On the occasion of Earth Day, on April 22, the French cosmetics giant announced the launch of an investment fund aimed at the circular economy.
The new Circular Innovation Fund will aim at scaling growth stage circular innovations around the world. Currently endowed with 80 million euros, this new fund, will be managed by leading cleantech-focused capital managers firms Demeter and Cycle Capital, and aims to reach 150 million euros. As an anchor investor, L’Oréal is contributing EUR 50 million.
The Circular Innovation Fund will support start-ups and companies across North America, Europe and Asia, which are developing circular use of resources across various sectors, including new materials from the bioeconomy, circular solutions for packaging, recycling & waste, logistics, eco-efficient processes.
Projects supported by the Circular Innovation Fund target as examples companies like the circular fashion start up For Days, a service that recycles consumers’ old clothes. A second project, Aphea.Bio whose mission is to develop new and superior agricultural biologicals to reduce or substitute chemicals application.
The creation of this new fund follows the launch in June 2020 of EUR 50 million L’Oréal Fund for Nature Regeneration, the group’s first impact investing fund.
