate risks but not sufficient!
Recycled material is certified too
That is how we prove that the material is indeed recycled and not virgin, therefore not linked to any deforestation or forest damage.
Forest Management Certification
- Applicable by: forest owners, concessionaires.
- Requirements: sustainable forest management management including notably respect of all applicable legal requirements, local communities and workers rights, conservation of forest ecosystem services.
Chain of Custody (CoC) Certification
- Applicable by: wood and paper industry, distribution.
- Requirements: traceability.
Keep in mind:
- Only a company with a valid FSC certificate can sell FSC-certified products!
- A certificate holder is not obliged to buy nor sell only FSC-certified raw material or finished products but shall ensure their effective segregation from non-certified products.
guarantees the traceability to a sustainably managed forest. Indeed, it does not provide with any geographical information about the origin of materials, but it does ensure that it comes from a sustainably managed forest through verification audits at each step of the value chain.
We aim to gather 3 levels of geographical information about our materials to link them to their forest of origin :
- Country
- Region
- Plot (GPS coordinates, requested by the EUDR)
This information is key to conduct proper risk assessment and mitigation in order to ensure that sourced material is not linked to any deforestation nor forest degradation.
Once we know the material’s origin, we assess risks linked to our sourcing countries and define the mitigation measures we request from our suppliers. We also stay alert for any grievances reported by other stakeholders such as media, NGOs, local communities…
Let’s take an example:
If a NGO report on environmental violations comes out, we look at the data provided by our suppliers to check if any actor or area linked to our value chain is mentioned in the report. If it is the case, we directly contact the concerned supplier(s) to manage and solve the complaint.
What kind of grievances does L’Oréal want to address?
This involves working closely with you and the upstream value chain.
Annual campaigns:
Every year, we collect your data to ensure that we are meeting our requirements (certified materials, valid CoC certificate, transparency to forests of origin, commitment to source sustainably, forest policy, forestry practices…).
Evaluation:
We assess our partners’ performance with the Sustainable Timber Score.
With this score, L’Oréal directly encourages its most virtuous partners linked to the forestry sector.
STS results are shared with L’Oréal buyers as a tool to support our partners closing the gaps, with clear action plan.
Starting from 2023, STS are integrated in the annual suppliers’ performance evaluation.
Principles under STS calculation :
We take into account certified materials, valid CoC certificate, transparency to forests of origin, commitment to source sustainably.
The Group is dedicated to being a pioneer and a role model in the global timber industry. Here are some ways we make it happen:
- Engaging in active collaboration with NGOs, experts
- Collaborate with FSC and PEFC standards to support higher standards and their better implementation in the field
- Sharing good practices with business peers
- Being part of a coalition for sectorial transformation
An example of a paper supply chain
How does the CoC work accross the value chain?
L’Oréal for the Future set ambitious objectives to safeguard our planet’s resources. The program aims to be a model for corporate social responsibility & sustainability within the cosmetics sector and the broader business community.
Stay tuned!
Thank you for reading!
