Expanscience, a B Corp-certified company with a mission, announces that its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction trajectory has been approved by the Science-Based Targets (SBTi) initiative. Expanscience's targets for 2030 and 2050 are thus recognized as compatible with limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, in line with the recommendations of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
" Expanscience's raison d'être is to contribute to the well-being of individuals, and our activities are intrinsically linked to life and biodiversity. Contributing to the achievement of global climate objectives, and protecting and preserving biodiversity is therefore one of our major objectives as a company with a mission. We are adapting our activities and embarking on a low-carbon transition to help preserve the health of ecosystems and human beings, in line with the recommendations of the IPCC. ", says Karen Lemasson, Expanscience's CSR and Open Innovation Director.
Work on all stages of the product life cycle to achieve these objectives
Composed of experts from leading global organizations - the Carbon Disclosure Project, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - SBTi assists companies in defining their decarbonization objectives, taking into account climate science projections. SBTi independently evaluates and validates these objectives according to strict criteria, attesting to the fact that the company's GHG reduction trajectory is compatible with the IPCC's recommendations: global warming must not exceed +1.5°C compared with pre-industrial levels, in order to avoid irreversible runaway effects for the planet and its inhabitants.
For Laboratoires Expanscience, the validation of the carbon trajectory by this international initiative means :
- A 35 % reduction in GHG emissions by 20301 and 81% by 20502 compared with 2019,
- Sustainable storage of Expanscience's incompressible GHG emissions through the use of natural carbon sinks (trees, soils, plants, etc.) by 2050.3.
To achieve these objectives, Expanscience works on every stage in the life cycle of its products: energy management, raw material selection, packaging and product distribution.
In particular, this implies reducing or even halting air transport in favor of sea or land transport, a transition already successfully implemented in Latin America. Expanscience is also looking to find more environmentally-friendly shipping alternatives, such as cargo ships powered by diesel engines.
The Eure-et-Loir production and R&D site has already stepped up its decarbonization and energy-saving measures. The company is implementing numerous energy-saving measures, such as rationalizing the use of its gas-fired boilers, with the shutdown of one of its three boilers in 2022 and the mothballing of a second. It is also conducting a study into alternative projects involving heat recovery and the use of biomass, aimed at reducing gas consumption and replacing it with less carbon-intensive sources. This promising strategy could not only improve energy efficiency, but also significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a GHG reduction of around 67% compared with 2021. The project could also be deployed at Expanscience's plant raw materials processing site in Peru, should the results of the study prove satisfactory.
Another example is packaging: Laboratoires Expanscience is developing new bottles made largely from recycled raw materials, with a higher percentage of recyclability. At the same time, Expanscience is a member of "Pulp in action", a research and development project involving a consortium of 14 companies from the cosmetics industry, supported by the consulting firm (Re)set and in partnership with Febea (Fédération des Entreprises de la Beauté). Dedicated to the issue of packaging, the work carried out focuses on the use of cellulose fibers as an alternative to plastic.
Since 2004, an impact policy progressively integrated into corporate strategy
Laboratoires Expanscience's commitment to society and its quest for positive impact have guided the company for several decades. In 2004, Laboratoires Expanscience voluntarily signed up to the United Nations Global Compact, which defines a universal commitment framework for companies, based on ten principles relating to human rights, international labor standards, the environment and the fight against corruption.
In 2018, Expanscience became the first pharmaceutical and dermo-cosmetic laboratory in the world to obtain B Corp certification (renewed in 2021). Finally, in 2021, Laboratoires Expanscience chose to become a mission-driven company.
Expanscience has a long-term commitment to reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with its activities, notably through its Mustela brand. Expanscience carried out its first carbon assessment in 2008, and in 2019 will complete a full inventory of its emissions, integrating all the Group's activities and those of its international subsidiaries.
The validation of Laboratoires Expanscience's carbon trajectory by the Science-Based Target initiative thus marks a further step towards Expanscience's ecological transition, whose ambition is to contribute to the regeneration of ecosystems by 2040.
" We are more determined than ever to mobilize our teams, our partners, our suppliers and the players in our ecosystems. all along our value chain to do our part in contributing to global carbon neutrality. This means evolving, reviewing our business model and offerings, and even giving up certain activities that would be incompatible with planetary limits. ", concludes Karen Lemasson, CSR and Open Innovation Director.
1. Corresponds to a reduction of 46.2% on the totality of scopes 1 & 2 and a reduction of 46.2% on 73.05% of scope 3.
2. Corresponds to a reduction of 90% out of 95% for scopes 1 & 2 and a reduction of 90% out of 90% for scope 3.
3. A state of equilibrium between incompressible GHG emissions and their absorption by natural carbon sinks.
Photo taken from expanscience.com.
