The Estée Lauder Companies is creating industry-leading sustainability solutions

With new technologies, partnerships and scale, the prestige beauty company is driving innovations in the sustainability of luxury packaging and beyond.

As climate change advances, sustainability has become an important factor for many consumers. A 2021 Simon-Kucher & Partners report reveals that, globally, 85% of consumers have shifted their buying habits toward sustainability in the past five years. So, to best serve their customers while creating positive environmental change, many companies are taking bold steps toward integrating sustainability into their business practices.

One such business is The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), whose industry-leading commitment to responsible packaging has resulted in tangible environmental wins while also helping to drive more responsible packaging solutions not only for its portfolio of brands and consumers, but also for the beauty industry at large. “Driving innovations through the lens of sustainability have been central to how The Estée Lauder Companies and its brands have operated and are a key part of our corporate strategy for the future,” says Nancy Mahon, senior vice president of global corporate citizenship & sustainability. “Responsible packaging is one of our key focus areas, and, as a brand-led company, our Packaging teams work closely with our brands to not only deliver on the expectations of our consumers and other stakeholders, but help drive great progress toward our sustainability goals.”

When it comes to such goals, ELC has set a high bar for the beauty industry. The company has pledged that 75% to 100% of its packaging will be recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled or recoverable by 2025. It also has committed to include at least 25% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in its packaging within the same timeframe, after achieving its initial PCR material target ahead of schedule in 2021. 

Daniel Ramos, senior vice president of global packaging at The Estée Lauder Companies, notes the impact of plastics in sustainability efforts, specifically. “Plastic is among the most pressing sustainability issues today, and we’re committed to taking action,” he says, adding that ELC is striving to reduce the amount of virgin petroleum plastic in its packaging to 50% or less by the end of 2030. And ELC has committed to use responsibly sourced paper products wherever possible: In the 2021 fiscal year, 89% of its forest-based fiber cartons were Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)–certified. That’s well on the way toward ELC’s goal to use 100% FSC–certified forest-based fiber cartons by the end of 2025.

These wins wouldn’t have been possible were it not for the company’s industry-leading partnerships which continue to be a critical component of ELC’s holistic approach to addressing the challenges related to complex packaging formats balanced with environmental performance. Partnerships and collaborations with leading companies, packaging manufacturers and sustainability organizations all help the company move the needle on environmental efforts across the beauty industry. In 2020 and 2021, these joint efforts allowed the company to leverage a broad range of packaging solutions including molecular recycling technologies, renewable resins and innovative new uses of materials such as paper. 

For example, collaboration with industry-leading partners allows the company to implement cutting-edge practices across its brand portfolio and deliver upon the consumer experience associated with their luxury brands. At ELC’s brand Origins, the Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask now comes in a tube mainly composed of a circular polymer resin—made using a revolutionary, certified-circular polyethylene and polypropylene advanced recycling technology. Utilization of the technology supports the increase of recycled content used in the package without compromising on quality, aesthetics, or package functionality for the brands’ consumers. Aveda, another ELC brand, drove an additional industry-first packaging innovation: The brand developed its first ever paper-based, locally recyclable sachet which was launched initially in Europe and the United Kingdom. Production of this sachet resulted in a reduction of 36% in water consumption and emissions compared to commonly used sachet packaging in the industry. Sachets, typically a pain point for environmentally conscious consumers, presented an exciting opportunity for Aveda to improve upon the sampling experience. “Creating more responsible packaging is an immense challenge, and no one person or entity can solve it alone,” Ramos says. “That’s why collaboration is so important, especially in our design-based approach to combining luxury and sustainability.” 

As the company and its brand portfolio forge ahead with new technologies, ELC has continued to keep its customers top-of-mind. Aesthetics are crucial in the beauty world, and the legacy company remains acutely aware of this. That’s why the company’s Estée Lauder brand relaunched their iconic Revitalizing Supreme+ Moisturizer in a recyclable glass jar. This initiative included the use of a lifecycle assessment to validate the achievement of additional environmental improvements beyond recyclability, while elevating the luxury feel consumers know and love. Not only did the brand’s switch help reduce the use of thousands of pounds of plastic, but it also resulted in a reduction of at least 40% of associated emissions and energy consumption for the first year of shipments. “A product’s packaging often delivers the first high-touch moment for our consumers, providing a sense of luxury right at their fingertips,” says Ramos. 

Ramos sees the investment in responsible packaging as an exciting task, not a hurdle. “Prestige packaging presents a tremendous opportunity for sustainability innovation because it plays such an important role in consumer experience,” he says. “Incorporating sustainability concepts into packaging designs is a strategic imperative for us, and we’re committed to innovating materials that meet performance requirements, deliver on our luxury offerings, and help to achieve our responsible packaging goals. Our creativity and ingenuity can help advance solutions not only for our brands, but for the personal care and cosmetics industry at large.”