Building on its long-standing culture of innovation, L’Oréal want to further catalyse new breakthrough technologies, in support of its sustainability transformation, with the launch of an accelerator program.
This new initiative will help L’Oréal to identify, pilot and scale the solutions needed to address the continued challenges facing its industry – from sustainable ingredients and packaging materials to low-impact manufacturing processes.
AboutThis accelerator, developed by the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), will deliver ready-to-pilot and scalable innovative solutions through a 12-month business support programme. The programme aims to support companies to further pilot, develop and ultimately scale their solutions within L’Oréal's value chain and beyond. Run by our Canopy innovation experts, will actively seek and support startups, SMEs, and established companies with solutions prepared for trial in seven key innovation areas:
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Who is it for?We are seeking bold, start-ups, SMEs and established innovative companies from around the world working on deployment-ready innovations, ideally at TRL 7 or higher, that align with one or more of the seven key innovation areas outlined. Key Dates
Interested?The call for applications is open until 30th September 2025. Learn more and submit your application here. |
Accelerating transformation through sustainability innovation
CISL and L’Oréal are proud to launch a new Sustainable Innovation Accelerator, a 12-month programme designed to identify, support and scale breakthrough solutions that can drive the future of sustainable beauty. This programme is open to startups, SMEs and established innovative companies with feasible concepts ready for pilot testing aligned to 7 key environmental and social innovation challenges across the beauty sector.
What support do participants receive?
Successful applicants will join a 12-month programme that includes:
- A 12-week group accelerator delivered by CISL experts
- Up to 12 hours of 1:1 mentoring and coaching from global sustainability and industry leaders
- In-person or virtual peer-learning sessions
- The potential opportunity to co-develop pilot projects with L’Oréal*
- Leveraging CISL's sustainability expertise and L'Oréal's leading cosmetics industry position.
*N.B. participation in the programme does not guarantee future collaboration
The 7 Innovation Challenge Areas
We are seeking pioneering startups, SMEs, and innovative companies offering solutions in the following key challenge areas. These themes reflect L’Oréal’s most urgent sustainability priorities and align with global efforts to transform the beauty industry and beyond.
Low-carbon, climate-smart technologies
We’re looking for breakthrough solutions that dramatically reduce carbon emissions or enhance climate resilience across the value chain — from materials and packaging to energy systems and logistics. We are interested in any solutions included in the list below:
PACKAGING
- Innovative technologies and materials for spraying liquids (including no propellant systems, alternative aerosols)
- Decoration technologies to enable high-end packaging at low environmental impact (all packaging materials)
- Key enabling technologies for lower environmental impact of aluminium packaging (forming, shaping, assembling, coating and decoration)
- Key enabling technologies for lower environmental impact of glass packaging (forming, shaping, assembling, treatment or decoration)
INGREDIENTS
- Low-impact propellants
- Low-impact oleochemicals (C12-C14) for surfactants
INDUSTRY
- Fatal energy recovery solutions in plants or operated sites (monitoring, measurement, heat pumps, heat or energy storage without losses and better transfer yield)
- Solutions for hydrothermal gasification at industrial scale
- Solutions for biomethanisation of sludges or bulks at industrial scale
OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST
- Low-impact POS and promotional items
- Low impact logistics solutions, including alternative fuels, carbon reduction solutions, fuel efficiency, truck load optimization tools
- Solutions to measure, control and minimize the environmental impact of IT and digital footprint including AI
- Solutions for low impact digital workplace and employee engagement.
- Tech-based or nature-based solutions for permanent carbon capture and carbon removal
Water resilience solutions
Water is a critical resource in beauty manufacturing and use. We need processes, products and technology innovations that protect water quality, reduce consumption, and build resilience in water-scarce regions. We would like to engage with any solutions included in the list below:
PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGIES
- Waterless or water-efficient innovations for hygiene and beauty habits
- Solutions for clean water access for hygiene and beauty habits
- Water use reduction, water recycling & wastewater treatment solutions applicable to the cosmetic industry (residential, commercial or industrial)
- Packaging technologies and solutions for dispensing or dosing liquids/paste/powders
Nature-based solutions
Nature regeneration is central to climate, water, and biodiversity targets. We’re seeking nature-based solutions and supply chain interventions aimed at protecting, restoring and regenerating landscapes. We welcome applications in the following
PROTECTING, RESTORING AND REGENERATING LANDSCAPES
- Weather-resistant, drought-tolerant, high-yield crop varieties (incl. rapeseed, palm, sugar cane, maise)
- Tools and technologies for regenerative agriculture practices to improve adoption, transition time and profitability
- Nature or tech-based interventions to reinforce ecosystem health, including soil health, water-cycle regeneration and biodiversity enhancement
- Innovative low-impact inputs for sustainable soil management
DATA MANAGEMENT
- Tools and technologies to enhance traceability, track and monitor natural and agricultural ecosystems, including MRV systems on biodiversity, carbon and water
- Predictive analytics & AI for nature state modelling
Alternative ingredients and materials
Innovation in sustainable inputs is key to reducing environmental impact. We welcome novel ingredients and materials that are circular, bio-based, ethically sourced, or derived from side-streams/recycled sources. Please apply if your solution is one of the following:
INGREDIENTS
- Alternative ingredients coming from biobased feedstock or issued from co-products or from recycled feedstock, including for dimethyl ether, monoethanolamine, hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, non-ethoxylated surfactants, glycine, glycolic acid
- Ingredients/precursors issued from gases, in particular C1 gases and dihydrogen coming from either bio-source (methanisation, fermentation) or recycled fossil source (industrial effluent), or air capture
- Mineral oils from innovative feedstock
OTHER MATERIALS OF INTEREST
- Sustainable, modifiable, reusable, recycled, alternative POS materials for luxury retail
- Wipes or sheet masks that are compostable, biodegradable, circular or bio-sourced or alternatives to tissue-based products
- Recycled materials or rare earth alternatives for 3D electronic components for beauty devices
- Magnet alternative for same magnet effect, closure system with a magnet-like user experience or innovative closures
Eliminating fossil plastic use and plastic waste
We’re looking for solutions that help the transition beyond fossil-based plastics by embracing reusable, recyclable, compostable, or innovative new materials, and any circular solutions or systems to support this. Please apply if your solution involves:
REDUCE
- Technologies for plastic packaging lightweighting
- Technologies to decrease the environmental impact of plastic packaging
REPLACE
- Technologies for low-carbon alternatives to plastic materials
- Technologies for bio-based and biodegradable plastic material production
- Technologies for advanced and/or chemical plastic recycling with low environmental impact
- Recyclable and recycled, containing flexible plastic packaging for sachets, pouches, and tubes
- Technologies and materials for recyclable, functional, flexible paper-based primary packaging (forming technologies, barrier technologies, assembly, closures, decoration technologies)
- Technologies for rigid paper primary packaging (forming technologies, barrier technologies, decoration technologies)
- Materials and technologies for sustainable sampling
REUSE & RECYCLE
- Key enabling technologies for plastic packaging recycling at scale (environmental impact, improve quality and safety)
- Recycling of flexible plastic packaging
- Reusable wrap covers (incl. strapping) for transportation
Circularity and resource management
Reducing environmental impact means rethinking processes from design to end-of-life. We are interested in low-impact business models, circular solutions and process innovations - transformative approaches to business and operations that reduce environmental impact across the value chainInnovative materials and technologies for sustainable sampling. Including:
PRODUCTS
- In-store or at-home refill, recharge or deposit solutions
- Key enabling models and technologies to improve repairability and recyclability of beauty devices, including associated retro-logistics models
PACKAGING
- Innovative materials and technologies for reuse and refill models
- Technologies and materials for ultralight glass packaging or flexible glass (forming, reinforcement coating, assembly, glueing)
- Technologies for glass packaging recycling, including making opaque glass recyclable
- Technologies to improve recyclability management at conception (e.g. AI or software to assess the design-for-recycling of a packaging)
- Technologies to improve the end-of-life collection and/or sorting of packaging
- Innovative design, materials and technologies to recycle or dismantle and recycle small and complex packaging items (e.g. make-up)
- Decoration technologies to remove recycling disruptors (detectable and recyclable deep black, safe pure white, detectable metallic finish)
- Innovative technologies and materials for sustainable hinges, closure/opening
RETAIL
- Reusable, modifiable, sustainable merchandising solutions for make-up
- Technologies and solutions to enable design for reusability and recyclability of retail POS, including associated retro-logistics models
- Technologies and solutions to enable the collection, dismantling and sorting of retail POS
SUPPLY & INDUSTRY
- Reusable boxes and containers solutions for upstream transportation and logistics
- Quality-proof technologies for product return management
- Logistic solutions enabling “beauty as a service" models (leasing/subscription)
- Solutions for the recycling of complex cosmetic formulas (to be extracted from packaging or in bulk)
Sustainable and inclusive business models
The sustainability transition must be inclusive. We’re interested in innovations that empower people, support livelihoods, and embed equity into operations. Please apply if your solution involves:
COMMUNITIES
- Open source living wage database
- Solutions enabling living wage gap analysis and an action plan
- Critical weather forecast prediction and early warning systems for workforce adaptation
- Climate change adaptation solutions for workers
- Open-source due diligence models for human rights assessment
- Human rights risk assessment and mitigation tools for suppliers
- Local worker-voice solutions
- Gender specific prevention solutions for supply chain health & safety
- Value chain transparency solutions
FOSTERING SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
- Market-specific solutions enabling consumer understanding and engagement on sustainability, including on water usage, circular solutions, timely weather-adapted hygiene and beauty habits
- Retailer solutions for sustainable assortment enablement
- Sustainable beauty brands or beauty products
Why L’Oréal and CISL?
L’Oréal is the world’s largest beauty company, with a longstanding commitment to sustainability leadership. Through its L’Oréal for the Future programme, the company has set 15 ambitious sustainability goals to be achieved by 2030 covering climate, nature, circularity and communities.
As the world’s largest beauty company, L’Oréal recognises its unique position and responsibility to drive real, meaningful change. Through its L’Oréal for the Future programme, launched in 2020, from addressing the impacts of climate change, to safeguarding natural resources, to championing circularity, and building community resilience, our actions are anchored in the latest environmental science and underpinned by our desire for constant improvement.
CISL is a globally renowned centre for sustainability leadership, with decades of experience educating, supporting, and convening leaders across policy, academia, and business. Through our innovation work under CISL’s Canopy, we empower mission-led startups to drive the systemic transformation needed across industries and sectors.
Together, we are bringing business leadership and innovation together to create the breakthrough solutions that drive a system-wide transition.
Interested?
The call for applications is open until 30th September 2025. Learn more and submit your application here.
Contact us
If you’d like to discuss this programme, your solution, or any other opportunities, get in touch with our team.
The Delivery Team
Viola Jardon
Viola is currently working as a Senior Programme Manager with CISL Canopy where she has worked with more than 150 early-stage start-ups with sustainability innovations. Her expertise and experience are in business innovation, go-to-market strategy and sustainability storytelling for the creative industry, tech industry, and the built environment. She is a business mentor for Tech Nation, Digital Catapult, Plug & Play, MSDUK and L Marks Corporate Accelerators and a business advisor for a few tech businesses. Before joining CISL, she was part of the founding team establishing the London Fashion Fund, which supported start-ups and entrepreneurs to address innovation and sustainability in the fashion industry.
Sam Laakkonen
Senior Programme Director of the Canopy & Accelerator Team at CISL, Sam started his career as a management consultant in the City of London. He was headhunted to his first startup, FirstMark Communications Europe, which raised one of the largest Series A rounds in European history, over $1 billion. He has since been an early employee at Spotify, privately invested in 25+ startups, had 3 further exits from his own companies, helped 250+ startups accelerate growth, and works as an expert for the European Commission to distribute EIC equity and grant funding. Sam has been active in the Techstars ecosystem for a number of years, having been an Entrepreneur-In-Residence for Techstars Amsterdam, and a Lead Mentor on a number of programmes including Techstars Lisbon, Techstars Korea, Techstars Boulder and Techstars Energy in Oslo.
Yasmin Revell
Yasmin is an Innovation Project Manager and International Relations specialist. At CISL, she manages cross-sector innovation programmes and over 150+ events, including global accelerators and challenge-led collaborations, supporting startups, corporates, and policymakers to deliver solutions. Yasmin has worked across Europe, Latin America, and Asia, bringing a global lens to sustainability innovation. Now pursuing a Master’s in International Law at UNITAR and the UN-mandated University for Peace, Yasmin brings a systems-thinking approach to global governance, focusing on the intersection of human rights, law, innovation, and sustainable development.
Zoë Loughlin
Zoë manages the Canopy, CISL’s Cambridge workspace and global community for impact-driven startups, small businesses and entrepreneurs. Zoë has over 10 years experience working in sustainability across the public and third sector and in the innovation ecosystem. She has specialised knowledge on waste reduction, recycling and sustainable food systems. Zoë joined CISL in 2016 as part of the Marketing, Communications and Corporate Relations team, working across programme marketing, external communications, publications, Network development, and the Unilever Young Entrepreneur Awards, before moving to her current position in 2022. Zoë has a BA in Geography from the University of Leeds, and a certificate in Business Sustainability Management from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
