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Scope 3 emissions in the Beauty Industry: Where they come from and how to cut them
Key takeaways
Up to 90% of emissions in the beauty sector come from Scope 3 sources like ingredients, packaging, and product use.
Hot water use during rinsing is the single biggest contributor, accounting for 59% of a shampoo's life-cycle emissions.
Regulatory momentum like the EU CSRD is forcing brands to disclose and act on Scope 3.
Leading companies are adopting AI and LCA platforms like Devera to map emissions and drive reductions.
The future of sustainable beauty depends on transforming the entire value chain, not just in-house operations.
Why Scope 3 is the beauty industry’s blind spot
Picture: Scatec
When we talk about carbon emissions, it's tempting to picture factory smokestacks or delivery trucks. But in the beauty industry, those are just the tip of the iceberg. The real bulk of emissions comes from what's called Scope 3, indirect sources like ingredient production, packaging, consumer use, and end-of-life disposal. According to McKinsey, up to 90% of a cosmetics company’s footprint lies in Scope 3. Yet, these are often the hardest emissions to measure and manage.
At Devera, a platform that helps companies calculate their environmental impact with AI, we’ve seen firsthand how Scope 3 emissions can dominate a product's footprint while flying under the radar. Let’s unpack where these emissions come from, why they matter, and how leading brands are trying to cut them down to size.
Where Scope 3 emissions hide in beauty products
Hot-spot | Latest datapoints | Typical GHG-Protocol category |
Consumer use of rinse-off products | Heating water in showers or at the sink drives 59% of a typical product’s life-cycle emissions. (Cleanhub) | Category 11, Use of sold products |
Raw-material sourcing and formulation | ~30% of emissions come from extracting or synthesising ingredients. (Cleanhub) Palm-oil derivatives appear in ≈ 70% of SKUs, with 97% of brands using some palm oil at least occasionally, linking Scope 3 to deforestation risks. (Stephenson, Good On You) | Category 1, Purchased goods and services |
Packaging | The sector generates ≈ 120 billion packaging units per year, most of which are virgin plastic and landfilled. (PrimaFoodie) | Categories 1 and 12, Packaging waste |
Up- and downstream transport | Global distribution networks, e-commerce fulfilment, and returns inflate freight-related emissions. Brands such as L’Oréal now pilot supplier decarbonisation funds to curb this slice. (Supply Chain Dive) | Categories 4 and 9 |
End-of-life | Only ~14% of cosmetic packaging is collected for recycling and ~9% actually recycled, keeping Scope 3 high even for “lightweight” formats. (Cleanhub) | Category 12, End-of-life treatment |
Let’s take rinse-off products as an example. Heating water during use accounts for a staggering 59% of the life-cycle emissions of a standard shampoo. That single moment in the shower is more carbon-intensive than the entire production process combined. Companies like Garnier are addressing this with 10-second hair-mask formats and solid bars to reduce the impact of hot water use.
Next up, ingredients. Roughly 30% of emissions stem from the raw materials used in formulations. Palm-oil derivatives appear in around 70% of beauty products, and nearly all brands use palm oil at least occasionally. These ingredients are tightly linked to deforestation and land-use change, turning Scope 3 into a biodiversity issue as well. Low-carbon or upcycled alternatives are becoming key levers in mitigation strategies.
Then there's packaging. The industry produces an estimated 120 billion units annually, mostly made from virgin plastic. Only about 14% of this is collected for recycling, and just 9% actually gets recycled. This pushes end-of-life emissions sky-high. Brands like L'Oréal have committed to 100% of packaging being recyclable, refillable, reusable, or compostable by 2030. Others are investing in refill pilots and lightweight formats.
Transportation and logistics also play a significant role, especially in a globalized, e-commerce-driven market. Scope 3 emissions arise from both upstream (ingredient shipping) and downstream (fulfillment and delivery) logistics. Brands are piloting decarbonization funds and shifting distribution to rail and electric last-mile fleets.
You can explore more on our take about product-level emissions measurement and how AI is speeding up this shift.
How the regulatory landscape is shifting
Regulation is catching up fast. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) mandates Scope 1, 2, and 3 disclosures starting with FY 2024. The Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) requires companies whose Scope 3 emissions exceed 40% of their total footprint to set targets that cover at least 67% of those emissions.
The EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) also includes cosmetics in its 2024 priorities, pushing for more circular packaging and sustainable materials. Meanwhile, the US SEC has announced that large public companies will need to report on climate-related risks, and for some, Scope 3 will become a mandatory disclosure.
Although discussions around the Green Claims Directive have stalled, the expectation is that substantiating product-level claims with credible data will soon be a legal requirement. That puts additional pressure on brands to know their Scope 3 emissions inside out.
What leading beauty brands are doing about it
Industry leaders are stepping up. Natura & Co reports that 96% of its footprint is Scope 3. Estée Lauder reports around 98% Scope 3 emissions (1.77 Mt CO2e out of 1.80 Mt total in FY 2024) and has pledged to cut per-revenue-unit emissions by 60% by 2030. L'Oréal has committed to a 28% absolute reduction in Scope 3 by 2030 from a 2019 base year.
These brands are investing in AI-powered tools like Devera to conduct automated Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), which pull data from product specs, supplier reports, and ingredient databases. What used to take months can now be done in hours, dramatically reducing the lag between measurement and action.
Other strategies include switching to renewable-energy-powered fulfillment centers, redesigning packaging for circularity, and actively engaging suppliers to lower upstream emissions. Some even pilot behavioral nudges to reduce water consumption during use.
The way forward, full-spectrum transformation
Scope 3 is not just a data problem, it's a design and strategy challenge. The brands that succeed will be those who can bring sustainability upstream into ingredient selection and downstream into consumer engagement. AI tools like Devera are helping to scale that process by making emissions data actionable in real-time.
But ultimately, this is about culture. A truly low-carbon beauty industry won’t just green its operations, it will reimagine the way products are made, used, and disposed of. That shift is already underway, and it’s accelerating.
FAQ
Why are Scope 3 emissions so hard to measure in beauty? Because they depend on activities outside a company's direct control, like how suppliers produce ingredients or how customers use products at home.
Which parts of the beauty product life-cycle emit the most CO2? Hot water use during rinsing is typically the biggest source, followed by ingredient sourcing and packaging production.
Is regulation really going to force change? Yes. The EU CSRD and SBTi guidelines are already pushing companies to disclose and reduce Scope 3. US rules are catching up.
What can consumers do to help? Use less hot water, opt for refills, and support brands that are transparent about their footprint.
How does Devera support Scope 3 reduction? By using AI to automate product-level carbon calculations and map supplier data, helping companies act faster and more accurately.
