The first rating tool which, through grades of A, B, C, or D, can be used to measure, improve and communicate information on the environmental and societal impact of cosmetics and family health products, based on a methodology which has been validated and endorsed by AFNOR certification.
Castres, June 10, 2021 – The Pierre Fabre Group is innovating with the launch of the Green Impact Index, a tool which enables the measurement and transparent communication of the environmental and societal impact of cosmetic and family health products. With the Green Impact Index, consumers will be informed of the eco-societal performance of the Group’s products, through a simple letter (A, B, C or D). A grade of A or B means that the product is eco-socio-designed to the extent that it meets a sufficient number of environmental and societal performance criteria in line with internationally recognized benchmarks.
In addition to informing consumers, the Green Impact Index will enable Pierre Fabre to improve the eco-societal profile of its products, in harmony with the objective of ensuring that half of its portfolio is eco-socio-designed by 2023. The tool has already been used internally for the past two years to ensure the eco-socio-design of products in the development stages (grade A or B).
The Green Impact Index was designed and developed by Green Mission Pierre Fabre, the Group entity that drives and brings together its environmental awareness and sustainable development initiatives. This work is based in particular on the 3,000 Life-Cycle Analyses (LCAs) that the Group has conducted for over 10 years in order to develop a methodology based on the evaluation of 20 criteria:
- 14 environmental impact criteria, divided among the eco-design of the packaging, the eco-design of the formula, the impact of the manufacturing of the product and the transportation of raw materials. These 14 criteria represent two thirds of the final score.
- Six societal impact criteria, including Made in France, Bio, Fair Trade, Origine France Garantie and Vegan certifications or labeling, as well as the brand’s corporate social responsibility programs. These 6 criteria represent one third of the final score.
The reliability and validity of the methodology have been assessed and endorsed by AFNOR Certification, an independent third-party organization. AFNOR Certification will conduct an annual audit to verify and guarantee the reliability of the ratings carried out by Pierre Fabre on its products.
The Green Impact Index will be deployed progressively. The grades of the first products rated from the brands Avène, A-Derma, Ducray, Klorane, René Furterer, Naturactive, Elgydium and Arthrodont have already been published on the Group’s corporate website (link). These initial ratings cover a wide variety of categories (shampoos, dry shampoos, shower gels, face and body creams, acne treatments, toothpastes, essential oils, dietary supplements, etc.) in order to demonstrate the ability of the Green Impact Index to adapt to all types of cosmetic and family health products. New products will be rated and listed monthly and grades will be posted directly on brand websites by the end of the year.
“The Green Impact Index is a response to the growing distrust on the part of consumers and patients when it comes to brands and their ability to respect the environment, demonstrate corporate social responsibility and communicate information on these subjects in a transparent and verifiable manner. At Pierre Fabre, we have always been dedicated to our work in these fields, and the Green Impact Index that we are launching today confirms this. For the first time, consumers will be able to choose a cosmetic or family health product with full knowledge of its eco-societal impact and with the assurance of reliable and detailed information, in a simple and straightforward manner,” says Eric Ducournau, CEO of the Pierre Fabre Group.
“The Green Impact Index is a simple, scientifically sound and transparent rating system. It will enable everyone to make informed choices which are in line with their beliefs, and will also allow people to consume more responsibly. Additionally, it will allow us to progress. The 20 criteria it uses already guide our researchers and engineers in their quest to improve the eco-socio-design of our products. These criteria also encourage our brands to participate in programs for biodiversity, therapeutic education, patient associations and the fight against social insecurity,” adds Florence Guillaume, Green Mission Pierre Fabre Vice President.
“We have over 10 years’ worth of experience and data from environmental analyses of products. Pierre Fabre was one of the pioneers of French and European development on environmental labeling and communication. Today, we are the first to offer a socio-environmental product rating system, which can be used with both cosmetic and family health products. Our methodology is particularly rigorous: it shifts the entire environmental scoring system to the phases of the product life cycle which are industry-led, and it’s based on officially recognized standards, labels and benchmarks,” continues Séverine Roullet-Furnemont, CSR & Sustainable Development Vice President at Green Mission Pierre Fabre.
Erwan Chagnot, ERSE AFNOR Expert Auditor, says: “With the Green Impact Index, Pierre Fabre is partaking in a process of transparency and continuous improvement whose reliability and validity we have assessed and confirmed. We are delighted that a group such as Pierre Fabre is taking part in the implementation of publishing information on the environmental and social performance of products, the principle of which has been endorsed by the recent French law pertaining to the combating of waste and the promotion of a circular economy (AGEC).”
About Green Mission Pierre Fabre
Launched in 2019, Green Mission Pierre Fabre is an entity and an interdisciplinary dynamic focusing on environmental awareness and the eco-social responsibility of activities and products. It brings together all of the Group’s CSR and sustainable development initiatives to ensure that Pierre Fabre does its part for the global objective of ensuring carbon neutrality in 2050, as set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
In this long-term perspective, the Pierre Fabre Group has set itself ambitious and measurable objectives in both the short and medium term:
- Since 2020, 100% of our new products have been eco-socio-designed
- By 2023, 50% of the product catalog will be eco-socio-designed
- By 2025, we will ensure a 30% reduction in our CO2 emissions as compared with 2015
- By 2025, we will ensure a 25% reduction in our energy consumption as compared with 2015
- By 2025, 25% of the energy used by our production plants will come from renewable sources
Since 2012, the Group’s CSR approach has been assessed by an external body according to ISO 26000. In 2015, AFNOR Certification awarded Pierre Fabre the “Exemplary” level of its AFAQ 26000 certification, which is a first for a French company with nearly 10,000 employees.
In 2020, Ecocert Environment assessed the Group’s corporate social and environmental responsibility approach in accordance with the ISO 26000 sustainable development standard for the 2nd consecutive year and confirmed its “Excellence” level.
About Pierre Fabre
“Pierre Fabre is the 2nd largest dermo-cosmetics laboratory in the world, the 2nd largest private French pharmaceutical group and the market leader in France for products sold over the counter in pharmacies. Its portfolio includes several medical franchises and international brands including Pierre Fabre Oncology, Pierre Fabre Dermatology, Eau Thermale Avène, Klorane, Ducray, René Furterer, A-Derma, Naturactive, Pierre Fabre Oral Care.
In 2020, Pierre Fabre generated €2.2 billion in revenues, 65% of which came from international sales.
Established in the Occitanie region since its creation, and manufacturing over 95% of its products in France, the Group employs some 10,000 people worldwide. Its products are distributed in about 130 countries.
Pierre Fabre is 86%-owned by the Pierre Fabre Foundation, a government-recognised public-interest foundation, and secondarily by its own employees through an international employee stock ownership plan.
Further information about Pierre Fabre can be found at www.pierre-fabre.com, @PierreFabre
