NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 – L’Oréal East Africa has reduced energy use, water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste at its Nairobi manufacturing facility, earning the company the Overall Resource Efficiency Award at the 2026 Industry Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) Awards.
The Mombasa Road-based factory also won category awards for energy management, solid waste management, greenhouse gas emission management and environmental compliance, while emerging first runner-up in water use management.
The improvements were recorded between the facility’s 2024 baseline and 2025, as production output increased, according to an assessment verified by the Kenya National Cleaner Production Centre (KNCPC).
“We believe that business growth and environmental responsibility must go hand in hand. At this facility, we are demonstrating how focused action on resource efficiency can support production while reducing water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kerstin Bird, L’Oréal’s President for the Sub-Saharan Africa Zone.
“The independent assessment by the Kenya National Cleaner Production Centre makes this recognition particularly meaningful. We are proud of what we have achieved so far but see this as part of a longer journey.”
L’Oréal attributed the reductions to investments in renewable energy, efficient machinery, water reuse and improved waste management, as manufacturers face growing pressure to reduce their environmental footprint while maintaining production.
The factory completed its transition to renewable energy in 2024, drawing on a biomass boiler, a biodiesel generator, solar photovoltaic systems and grid electricity.
It has also installed variable frequency drives, LED lighting with motion sensors and insulation to reduce energy demand.
Water conservation measures include reusing treated effluent and reverse osmosis reject water in fire hydrant and sanitary systems, reducing the need to discharge or draw fresh water for those uses.
The facility has also reduced the thickness of shrink-wrap packaging while maintaining product protection, with recyclable PET bottles and waste recovery arrangements forming part of its broader circular economy measures.
The awards were conducted under the Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution programme, funded by the UK Government.
Of 225 industries mapped under the programme, 26 underwent full in-plant resource efficiency assessments.
Factory Director Nathan Mutiria said the results reflected changes implemented across engineering, production, environmental health and safety, and supply chain operations.
“Every result in this assessment was earned on the factory floor, through careful measurement, disciplined engineering and a team that takes ownership of both safety and the environment,” Mutiria said.
The factory also received a RoSPA Gold Award for workplace health and safety. However, L’Oréal did not disclose the absolute volumes or percentages of energy, water, emissions and waste reductions, limiting an assessment of the scale of the environmental gains and their financial impact.
The facility is the L’Oréal Group’s only manufacturing site in East Africa, producing brands including Nice & Lovely, Versman, Gold Touch, Garnier and Mixa for regional markets.
