12.09.21
The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has published its Green Score methodology to assess and measure the sustainability of ingredients and formulas based on green chemistry principles.
In “Applying Green Chemistry to Raw Material Selection and Product Formulation at The Estée Lauder Companies,” published in Green Chemistry, the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal, the authors transparently share the Green Score’s methodology, data sources and unique framework to quantitively evaluate ingredients and formulas across its in-house portfolio of prestige beauty products through the lenses of human health, ecosystem health and the environment.
By publicly sharing its approach, ELC aims to encourage sustainable innovation across the consumer products industry.
ELC will continue to use the Green Score to inform its decision-making, communicate expectations with suppliers, and prioritize raw materials, product types as well as product forms.
The methodology is currently being leveraged by its formulation laboratories around the world to guide innovation for greener alternatives and to assess new product launches while maintaining performance standards. Green Scores have already been calculated for all individual materials and formulations across ELC’s in-house skincare, hair care and makeup portfolios. Additionally, all formulators throughout the organization have been trained to use the quantitative tool to assess the sustainability of their formulations in real time, so they can make educated choices about which ingredients to include.
The Green Score has also benefited from validation by ELC’s Green Chemistry Scientific Advisory Board, comprised of academic experts in green chemistry from its key global regions – China, Europe, North America and Latin America.
Dr. Paul Anastas, professor in the Practice of Chemistry for the Environment at Yale University, who serves on the scientific advisory board and co-authored the manuscript, explains, “This tool has taken a concept that is quite complex and distilled it into a useful metric that not only assesses products that already exist but also informs how new, higher-performing products can be designed in the future.”
ELC’s Green Score is part of the company’s green chemistry program and broader commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). It complements existing social impact and sustainability initiatives by employing a scientifically robust and quantifiable metric for measuring sustainability of formulation, which is a material element of its value creation.
The ELC Green Score will be used to create metrics and track progress against formulation commitments to be outlined in the company’s Fiscal 2022 Social Impact & Sustainability Report.
In “Applying Green Chemistry to Raw Material Selection and Product Formulation at The Estée Lauder Companies,” published in Green Chemistry, the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal, the authors transparently share the Green Score’s methodology, data sources and unique framework to quantitively evaluate ingredients and formulas across its in-house portfolio of prestige beauty products through the lenses of human health, ecosystem health and the environment.
By publicly sharing its approach, ELC aims to encourage sustainable innovation across the consumer products industry.
Advancing Sustainability and Transparency
“Our unique Green Score measurement and assessment tool enables us to integrate green chemistry into our product development process and further enhance the sustainability of our products,” said George Daher, senior vice president, Product Safety, Regulatory Affairs and Green Chemistry, The Estée Lauder Companies. “We hope that by publishing this methodology, our approach can be adopted, built upon and scaled by others across our industry to further advance sustainability and transparency.”ELC will continue to use the Green Score to inform its decision-making, communicate expectations with suppliers, and prioritize raw materials, product types as well as product forms.
The methodology is currently being leveraged by its formulation laboratories around the world to guide innovation for greener alternatives and to assess new product launches while maintaining performance standards. Green Scores have already been calculated for all individual materials and formulations across ELC’s in-house skincare, hair care and makeup portfolios. Additionally, all formulators throughout the organization have been trained to use the quantitative tool to assess the sustainability of their formulations in real time, so they can make educated choices about which ingredients to include.
The Green Score has also benefited from validation by ELC’s Green Chemistry Scientific Advisory Board, comprised of academic experts in green chemistry from its key global regions – China, Europe, North America and Latin America.
Dr. Paul Anastas, professor in the Practice of Chemistry for the Environment at Yale University, who serves on the scientific advisory board and co-authored the manuscript, explains, “This tool has taken a concept that is quite complex and distilled it into a useful metric that not only assesses products that already exist but also informs how new, higher-performing products can be designed in the future.”
ELC’s Green Score is part of the company’s green chemistry program and broader commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). It complements existing social impact and sustainability initiatives by employing a scientifically robust and quantifiable metric for measuring sustainability of formulation, which is a material element of its value creation.
The ELC Green Score will be used to create metrics and track progress against formulation commitments to be outlined in the company’s Fiscal 2022 Social Impact & Sustainability Report.
