The Ecobeautyscore Consortium is now live and unites 36 cosmetic and personal care companies as well as professional associations in an initiative to enable more sustainable consumer choices. Additional companies and associations can join the effort.
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The EcoBeautyScore Consortium is developing an industry-wide environmental impact assessment and scoring system for cosmetic products. The approach has a global scope and may help provide consumers with clear, transparent and comparable environmental impact information based on a common science-based methodology. This will contribute to meeting growing consumer demand for greater transparency about the environmental impact of cosmetic products such as formulas, packaging and usage.
The 36 members so far include: Amorepacific, Babor, Beiersdorf, Colgate-Palmolive, Cosmébio, COSMED, Cosmetic Valley, Cosmetics Europe, cosnova, Coty, The Estée Lauder Companies, Eugène Perma, FEBEA, The Fragrance Creators Association, Henkel, IKW Beauty Care, The International Fragrance Association, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., JUST International AG, Kao, L’Oréal Groupe, LVMH, Nafigate, NAOS, Natrue, Natura &Co, NOHBA, Oriflame, P&G, Paragon Nordic, Puig, PZ Cussons, Shiseido, Sisley, STANPA and Unilever.
The Consortium is working with the experienced sustainability consultancy Quantis to ensure a scientific approach to co-build an assessment methodology and scoring system guided by and articulated around:
- A common method for measuring environmental impacts throughout the lifecycle of products, backed by the principles of the “Product Environmental Footprint” (the European Union’s PEF scientific method based on life cycle assessment (LCA) for quantifying the environmental footprint of products).
- A common database of the environmental impact of standard ingredients and raw materials used in formulas and packaging, as well as during product usage.
- A common tool that enables the assessment of the environmental impact of individual products, usable by non-experts.
- A harmonized scoring system that enables companies, on a voluntary basis, to inform consumers about the environmental footprint of their cosmetic products. The methodology, database, tool and scoring system will be verified by independent parties.
Operationally, the EcoBeautyScore Consortium is also supported by Capgemini Invent (project management) and Mayer Brown (legal counsel).
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The 36 members of the EcoBeautyScore Consortium have started to work together with organized thematic working groups. A footprinting and scoring prototype is targeted for the end of 2022, providing environmental scoring initially for select product categories. It will then be verified by independent parties.
This Consortium is open to all cosmetic and personal care companies regardless of size or resources. Other stakeholders will be informed and consulted throughout the process.
All companies can benefit from the pre-existing work and are invited to contribute with their own experience. The Consortium will also consult external experts, including scientists, academics and NGOs to make sure the process is as inclusive as possible. The work developed by the Consortium will be published and may be used on a strictly voluntary basis by both Consortium participants and all other interested parties.
