Alexandra Palt is a leading sustainability speaker and changemaker, renowned for her work at the intersection of corporate responsibility, environmental action and social justice.
As the chief corporate responsibility officer of L’Oréal and CEO of the L’Oréal Foundation, she has helped redefine what sustainability means for a global business.
We spoke to Alexandra to explore the role of gender equality in sustainability, how brands can lead ecological transformation, and what it takes to embed purpose at the heart of corporate strategy.
Why is gender equality an essential pillar in any company’s sustainability strategy? And what are the broader societal and economic implications of failing to prioritise it?
How can a company consider not placing gender equality at the top of its priorities? There are so many reasons for this that I had assumed it was a given by now. But, if we must repeat it, of course we need half of the world’s talent and competences.
Given the global situation we’re in, it is simply not viable to ignore the talents and contributions of women. We cannot build the future, whether it’s the future of society or the future of business, without their full participation.
And it’s not just about utilising talent. The world must also work for women. If it doesn’t, we create societies that don’t function properly. We already know that gender inequality is bad for economies. Those with greater gender parity tend to perform better.
So yes, there are economic and business imperatives. But, above all, it is a moral one.
You served as CEO of the L’Oréal Foundation while also leading the company’s sustainability transformation. Can you describe how these dual roles intersected, and how they helped shape L’Oréal’s internal and external impact strategies?
I had two main roles at L’Oréal. The first involved leading the internal transition to a new, more sustainable business model, working alongside my colleagues and partners. This was about internal transformation.
My second role focused on L’Oréal’s external contribution to society. Historically, in the Anglo-Saxon world — particularly the United States — philanthropy has played a strong role through large financial donations, but often with less focus on internal change. In Europe, the opposite has been true: companies focus more on internal transformation, while relying on the welfare state to address social issues.
But today, both are needed. We cannot continue with business as usual. Companies must undergo deep internal transformation and, at the same time, use their financial and strategic resources to help solve the world’s most pressing challenges.
As head of L’Oréal’s philanthropic initiatives, I oversaw both the Foundation and a charitable endowment fund dedicated to supporting women. We funded grassroots and community organisations worldwide. Additionally, each L’Oréal brand was committed to making a social impact, and I worked to shape their strategies in alignment with this vision.
What role will sustainability play in the future of global brands? And what fundamental shifts do you believe companies must make in order to truly embed sustainability into their core business models?
I believe the future of all brands, not just L’Oréal’s, will centre around sustainability. It will no longer be a side project. Sustainability must become central to everything a company does.
The first major step is to bring the right innovations to market. In the case of cosmetics, that might mean waterless products, solid shampoos, or new product formats that reduce environmental impact.
Next, we must raise awareness among consumers — why these innovations are not just good, but necessary for sustainability. Education and transparency will be key.
And then, we must move towards what we call choice editing. At some point, we must stop placing on the market products that do not offer improved environmental performance. We need to shift to a reality where only sustainable products are available — where more sustainable choices become the only choices.
That’s the next level of maturity that companies need to reach in the coming years — if we want to survive as a species. Quite simply, that’s the path forward.
Back in 2012, you launched the “Sharing Beauty with All” programme, which marked a significant shift in L’Oréal’s sustainability journey. What was the vision behind this initiative, and how did it set the stage for the company’s broader ecological transition?
Sharing Beauty with All was L’Oréal’s first-generation sustainability commitment. At the time, CEO Jean-Paul Agon had a clear ambition to build a transformative strategy for the company. He often said the two biggest challenges of the 21st century would be digital and sustainability — and in 2012, we were already preparing for both.
We decided to create a strategy for ecological transition that covered our entire value chain. We didn’t take shortcuts or pick only the easy wins. We assessed our impact across the full value chain and worked on every area, to reduce our environmental footprint and improve our social impact.
This programme allowed us to develop both experience and maturity, which later became the foundation for our next phase: L’Oréal for the Future. Thanks to Sharing Beauty with All, we were ready to be more ambitious and comprehensive in our sustainability strategy.
Reflecting on the outcomes of “Sharing Beauty with All,” what were the key achievements and lessons learned? And how did they inform the development of your next-generation strategy, “L’Oréal for the Future”?
We achieved most of our targets and even exceeded some, such as reducing the carbon footprint of our industrial activity by 80%. That was a major success. Other goals were more challenging, and as environmental science evolved, we realised we needed to adapt. We revised our targets to better address the most critical issues.
Overall, the programme was a great success. In 2020, we launched L’Oréal for the Future, our next-generation sustainability strategy. What makes it different is a shift in mindset. Instead of asking, What is our impact, and how can we reduce it?, we now ask, What does the world actually need from us?
We based the strategy on science, specifically the concept of planetary boundaries. We asked: What must we do so that by 2030, L’Oréal operates fully within the limits of what the planet can sustain?
This led to ambitious goals, like using 100% recycled plastic in our packaging and ensuring 95% of our ingredients are bio-based or derived from green chemistry. It sparked a total transformation within the organisation.
What made this ambition possible is that we started early. We learned that with the right mindset, many things are possible. Sustainability awareness has grown deeply within the company, and that has empowered us to push forward — with ambition, and with resilience through the challenges that come with it.
