L’Oréal SG unveils SustainaBox initiatives, trials electric vehicle delivery

L’Oréal Singapore has launched a SustainaBox Initiative with sustainable packaging for its local eCommerce parcels. The initiative targets 100% reduction of plastic for all its eCommerce deliveries in Shopee, Lazada and its own brand websites such as Kiehl’s, and aims at reducing up to 50% of carbon emissions each month. The company will also be starting its electric vehicle delivery trial across 40 stores in the west of Singapore.

According to a press statement, the initiative will allow L’Oréal to be environmentally friendly as products will be delivered in a SustainaBox carton with fasil paper box fillers and paper tape that are FSC-certified and made of 100% recycled materials, reducing all plastic waste without the need of any plastic airbags or tape. Minimising its carbon footprint, L’Oréal Singapore will also be adopting green transport starting with its pilot trial of electric vehicle delivery. From this month, the green initiative will roll out across 40 stores in the west of Singapore, targeting to reduce up to 50% of carbon emissions every month for that route. The programme is expected to be expanded further by next year.

“L’Oréal has been seeing a huge growth in online retail across key brands such as L’Oréal Paris, La Roche-Posay, SkinCeuticals, Kiehl’s. However, we also recognise the real and burgeoning issue of the increase in e-commerce waste,” Iris Lam, managing director of L’Oréal Singapore, said.

“Through the launch of our SustainaBox Initiative we hope to reduce plastic waste for our e-commerce parcels, and our carbon footprint through our electronic vehicle delivery trial to 40 stores in the West of Singapore, gearing our ecosystem towards a sustainable society. With sustainability as the core of L’Oréal’s mission, we aim to make significant leaps in the next 10 years through our set of ambitions laid for 2030,” he added.

The launch of the initiative follows L'Oréal designating Singapore to be its headquarters for South Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa (SAPMENA) and the naming  of Vismay Sharma as president of the region. L'Oréal was first established in Singapore in 1990, and subsequently set up a regional hub for its South Asia Pacific regions and travel retail Asia Pacific operations in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

"Our expansion in Singapore allows us to be strategically located in one of the world’s most innovative ecosystems. This will strengthen our culture of innovation as we capitalize on emerging tech to transform our consumer reach, while also attracting the best talent and partners," Vismay Sharma said then.

Based on a study by Forrester, environmental sustainability is a complex challenge that requires full business transformation, from sourcing and supply chains to daily client interactions. Even though evidence shows that consumers increasingly prefer brands that act positively for the planet, there is a risk of receiving further backlash from consumers who often believe that brand messages about sustainability are self-serving and intended only to sell more products. An example would be the recent backlash Innisfree received for 'false advertising' after plastic was found within their alleged eco-friendly paper bottle. 

Innisfree's spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the product was named "paper bottle" to ensure it was easier to explain the role of paper labels wrapping the outside of the bottle. "We tried to provide detailed information on the product package box but we overlooked the fact that the entire container can be recognised as a paper material because of the product name. We sincerely apologise for the confusion caused and will try to deliver more accurate information," the spokesperson said.

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