BEAUTY OF OUR PRODUCT

Our products have an important role to play in building a sustainable future. To respond to evolving social and environmental challenges, sustainability is at the heart of our product creation, from design and development through to the procurement of materials.

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Sustainable Innovation

We are changing the way we design, formulate, and manufacture, creating innovative products that deliver improved sustainability performance.

The design of our products is a key lever to reducing our impact on the environment. Our approach puts sustainability at the core of our design process and strategy. We evaluate the sustainability profile of new products using our internal qualitative tool, the Beauty That Lasts Index.

The Index integrates sustainability criteria into the packaging and formula development process, allowing us to consider product impacts and make decisions accordingly. We continue to evolve our eco-design approach as we strive for more quantitative ways to assess product impact, including through industry initiatives like SPICE and the EcoBeautyScore Consortium.

Coty’s Product Development Focus Areas

GOOD FOR THE PEOPLE

Formulating with vegan and cruelty-free ingredients

GOOD FOR THE PLANET

Minimizing the environmental impact of materials, packaging and product use

GOOD TO BE NATURAL

Using biotechnologies and natural ingredients

GOOD FOR ME

Designing with the principles of clean beauty

Coty’s Product Development Focus Areas

GOOD FOR THE PLANET

Minimizing the environmental impact of materials, packaging and product use

GOOD FOR THE PEOPLE

Formulating with vegan and cruelty-free ingredients

GOOD FOR ME

Designing with the principles of clean beauty

GOOD TO BE NATURAL

Using biotechnologies and natural ingredients

SPOTLIGHT ON

CARBON-CAPTURED ALCOHOL

In 2021, Coty announced a strategic partnership with carbon recycling experts, LanzaTech, which has enabled us to innovate and integrate carbon-captured alcohol into our fragrance portfolio.

In 2023, we launched the world’s first globally distributed fragrance manufactured using 100% carbon-captured alcohol: Where My Heart Beats Eau de Parfum from Gucci’s The Alchemist’s Garden collection. Through this approach, carbon emissions which would typically be released into the atmosphere are recycled into alcohol pure enough for use in fine fragrances. This process also uses less water and reduces the need for agricultural land compared to traditional methods of alcohol production. "This is an inspiring example for sustainability being the ultimate driver of innovation. Beyond the science, there is something magical in upcycling industrial emissions into alcohol pure enough for use in fine fragrances."
Coty Chief Scientific & Sustainability Officer, Dr. Shimei Fan.

OUR FORMULAS

In developing our product formulas, our Research & Development function strives to leverage the best that nature and science have to offer.

GREEN SCIENCE

Through the application of Green Science, we use the latest innovation and technology to minimize the pressure of our products on natural resources. We work together with our ingredient suppliers to integrate Green Science through three key pillars: green chemistry, biotechnology and biomimicry, and green extraction.

Several of the ingredients we use, including peptides and antioxidants, are synthesized using the principles of green chemistry, while some of our active ingredients are produced using biotechnology.

Biotechnology harnesses biological processes and living organisms to transform, amplify and create molecules that deliver functional benefits within our products. Through plant cell culture, for example, some effective active ingredients can be produced using only a small portion of a plant with a reduced impact on nature. Many of our product formulas are also inspired by biomimicry, enabling us to replicate the functional benefits of natural processes or ingredients with minimal impact on nature – meaning we can get the best out of it without the need to harvest raw materials.

SPOTLIGHT ON

ORVEDA

French skincare brand Orveda has strong roots in biotechnology, prioritizing its use to develop active ingredients. One of three signature ingredients present in most Orveda products is Kombucha extract (Saccharomyces Xylinum Black Tea Ferment), a fermented sugared black tea that is extremely effective. Kombucha extract is developed using biofermentation. By using microorganisms to transform a natural substance, this process delivers new benefits including radiance and freshness.

CLEAN BEAUTY

We recognize that consumers want to know more about what is in their products, while also having the freedom to make product choices based on their ingredients. We respond to this demand through our clean program. For Coty, clean beauty means developing efficient formulas that use the minimal ingredients necessary to deliver superior performance. Coty scientists monitor scientific literature, retailer clean programs and the wider consumer and regulatory landscapes to inform ingredient choices for our clean products.

Our program is designed to be dynamic and updated as the expectations of our consumers and retailers evolve. The clean program goes above and beyond current regulatory requirements.

Across our portfolio we have several clean products and ranges including CK Everyone, Sally Hansen Good.Kind.Pure, COVERGIRL Clean Fresh Collection and Cleantopia, Rimmel Kind & Free, and the Lancaster Sun Sensitive range.

PACKAGING

Packaging plays an important role in protecting our products and informing our consumers, but it is also a significant contributor to our environmental footprint. To minimize this impact, we aim to use less and better packaging, and our strategy focuses on four ‘Rs’ – Reduce, Recycled, Recyclable, Reuse/Refill. We work brand by brand to roll this strategy out across Coty.

Since 2018, we have been a member of the Sustainable Packaging Initiative for Cosmetics (SPICE): an initiative that brings together the world’s cosmetics organizations to move the whole industry towards more sustainable packaging.

We deploy the SPICE simplified Life Cycle Assessment Tool to support eco-design in packaging development.

We are also committed to reducing the impact that our packaging has on forests. For paper and wood-based packaging, we strive to work with suppliers who are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) certified, as outlined in our Deforestation Policy.

SPOTLIGHT ON

REFILLABLE FRAGRANCES

Coty’s first refillable fragrance, launched in November 2022, was Chloé Rose Naturelle Intense. An independent product life cycle assessment found that compared to five traditional 50 ml bottles, a 100 ml bottle of Chloé Rose Naturelle Intense, combined with a 150 ml refill, reduced greenhouse gas emissions by up to 65%, water consumption by 67%, energy consumption by 66%, and mineral resources consumption by 75%.

Responsible Sourcing

Our products are made with ingredients sourced from all over the world. It is therefore vitally important that we source them responsibly. For Coty, this means actively sourcing products and services in an ethical, sustainable and socially conscious way.

Our Responsible Sourcing Framework ensures our purchasing decisions are made through the lens of sustainability. The framework covers sourcing fundamentals such as risk assessment and audit, ingredients and traceability, and our approach managing impacts on people in our supply chain and the planet we source from.

Sustainability is integrated into each of our procurement category strategies, complementing our dedicated responsible sourcing strategy.

We also work collaboratively with organizations such as AIM-Progress, a network of businesses dedicated to promoting responsible sourcing practices, and we are a founding member of the Responsible Beauty Initiative (RBI), a beauty industry effort to improve sustainability across supply chains by sharing best practices and processes.

SUPPLIER ASSESSMENTS

We require suppliers to adhere to our Code of Conduct for Business Partners (CoC), which sets out our expectations for anti-corruption, data privacy and human and labor rights, among other practices. Compliance with the CoC or agreed equivalent is a requirement for working with us. We include the CoC when requesting quotes from suppliers and embed it within the Terms and Conditions of purchase orders.

We monitor supplier social and environmental performance through third party assessments, including EcoVadis scorecards, SEDEX self-assessment questionnaires and on-site audits. After signing the CoC, all sites are run through an assessment process which assigns them a risk level based on the likelihood of non-compliance.

Low- and medium-risk sites are required to provide evidence of their sustainability performance using SEDEX and EcoVadis tools. For high-risk sites, suppliers are audited against the four pillars of the SEDEX SMETA protocol. We have clear supplier targets against these tools, and we engage with all our suppliers to drive improvements. Coty has a grievance process in place to help sustain supplier performance, which can result in moving business away from a partner over a period of time if meaningful improvements are not made.

Materials and Traceability

We pay particular attention to those raw materials which present the greatest potential risk for harmful impacts, including palm oil and mica.

PALM OIL

Coty is a member of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and committed to purchasing palm oil-based ingredients from RSPO mass balance certified sources. As part of our commitment to improve transparency in the supply chain, we joined Action for Sustainable Derivatives (ASD), and also publish details of the business partners supplying Coty with materials containing palm oil derivatives.

This list represents the majority of our business partners supplying Coty materials containing palm oil derivatives. It will evolve over time as we continue to engage with suppliers on this topic to improve transparency.

MICA

We use mica, a naturally occurring mineral, in many of our products to provide a pearlescent effect. Coty sources from different regions, including the Eastern states of India where, due to a variety of factors, poor working conditions exist including significant human rights challenges.

We are a founding and Board member of the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI): a multi-stakeholder action group aiming to establish a 100% sustainable Indian mica supply chain by 2030. This target is delivered through the three pillars of the RMI framework:

• Responsible Workplace Standards
• Community Empowerment programs
• Legal Frameworks for mica workers

Product Stewardship & Safety

Ensuring that our products meet the highest standards of safety is a top priority for Coty and integral to maintaining the trust of our consumers.

Our product development process is overseen by our R&D function, which is led by our Chief Scientific Officer. Our Product Global Safety Process determines the workflow for our product risk and safety assessments through each stage of the product development process. These assessments are conducted by our qualified safety experts, starting at the earliest stages of preconception and development, all the way through to production and market surveillance.

All our products are developed, manufactured and packaged in compliance with the laws and regulations applicable in each country in which they are sold. As part of this process, our in vitro testing laboratories in Monaco are Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) compliant and undergo a compliance renewal every two years from local authorities, in alignment with local regulation.

Our scientific experts also monitor ingredients that are under regulatory scrutiny and seek to address the associated concerns and, if necessary, coordinate any required reformulations to meet applicable regulatory deadlines. These ingredients and materials are referred to as HPIMs (High Profile Ingredients and Materials).

Once on the market, we monitor the human safety of our products through consumer feedback. Consumers can share feedback using the contact details on our website. Our Consumer Affairs group monitors and manages queries relating to our products, classifying any complaints by severity, and monitoring for trends. In case of health-related complaints or concerns, our global Cosmetovigilance group produces expert medical case assessments, trend analysis and feedback for product development, as well as reporting to authorities.

COTY AGAINST ANIMAL TESTING

At Coty, we do not test our products on animals, and we are fully committed to ending animal testing across the beauty industry. Our Animal Testing Policy sets out our belief that the way forward lies in alternatives to animal testing. Several of our brands are Leaping Bunny approved by Cruelty Free International.