The Estée Lauder Companies Invests €5.7 Million to Advance Next-Generation Manufacturing at its Oevel Campus in Belgium

Press Release, Oct 5, 2026

New water circularity infrastructure strengthens manufacturing resilience and helps prepare the site for future growth

OEVEL, BELGIUM, October 5, 2026 - At a time when manufacturers across Europe are under growing pressure to remain competitive while using resources more efficiently, The Estée Lauder Companies today announced a €5.7 Million investment in advanced water infrastructure at its Oevel manufacturing campus in Belgium. The investment forms part of a broader transformation underway at Oevel, one of The Estée Lauder Companies’ largest manufacturing sites worldwide, where new technologies, automation, digital capabilities and advanced infrastructure are helping build the next generation of beauty manufacturing.

A visualization of the Oevel water circularity project highlights The Company’s approach to responsible water management through advanced manufacturing and digital innovation.

As water resilience becomes increasingly important for communities and industries across Europe, manufacturers are investing in solutions that improve water efficiency while maintaining quality, operational reliability and long-term performance. The Estée Lauder Companies is implementing an integrated water circularity approach at Oevel designed to keep water in use longer throughout manufacturing operations while reducing reliance on incoming freshwater and minimizing wastewater discharge.

What makes the project distinctive is its ambition to rethink the entire water cycle within manufacturing operations. The initiative combines three innovative elements into one integrated water circularity program:

1. reducing freshwater withdrawal through enhanced purified water systems;
2. reusing water within equipment cleaning and sanitization operations
3. transforming wastewater into a reusable resource for defined operational purposes such as equipment cleaning and sanitization.

Together, these technologies are designed to keep water in use for longer, reduce dependence on incoming freshwater and minimize wastewater discharge. Once operational, the project is expected to reduce water intensity from 9.3 litres/kg to 3.6 litres/kg of product and save approximately 25 million litres of water annually, equivalent to around 10 Olympic-size swimming pools. This project aims to reduce wastewater discharge and improve operational resilience. In the future, it will serve as a scalable model for potential future deployment across The Estée Lauder Companies’ manufacturing network.

From left to right: Maria Genouzos, ELC, Vice President, EMEA & APAC Manufacturing; Alexander Gregorian, ELC, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Manufacturing-Manufacturing-Engineering; Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation and Industry, Foreign Affairs, Digitalisation and Facility Management; Luc Vermetten, ELC, Vice President, EUKEM Fulfilment & Affiliate VC, Oevel Campus Lead; Jeroen Jansen, ELC, Plant Manager.

"Beauty Reimagined is about building a more agile, more resilient and more consumer-centric company for the future," said Alexander Gregorian, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing & Engineering, The Estée Lauder Companies. "Oevel demonstrates how we are translating that ambition into reality through advanced manufacturing, digital innovation and responsible resource management. Just as importantly, the learnings from this project will help inform future manufacturing initiatives across our broader network. The combination of innovation, operational excellence and water stewardship will play an increasingly important role in the future of manufacturing."

During a visit to the Oevel manufacturing campus, Matthias Diependaele, Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation and Industry, Foreign Affairs, Digitalisation and Facility Management, met with ELC leadership and employees to discuss the future of manufacturing, industrial innovation and the Company’s continued investment in Belgium. The visit also provided an opportunity to share the water circularity investment announced this week. “Estée Lauder Companies’ investment in Oevel is a strong vote of confidence in Flanders as a leading region for manufacturing and innovation. By investing in advanced technologies and more sustainable production, the company is strengthening its competitiveness and resilience. This is exactly the kind of investment we want to see in Flanders: innovation and technology that strengthen our industry and create jobs and growth for the future.” Said Matthias Diependaele, Minister-President of the Flemish Government.

Team members at the Oevel campus.

Water Circularity is one element of a broader transformation underway at the Oevel campus. Recent investments across artificial intelligence, automation, digital manufacturing, logistics and production technologies are helping create a more agile, efficient and future-ready manufacturing operation.

Over the past decade, The Estée Lauder Companies has invested more than €150 million in the Oevel campus, including investments in manufacturing, logistics, biotechnology, automation, infrastructure and sustainability-related projects. These investments reflect The Estée Lauder Companies’ Beauty Reimagined ambition to accelerate innovation, strengthen agility and build a more resilient manufacturing network.

From left to right: Julie Mouton, ELC, Supply Chain Environmental Affairs & Safety Senior Manager; Maria Genouzos, ELC, Vice President, EMEA & APAC Manufacturing; Howard Lancaster, ELC, Vice President, Manufacturing Quality; Alexander Gregorian, ELC, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Manufacturing-Manufacturing-Engineering; Samir Nagpal, ELC, Vice President, Engineering; Jeroen Jansen, ELC, Oevel Plant Manager; Luc Vermetten, ELC, Vice President, EUKEM Fulfilment & Affiliate VC, Oevel Campus Lead.

"As access to water becomes an increasingly important consideration for manufacturers, communities and consumers around the world, projects like this illustrate how businesses can strengthen resilience while managing resources more efficiently," said Nancy Mahon, Chief Sustainability Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies. “Responsible water management helps support the communities where we live and work, the regions from which we source, and the long-term resilience of our operations.

Oevel is expected to serve as a pilot site for The Estée Lauder Companies’ integrated water circularity approach, helping inform future manufacturing and water resilience initiatives across the company's global operations. The project builds on several years of water stewardship initiatives already underway at Oevel and represents the next step in the site's evolution as a center of advanced manufacturing, operational excellence and industrial innovation within The Estée Lauder Companies’ global network.

About The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers, marketers and sellers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products, and is a steward of luxury and prestige brands globally. The Company’s products are sold in approximately 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Darphin Paris, TOM FORD, Smashbox, AERIN Beauty, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, KILIAN PARIS, Too Faced, Dr.Jart+, the DECIEM family of brands, including The Ordinary, NIOD, Avestan and Loopha, and Balmain Beauty.