L'Oréal Canada and the L'Oréal Kids childcare centre proudly inaugurate a beehive and an urban vegetable garden at the Ville Saint-Laurent operations centre

The Canadian cosmetics giant's operations center, which became carbon-neutral in December 2017, continues its ongoing commitment to sustainable development.

VILLE SAINT-LAURENT, QC, June 14, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - L'Oréal Canada along with the L'Oréal Kids childcare centre inaugurated a beehive and an urban vegetable garden yesterday at the Ville Saint-Laurent center. The Canadian cosmetics giant's operations center, which became carbon-neutral in December 2017, continues its ongoing commitment to sustainable development with an ecoresponsible green project that will mobilize future generations.

L'Oréal has long been recognized for its various commitments namely to consumer safety, environmental protection and employee well-being. For the past few years, given the urgency to act in order to preserve the environment and ensure the survival of the planet, companies have been playing an increasingly important role and their influence is considerable. This is why as part of its global sustainable development program, Sharing Beauty With All, launched in 2013, L'Oréal set itself a series of tangible commitments towards 2020 that address all its impacts and engage its whole value chain ? from product design to distribution, including the production process and the sourcing of raw materials as well as supporting neighbouring communities.  Canada has taken these commitments very seriously and both installations, the operations centre and the childcare centre, have proudly become 100% carbon-neutral.

"We think beauty can be conveyed in different ways, namely through the environment and biodiversity. This is why we have initiated several other commitments in terms of sustainable development, like the project we are inaugurating today," explained Karine De Bellefeuille, Director, Quality, Maintenance, EHS and Continuous improvement at L'Oréal Canada. "This morning's event is a perfect example of an initiative that we are proud to support," she concluded.

Thanks to the beehive and urban vegetable garden project, the 67 children who attend the L'Oréal Kids childcare centre will not only be made aware of the environment but they will also understand the importance of local sourcing, of healthy eating habits in addition to learning basic notions of teamwork and socialisation.

This project was made possible through an exclusive collaboration between L'Oréal Canada, MicroHabitat, Alvéole and the Caisse Desjardins de Bois-Francs ? Bordeaux ? Cartierville, whose representatives attended the event.

"The Caisse Desjardins de Bois-Franc?Bordeaux?Cartierville is very proud to have contributed over $5,000 to the L'Oréal Kids childcare center's MicroHabitat project," mentions Pauline Cailliau, General Management, Communications and Associative Affairs Assistant. "Choosing Desjardins means having an important impact on people's lives and their communities. Supporting youth education through this project of building awareness of urban agriculture and healthy lifestyles is perfectly in line with the values of our cooperative."

"It is with great pride that MicroHabitat has committed along with L'Oréal to improving the environment and the eating habits of children with the launch of an organic vegetable garden at the L'Oréal Kids childcare center in Montreal," indicated Orlane Parlet, co-owner of the company. "This is a concrete action that will help to ensure a greener future for us all."

"Alvéole is very pleased to be collaborating on this educational project for L'Oréal's childcare center," explained Etienne Lapierre, the group's co-founder. "Thanks to beehives, urban children have the opportunity to (re)connect with nature in the city."

Through this project, the concerned efforts of these four stakeholders represent the promise of increased well-being for future generations, and everyone is eagerly awaiting the initial results!

About L'Oréal Canada
L'Oréal Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of the L'Oréal Group, the largest cosmetics company in the world. Headquartered in Montreal, L'Oréal Canada had sales of $1.192 billion in 2017 and employs more than 1,300 people. The company holds a portfolio of 39 brands, encompassing all aspects of beauty, and is present across all distribution networks: mass market, department stores, salons, pharmacies, and brand boutiques.

About Sharing Beauty with All
As part of its sustainability programme, Sharing Beauty With All, L'Oréal set itself a series of ambitious commitments concerning sustainable development and engaging its entire value chain towards 2020.

The Sharing Beauty With All program is organized into four pillars:

• Innovating sustainably, to reduce the environmental footprint of products and formulas;
• Producing sustainably, to reduce the environmental footprint of the plants and distribution centres;
• Living sustainably, to empower consumers to make sustainable choices;
• Developing sustainably, by sharing growth with the Group's internal and external stakeholders (communities, suppliers and employees).

To find out more about the programme: https://sharingbeautywithall.loreal.com

SOURCE L'Oréal Canada Inc.