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The Estée Lauder Companies Demonstrates its Commitment to a Healthier Planet at a Beach Clean-up with La Mer UK
Company Feature, 22 Jul 2019
At The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), we are committed to taking positive actions to ensure a healthier planet for all. We prioritise the management and reduction of our environmental impact globally and work to preserve and protect the health and beauty of this planet for future generations. We aim to fully embed sustainability and corporate citizenship across our business, and with a portfolio of +30 brands worldwide, there are significant opportunities for meaningful engagement with the causes that matter to us as a business, our employees, consumers and partners.
ELC volunteers clear litter from the beach and sea
On Friday 12th July, 40 volunteers from across our brands and functions joined La Mer UK to clean Whitstable beach in Kent. The clean-up took place in partnership with ‘Till the Coast is Clear’, a social enterprise that works with businesses, organisations and charities to help tackle marine plastic pollution. Volunteers spent the day clearing litter on the beach and in the sea whilst learning about how we can make small but effective changes in order to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean, and ultimately have a positive impact on the planet.
For over a decade, La Mer has been committed to protecting the oceans and have set up the La Mer Blue Heart Oceans Fund. Alongside a devoted community of advocates, explorers and scientists, La Mer has to date donated over $5 million to ocean conservation projects and helped support the protection of 16 million miles of unique marine habitats across the globe. With ocean plastic pollution being such a pressing issue around the world, La Mer is helping to drive understanding and progress towards solving this important issue within ELC and beyond.
ELC and La Mer also donated £50 per participant to Till the Coast is Clear to further its programmes within ocean clean-ups and education. We will also match the individual hourly volunteering rate via our employee giving and volunteering platform, Good Works, which matches employees’ philanthropic donations and volunteer hours, sending the proceeds to their chosen charities. During FY19, Good Works UK saw an employee engagement rate of 35% versus the industry standard of 11%. By 2025, ELC aims for 50% of our employees around the world to be involved in regional, brand or local volunteer programmes such as ELC Good Works, the Breast Cancer Campaign and the M·A·C Global Volunteer programme.
ELC Volunteers and La Mer UK Team at Whitstable Beach
Family values and a challenger spirit sit at the core of ELC’s culture and this unique mix translates into a collaborative, compassionate and compelled workplace with a focus on achieving long-term sustainable growth. Our success is driven by our people and culture and we are extremely proud of the collaboration and passion that our people demonstrate across all areas of the business, and with regards to sustainability and corporate citizenship.
ELC’s long-term success depends on our ability to make conscious decisions to embed sustainable practices and community engagement along our value chain. The collaborative, challenger spirit embodied by our people will be critical to the sustainable growth of the business, and we’re proud to see this come to life on a global and local scale.
