L'Oréal invests in Geno-led venture for sustainably sourced ingredients

L'Oréal will invest in Genomatica, Inc.'s biotechnology platform for sustainable alternatives to critical ingredients in everyday cosmetics, personal care, and cleaning products. The company is the third and final founding investor to the venture which is poised to offer sustainable ingredients for the $571 billion beauty and personal care markets.

Together the founding members which include Genomatica, Inc (Geno), Unilever, Kao Corporation, and L'Oréal, have combined revenues exceeding $100 billion/year, and marquee globally branded product portfolios that reach billions of people.

Geno, a sustainable materials leader said the venture will develop, produce and commercialise biotechnology-based alternatives to critical ingredients in the formulations of everyday cosmetics, personal care and cleaning products. It will deploy its proven biotechnology platform, using proprietary engineered microorganisms to ferment plant sugars that produce ingredients to make sustainable surfactants. These new ingredients will be used in a range of L'Oréal products, marking an essential step towards L'Oréal's goals of 100% eco-designed formulas that respect the diversity of aquatic ecosystems and 95% of ingredients from renewable plant-based sources or abundant minerals by 2030.

As part of its sustainability programme, L'Oréal for the Future, the beauty leader has placed an increased focus on partnering with biotechnology innovators with a proven track record, like Geno, to explore, develop and manufacture more sustainable ingredients for the everyday products the world relies on.

Christophe Schilling, Chief Executive Officer for Geno said: "Welcoming L'Oréal to this incredible team of global brand heavyweights signifies just how important and urgent the need is for traceable, resilient and sustainable materials, at scale. L'Oréal's commitment further validates Geno's ability to deliver at scale and accelerates our journey toward reducing global carbon emissions by over 100 million tons in the upcoming years by targeting large-scale material markets. We're energized to help L'Oréal achieve its bold 2030 goals of incorporating 95% bio-based ingredients for formulas and using packaging materials that are traceable and from sustainable sources. This partnership will further catapult our venture's mission to the global scale required to meet strong market demand for sustainable products."

Barbara Lavernos, Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Research, Innovation and Technology for L'Oréal, said:  "At L'Oréal, we believe that science has the power to create a better world, and we are committed to using our expertise to drive positive change in the beauty industry. That's why we have made Green Sciences, our new scientific and sustainable revolution, the cornerstone of our Research. We are thrilled to partner with Geno, whose unique approach to developing alternative biotechnology-based ingredients perfectly aligns with our vision of a more sustainable future. By working together with other beauty players, we can leverage our collective expertise and resources wherever our collective efforts can have a meaningful purpose."

Sanford Browne, President of Research and Innovation for North America for L'Oréal, said: "This move not only aligns with our objective of delivering responsible and innovative beauty solutions to consumers but also strengthens our innovation ecosystem in North America. It's a clear signal of our willingness to collaborate with partners who share our commitment to sustainability and reducing our environmental impact to create beauty that transforms the world."