The Estée Lauder Companies publishes a first full CR report

13-Nov-2019 - Last updated on 13-Nov-2019 at 17:41 GMT

Business is changing. Beauty consumers care about the social and environmental implications of the products they buy; and financial stakeholders see value in publicly responsible and truly sustainable companies. And so, the beauty maker is taking stock of its corporate responsibility initiatives in a whole new way.

“We are responsive to the dynamic interests of our key stakeholders—consumers who increasingly seek out purpose-driven brands, investors who are looking beyond the traditional financial metrics used to measure a company’s performance and employees who expect us to actively live our ELC family values,” write William Lauder, executive chairman, and Fabrizio Freda, president and CEO, in their letter opening the report.

The report is formally titled: Inspired by Beauty, Driven by our Values, our fiscal 2019 citizenship and sustainability report.

And employee lifestyle and expectations certainly do figure into the changing business landscape at (and beyond) The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), as Lauder and Freda suggest. In a post about the report on LinkedIn this week Sapna Harichand, strategy lead of the global citizenship and sustainability at ELC, writes “…over the last few years, I have been trying to be more mindful of my place in the world, what we as a family put on and in our bodies, and our impact on this planet….I’m humbled to be a part of such an amazing company and team who is living this purpose every day.”

“Today was a monumental day for us as we released our FIRST full CR report,” wrote Harichand wrote on LinkedIn.

The Estée Lauder Companies CR highlights

A media release announcing the report calls attention to five areas of focus: energy and emissions, responsible sourcing, social impact, inclusion and diversity, and employee engagement.

Regarding energy and emissions, ELC has set an objective of 100% renewable energy by the end of 2020. “The Estée Lauder Companies has adopted a portfolio approach to reducing GHGs, including the use of on-site renewables, energy efficiency, green utility contracts and renewable energy credits,” notes the full version of the report.

Under the social impact heading, the ELC media release emphasizes that “In 2019, the company set its goal of impacting the well-being of 10 million individuals around the world through programs and grants focused on health, education and the environment.” This includes fund raising efforts to support people living with HIV/AIDS as well to fund breast cancer research.

And, The Estée Lauder Charitable Foundation provides support for groups like the Student Leadership Network’s “The Young Women’s Leadership School” in both New York City and Los Angeles, California.

The full 90-page PDF version of The Estée Lauder Companies Fiscal 2019 Corporate Responsibility Report can be found here.

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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.