Estée Lauder Achieves Net Zero Emissions

(Credit: Estée Lauder Companies)

The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) announced that it has achieved Net Zero emissions and sourced 100% renewable electricity globally for its direct operations, reaching the target it set on joining RE100. The company has also met its goal to set science-based emissions reduction targets for its direct operations and value chain, positioning the company to take even more decisive action against climate change in the coming decade.

To achieve its Net Zero emissions and RE100 goals by 2020, ELC focused first on reducing its operational carbon footprint by deploying high-quality solutions and investing in projects bringing additional renewable energy to the grid. The portfolio approach includes signing a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) for 22 megawatts (MW) of wind power from the Ponderosa wind farm in Oklahoma, which is the company’s largest renewable energy agreement to-date. The Ponderosa wind farm alone will cover more than half of the company’s electricity footprint with renewable energy technologies.

ELC further added to its global renewable energy portfolio by installing ground-mount and rooftop on-site solar arrays at its facilities around the world, bringing the company’s global total to more than 5 MW of solar capacity. In markets where ELC operations have a comparatively smaller carbon footprint, the company procured renewable energy certificates (RECs) or their international equivalent to support local renewable energy generation. To address any remaining annual emissions from operations, ELC purchased offsets from the Massachusetts Tri-City Forestry project in North America, which protects 6,500 acres of public forestland from significant commercial timber harvesting and ensures long-term sustainable management of the forest.

ELC’s new climate targets address Scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions and are independently validated and approved by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi):

• The Estée Lauder Companies commits to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 50% by 2030 from a 2018 base year. This target is consistent with reductions required to keep warming to 1.5°C, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement.
• The Estée Lauder Companies also commits to reduce scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services, upstream transportation and distribution, and business travel 60% per unit revenue over the same timeframe. This target for the emissions from ELC’s value chain (Scope 3) meets the SBTi’s criteria for ambitious value chain goals, meaning they are in line with current best practice.

In February, Energy + Environmental Leader questioned Nancy Mahon, SVP of global corporate citizenship and sustainability for the Estée Lauder Companies, to find out how the company planned to achieve net zero. You can read the full Q&A about the details here.