Cosmetics firm L’Oreal has partnered with the Plastic Credit Exchange (PCX) to offset its entire annual plastic footprint in the Philippines, starting from this year.
The France-headquartered firm will recover, sort, and recycle plastic equivalent to its own footprint in the Southeast Asian island nation, it announced, though without disclosing how many tonnes would be involved.
Its commitment goes well beyond the requirement from the Philippines government, which for obliged enterprises under its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme is to provide suitable and effective recovery, treatment, recycling, or disposal of 20% of their plastic footprint in 2023, rising gradually to 80% in 2028.
“L’Oreal is committed to promoting a circular economy. Our focus is to create products that reflect this aspiration – from the design to the post-use of our products. To amplify this vision, the group has committed to ensuring that 100% of the plastics used in L’Oreal’s product packaging will come from recycled or bio-based sources by 2030,” said Yannick Raynaud, country managing director of L’Oreal Philippines, in an announcement.
“With plastic pollution being most prevalent in the Philippines, we recognise our crucial role in ensuring that private companies like us become a catalyst for change. Our commitment to going above and beyond the yearly EPR targets serves as an inspiration and challenge to demonstrate our responsibility towards our planet.”
L’Oreal becomes the fifth company to team up with PCX to offset their entire plastic footprint in the country.
It has previously seen PepsiCo certified by PWC as a net zero plastic waste brand in the Philippines, after buying credits from one of the projects listed on the exchange.
On its website, the exchange has listed four projects in the country that have available just over 60,000 plastic credits, ranging in price from $175-200 per tonne.
“As the world’s first fully integrated plastic offset programme, we are inspired by the strides that the Philippine government and the participating companies are taking together,” said Nanette Medved-Po, founder and executive chairperson of PCX.
“Tackling plastic waste is an important issue, and we’re pleased that L’Oreal has gone above and beyond requirements to address the plastic pollution challenge in the Philippines with urgency.”
According to UNEP, the world produces some 400 million tonnes of plastic every year.
The World Bank has estimated some 2.7 mln tonnes of plastic waste is generated every year in the Philippines, of which around 20% end up in the ocean, contributing to one of the biggest threats to marine biodiversity globally.
PCX is one of the world’s first issuers of plastic credits, though others are emerging as well, including carbon standard Verra. In addition to the Philippines, PCX is also listing credits from projects in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
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