Beauty firm Estée Lauder unveils Responsible Store Design Programme

Its Nanjing Deji Plaza store is one of its spaces that met the programme’s framework.

United States-based  Estée Lauder Companies Inc (ELC) launched its Responsible Store Design programme to support its environmental targets and encourage consumers to participate in its retail sustainability commitments.

In a statement, ELC said the program follows a framework to assess its new and existing retail stores. Under the programme, new stores will follow a scoring system where each location is evaluated based on sustainability efforts in retail design and operations. 

Meanwhile, existing stores and visual merchandising will have to satisfy a checklist of prerequisites that meet the company’s core sustainability requirements.

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Sustainability requirements for both new and existing stores that must be met include store build-out, energy and water, responsible sourcing of materials, visual merchandising, store operations, and innovations.

Nanjing Deji Plaza Origins' store rendering. Photo from ELC.

Only six stores have followed the framework in the pilot, including the Origins store in Nanjing Deji Plaza in China which opened in July 2022.

For brands, they must also meet all relevant programme prerequisites which vary depending on retail space and store type to participate in the programme.

In 2020, ELC also finalised its internal Green Building Standards for all its spaces, including retail spaces.