L’Oréal’s Katy Gandon: ‘Brand purpose’ boosts the bottom line

Cosmetics group L’Oréal, named in the top 100 companies for ‘brand purpose’ in a new report by consultancy Radley Yeldar, claims that supporting women in science careers helps benefit shareholders while also benefiting society.

Katy Gandon opinion breaker

Q: How would you explain L’Oréal’s brand purpose and commitment towards it?

Our group sustainability commitment ‘sharing beauty with all’ recognises the role we play in making it easier for consumers to make sustainable choices.

By accelerating sustainable innovation and operations within the business, we hope to raise awareness about sustainability and encourage more sustainable consumption. An example is our UK sustainable salons partnership with Green Tomato, which helps salons become more energy efficient.

We are also committed to causes in the UK where our expertise in science and beauty can be brought in to benefit others.

Q: What does this commitment bring to the brand both internally and externally?

The company was founded by a scientist over 100 years ago and science is at the heart of everything we do. The programmes are a great way for us to highlight our scientific heritage both internally and externally, while also demonstrating that we’re committed to supporting and developing UK innovation and creativity.

Q: How do you let consumers know about your brand purpose and the CSR work you do?

We recently launched our campaign #changethenumbers, which looks at the perceptions of women in science. It is a great way for us to challenge the public on the misconceptions they might have about who or what makes a successful scientist and to encourage them to share the positive contributions of female scientists. We hope such campaigns will change the public’s view and, ultimately, inspire the next generation of female scientists to change the world.

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