A group of 36 major personal care and cosmetics companies including Unilever, The Estée Lauder Companies and L’Oréal Groupe announced the launch of the EcoBeautyScore Consortium, a new initiative to develop an industry-wide environmental impact assessment and scoring system for cosmetics products.

According to the companies, the new system aims to help provide consumers with clear, transparent, and comparable environmental impact information, addressing the growing demand for transparency about the environmental impact of cosmetics products.

Working with sustainability consultancy Quantis, the new consortium is developing an assessment methodology and scoring system based on a common method for measuring environmental impacts throughout the lifecycle of products, a database of environmental impact of standard ingredients and raw materials used in formulas and packaging, and during product usage. The consortium aims to provide a tool that will enable non-experts to assess the environmental impact of individual products, and a harmonized scoring system enabling companies to inform consumers about the environmental footprint of their cosmetic products, on a voluntary basis, verified by independent parties.

The consortium aims to have a footprinting and scoring prototype in place by the end of 2022.

EcoBeautyScore Consortium members include Amorepacific, Babor, Beiersdorf, Colgate-Palmolive, Cosmébio, COSMED, Cosmetic Valley, Cosmetics Europe, cosnova, Coty, The Estée Lauder Companies, Eugène Perma, FEBEA, The Fragrance Creators Association, Henkel, IKW Beauty Care, The International Fragrance Association, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., JUST International AG, Kao, L’Oréal Groupe, LVMH, Nafigate, NAOS, Natrue, Natura &Co, NOHBA, Oriflame, P&G, Paragon Nordic, Puig, PZ Cussons, Shiseido, Sisley, STANPA, Unilever. The consortium remains open for other companies and associations to join.