L’Oréal Introduces Innovation Fund to Bolster Sustainable Start-Ups

In a press release, L'Oréal says it has set up a Circular Innovation Fund to help spread ideas about the circular economy. It will work with sustainable start-ups in North America, Europe, and Asia.

L'Oréal will give 50 million euros to the new 150 million euro fund as part of its L'Oréal for the Future environmental programme. Demeter and Cycle Capital will manage the fund, which receives contributions from several impact investors.

Christophe Babule, executive vice president and CFO of L'Oréal, said: "I am convinced that finance can play a decisive role in mitigating the impacts of climate change and can be a vehicle for progress.

“We believe impact investment is one of the ways we can contribute to spur innovation in the circular economy space as part of the L’Oréal for the Future programme. Impact investing is a perfect illustration of sustainable finance, that is to say, the ability to combine financial value creation with environmental and social value creation.” Babule added.

The fund will use an impact measurement approach developed after due investigation and track key performance metrics like greenhouse gas emissions and resource usage.

The fund sponsors companies like For Days, a garment recycling service, and Aphea.Bio.