The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has a long history of innovating through the lens of sustainability and is dedicated to inspiring others to do the same. As part of these efforts, ELC previously released its unique green chemistry methodology, which is used throughout the product formulation process to assess and measure the sustainability of ingredients and formulas using green chemistry principles. ELC’s formulators in labs worldwide continue to use this tool to guide innovation for greener alternatives and to assess new product launches across ELC’s in-house portfolio of prestige beauty products while maintaining performance standards. Concurrently, the company has continued to share its approach externally with the personal care products industry, scientific research community, and mainstream audiences to further encourage sustainable innovation—not only for ELC but for the world.
Most recently, Heidi Bialk, Vice President, Global Product Safety & Green Chemistry, spoke at TEDxBoston’s inaugural Planetary Stewardship Event, a two-day event with the aim of elevating transformative ideas on climate and establishing a hub for driving powerful ideas toward global climate and sustainability solutions. During Heidi’s “The Beauty of Green Chemistry” talk, she gave the audience an inside look into how green chemistry is helping ELC’s formulators around the world keep up with the speed of innovation while making responsible decisions when it comes to the health and safety of our consumers and the planet.
In her talk, she shared the beauty behind ELC’s unique green chemistry methodology (also referred to as its Green Score), including how the tool enables ELC scientists to look at sustainability through a molecular lens when they formulate and its real-time application for Aveda’s Botanical Repair collection. “It’s one example of the transformative change at play — how a brand’s formulation philosophy, coupled with a robust and practical tool, has led to a fundamental shift in how we make our products on a molecular level,” Heidi explained. To close, Heidi challenged the innovators and formulators in the room—spanning personal care, food, pharma and other industries – to think about how they could each leverage this green chemistry methodology for their own industries and share technical insights and data beyond their own sectors to accelerate sustainability for the world.
The Beauty of Green Chemistry | Heidi Bialk | TEDxBoston
Heidi Bialk, Vice President, Global Product Safety & Green Chemistry, shares ELC’s approach to green chemistry with scientific leaders across the industry, academia, and nonprofits at TEDxBoston.
In addition to being highlighted at TEDxBoston, the Aveda Botanical Repair collection was also recently highlighted in a sustainability-focused article published in International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists magazine, a peer-reviewed publication featuring papers from leading cosmetic scientists around the world. In “The Art, Design and Science of Product Sustainability: A Brand Case Study,” authors from across ELC’s Product Stewardship, Research & Development, Packaging, and Environmental Health & Safety teams highlight how robust metrics and data can drive sustainability improvements across the product lifecycle, from formula design and sustainable packaging through to process manufacturing, and help achieve meaningful progress against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The article showcases ELC’s dedication to green chemistry and how Aveda’s formulation philosophy, in combination with Green Score insights, result in formulations with strong green chemistry performance and tangible environmental benefits.
ELC remains committed to furthering its green chemistry efforts and continuing to encourage others to innovate through the lens of sustainability. To learn more about ELC’s approach to embedding green chemistry throughout the end-to-end product development process, visit Green Chemistry at The Estée Lauder Companies.
