As Earth Day approaches on April 22, The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) is showcasing how sustainability is considered throughout the product lifecycle—from initial design decisions to end-of-life solutions—while supporting consumers in making choices that benefit both themselves and the planet. ELC continues to be guided by the belief that thoughtful innovation can deliver both elevated experiences and long-term environmental progress.

From sourcing raw ingredients to shaping products’ end-of-life, ELC strives to elevate the consumer experience while prioritizing quality, sustainability, and safety across its portfolio of prestige beauty brands.

Ingredient Transparency & Responsible Sourcing
Trust begins with transparency. ELC is committed to helping consumers understand what’s in the products they love and how the company manages them responsibly. In fiscal year 2024, it published its first corporate ingredient glossary with more than 100 key ingredients, providing greater insight into its products.

The company also focuses on sensitive ingredients by developing biodiversity and social action plans to mitigate risks and promote sustainable practices. To support these efforts, ELC consolidates spend with strategic suppliers to promote best practices in biodiversity preservation and social impact programs. For example, its 15-year partnership with the Kutkabubba Aboriginal Community (KAC) of Western Australia led to the creation of Dutjahn Sandalwood Oils, a 50% Aboriginal-owned venture. This collaboration promotes economic stability, preserves traditions, and includes tree replanting efforts.

ELC also tailors solutions to the supply chain and local context. One example is TRASCE, a consortium of cosmetics industry companies enhancing traceability in key ingredients and packaging supply chains using a common digital platform. Additionally, the company encourages sharing information and best practices related to ingredient traceability and sourcing. This includes the Action for Sustainable Derivatives (ASD), an alliance of brands and suppliers addressing sourcing challenges in complex derivative supply chains by harmonizing approaches on transparency, risk monitoring, and evaluation.

Innovation & Formulation
ELC’s approach to innovation and product formulation reflects its commitment to thoughtful design and sustainability. For more than a decade, it has advanced green chemistry—a science-based framework that guides ingredient selection and product design through the lens of human health, ecosystem health, and environmental impact.

Central to its sustainability efforts is the Green Score program, a proprietary methodology that guides formulators in assessing and scoring raw materials and formulations. This program drives decision-making across skin care, makeup, and hair care portfolios, fostering sustainable ingredient innovation and supplier engagement. In fiscal year 2024, ELC held green chemistry meetings in Shanghai, including at its China Innovation Labs, with its global and APAC scientific advisory boards. These discussions led to the publication of “Advancing Green Chemistry Performance: The Estée Lauder Companies’ Continuing Journey Towards Meaningful Transparency,” detailing the second iteration of its green chemistry tool for more accurate formulation guidance, in the peer-reviewed journal Green Chemistry.

Packaging Design
Packaging is often the first touchpoint between ELC products and consumers—a moment of connection and delight. It also presents an opportunity to advance sustainability goals. Over the past five years, ELC’s Packaging Sustainability Guidelines have guided teams in creating high-quality, functional, and luxurious packaging tailored to each brand. This work is approached through the “5 Rs”—recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled, or recoverable—helping evaluate and improve packaging solutions across the portfolio.

The Shopping Experience
ELC’s retail footprint and broad online presence offer unique opportunities to support environmental targets while engaging consumers. As its e-commerce business has grown, the company has strengthened its online sustainability strategy by offering carbon-neutral shipping options across 16 countries, offsetting transportation emissions for purchases on select brand websites.

Additionally, the Responsible Store Design (RSD) program, an internally developed, third-party assured initiative, helps retail locations optimize store build-out, energy and water use, sourcing of materials, visual merchandising, day-to-day operations, and in-store technology and innovation.

Refill & Take-Back Programs
Consumers are central to ELC’s end-to-end sustainability strategy. The company aims to make it easier for them to participate in sustainability efforts through programs that promote responsible and ethical practices. In certain markets, it offers ways for consumers to recycle, refill, or return spent product packaging through in-store takeback programs. Several brands like Aveda, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Clinique, DECIEM, and M·A·C offer these programs, allowing consumers to engage with the circular economy.

Partnership Beyond Products
ELC also recognizes the need to drive further environmental impact beyond products and operations, which is why it works with cross-sector and multilateral partners, leveraging its convening power as a global organization. For example, the company assembled and supported numerous events and onstage conversations alongside the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and during Climate Week NYC in September 2024.

Its commitment extends to supporting the communities where it lives, works, and sources. Through these comprehensive efforts, ELC aims to support programs at the intersection of environmental sustainability and social impact. Some of these initiatives include:

Project Lampung: In fiscal year 2024, ELC partnered with BASF, RSPO, and the NGO Solidaridad to work with smallholder Indonesian palm oil farmers. This initiative provided technical education and training for more than 1,000 farmers, with more than 300 receiving official RSPO certification, which helped them participate in a more sustainable palm oil market.

Conservation International Partnership: Since 2021, The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation (ELCCF) has supported Indigenous women through Conservation International's Amazonia Indigenous Women's Fellowship program. This work provides Indigenous women leaders with training and investment to implement initiatives that strengthen their communities and conserve high-carbon forests across the Amazon.

This Earth Day, as it celebrates the beauty of the planet, ELC invites everyone to follow its sustainability journey. With every product, every initiative, and every consumer choice, the company aims to help build a world where beauty and responsibility are interconnected.