Towards more sustainability in personal care with an impact scoring system

The EcoBeautyScore consortium brought together 70 companies and numerous partners, including Pilario, to develop a comparative scoring method for the personal care and cosmetics industry. We created a powerful new tool to understand, assess and communicate the environmental impact of cosmetic products across their entire lifecycle.

Is the personal care industry ready for sustainable action? 

The personal care and cosmetics products we all use in our daily lives have a significant impact on the environment. From the depletion of natural resources to the vast amount of packaging waste, it’s no surprise that the industry faces increasing regulations and a growing pressure to reduce the environmental footprint of its products at every stage of their lifecycle.

Today, the industry stands at a crossroads, needing to go beyond mere compliance and take real sustainable initiatives. The EcoBeautyScore consortium understands this urgency. By bringing together key industry leaders and demonstrating a clear commitment to making personal care products more sustainable, the consortium proves it is moving from promises to action.

One tool, multiple advantages

We have developed a tailor-made software tool designed specifically for companies in the personal care sector, enabling them to understand, assess, and communicate the environmental impact of their products.

What’s fundamental is that both brands and consumers gain more insight into a product’s sustainability. Brands can evaluate the environmental footprint of a product throughout its entire lifecycle, from ingredient sourcing, which encourages ecodesign, to end-of-life disposal. 

With the introduction of the impact score, available in Q2 of this year, consumers will be able to make informed purchasing decisions and compare similar products across the market. This transparency will ultimately incentivize brands to adopt more sustainable practices to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers. A win-win for both parties. 

How we helped 

EcoBeautyScore is the result of a fruitful collaboration between different partners who own had their own contribution to make this happen. In a nutshell, the 4 main ingredients that are at the basis are:

• A common methodology based on LCA and grounded in the EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method 
• A common database of cosmetic ingredients and raw materials used in formulation and packaging to assess footprint
• A common scoring mechanism & harmonized consumer-facing layout
• A common tool, the EcoBeautyScore platform, for assessing the environmental footprint and score of cosmetic products

Pilario was responsible for the last one, the EBS platform, ensuring brands had an intuitive tool to evaluate and improve the sustainability of the products within their portfolios. There’s a lot we can say about our LCA model, but here are three key takeaways we want to highlight:

1. Tailor-made and in line with PEF 

Our LCA models are designed for the personal care industry, responding to their specific data input needs and in line with the product segments identified by the EBS consortium. The tool is grounded in the Product Environmental Footprint methodology, a comprehensive framework developed by the European Commission. It takes into account all the upstream activities, such as raw material sourcing, and downstream activities, such as transportation and recycling. 

The tool will give companies a detailed breakdown of the 16 PEF impact categories, covering aspects such as climate change, land, water and resource use. 

2. No LCA expertise needed 

Thanks to an efficient data import process, such as product descriptions, ingredients, operational flows and packaging attributes, users can immediately access results. The interface is very intuitive, simple and user-friendly so that non LCA experts can also use it. With the integration of a powerful dashboarding system, users can define their own KPIs they want to track and design their own individual dashboard.

3. Four product modules, more to come 

The tool is available in Europe for four key product categories: shampoo, conditioning hair treatment, body wash and face moisturizers. However, this is just the beginning. Eventually, the EBS platform will offer tailor-made LCA models for many more product categories.

Want to learn more about EBS?  

Several companies are currently using our tool.. Consumers are expected to see the impact score on a limited number of products in the second quarter of 2025.

For more information: https://www.ecobeautyscore.com/