L’Oreal USA has introduced two assessment tools to reduce the environmental impact of its package design. The beauty company is now using the Sustainable Packaging Alliance’s Packaging Impact Quick Evaluation Tool (PIQET), an online system that identifies and reviews actions to reduce the environmental impact of packaging, particularly at the design development stage.

L’Oréal is also using a sustainable packaging scorecard (SPS) that it developed and piloted last year. The SPS allows L’Oréal to evaluate the sustainability of its product packaging and assess each new product using seven criteria: bio-plastics, recycled materials, PVC, certified paperboard, use of light-weighting techniques, packaging volume relative to fill weight and primary packaging size, and use of PIQET.

The SPS then assess each product on a point scale with a corresponding color code of green, yellow and red. The system allows L’Oréal not only to improve its packaging but to track improvements over time, the company said.

PIQET allows companies to quickly enter packaging specifications, manufacturing data and distribution information, and then run various scenarios by changing the packaging specifications. The process typically takes 15 to 30 minutes, according to the PIQUET website.

Cadbury Schweppes, Nestle Australia and Mars Australia were all involved in development of the tool, which was first released in Australia in 2008, and developed for global use in 2009.

“Although we have made significant inroads in reducing the environmental impacts of our product packaging, there is still much more to do,” said Philippe Bonningue, L’Oréal USA’s vice president of packaging and development of corporate operations. “In addition to testing new materials from renewable sources like green-PE, bio-PET and PLA, and identifying opportunities for refillables, light weighting, recycled content and the use of cardboard from only certified wood sources, we are committed to offering consumers more sustainable product choices.”

L’Oréal is a member of the Sustainability Consortium and the Consumer Goods Forum’s Global Packaging Project, and is ranked by Corporate Knights as one of the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world. L’Oréal USA, headquartered in New York City, had over $4.6 billion in revenues in 2009.