L'Oreal USA to go carbon neutral with landfill gas

L'Oreal USA on Thursday said it will purchase renewable natural gas (RNG) from a new facility in Kentucky to reach carbon neutrality for all its 21 US sites in 2019.

The cosmetics group has signed a 15-year agreement to buy some 40% of the RNG produced from the Big Run Landfill in Ashland. It noted the contract was key to securing financing for the project. The plant that will clean the landfill gas so that it can be used as RNG will be built by Ultra Capital-owned Big Run Power Producers. Construction will start in March and is expected to be completed this year. The RNG purchased by L'Oreal USA will be directed into the interstate natural gas transmission system. The company said that to make the project financially sustainable it will sell its environmental attributes into the transportation fuels market for about five years, during which time it plans to purchase carbon offsets from an EPA award-winning RNG site. It added this is a pioneering approach that could serve as a model to support new RNG projects.

"This accomplishment would not have been possible without our team's determination to tackle the carbon emissions from our own heating systems, a difficult challenge shared across industries," said Jay Harf, vice president of environment, health, safety and sustainability for L'Oréal Operations Americas. "We are proud to have found a local solution and approach with the potential to be replicated at landfills across the country," Harf added.

L'Oreal USA has achieved 100% renewable electricity use for its 21 manufacturing and distribution facilities in the US. The company has 17 renewable energy systems across the country, including on-site solar in Arkansas, New Jersey and Kentucky, and wind turbines in Texas.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!