The Guerlain goal is to translate this approach to packaging across all products in time, although it is easier on new lines than established best sellers.

But how do customers react? “It’s not always easy to explain lower volume at the same price, but we advise that the materials are more expensive (so it’s not more profitable for us) but better for the environment at lower weight and volume, and by extension they are better for the customer. A major KPI is the turnover; Orchidée Impériale has continued to grow strongly, which shows us that the message works.”

Guerlain’s ‘Reuse’ policy is perhaps best summed up by its approach to glassware. It has worked with Pochet for 160 years and for many years has used refillable bottles for personalised fragrances. Indeed, these ‘bee bottles’ are among the signature sales items in its boutiques.

Sommer says: “You can go through your life with one Guerlain perfume bottle, sourced from the Guerlain Perfumer store. It is a piece of luxury, it is very personal and only yours. You can refill it on your visits to the store, and it’s also a luxury way to explain our commitment.”

Recycling is equally important. More and more products are being designed so that parts that can be recycled are removable for allocating to the relevant bin.

“Each time we develop a new product we work with marketing and with packaging to think of the three R’s so we move in the right direction,” says Sommer.

Recycling is, perhaps more surprisingly, a factor at play within store design and promotions too. The Guerlain Champs Elysées store was decorated recently with Californian poppies designed by artist Célia Pardini. But what was unusual was that they were made from cardboard.

Sommer says: “The cardboard comes from directly our factory so we are creating a circular economy. Our waste is used to create a new item and can be used again and again.

“In turn this means a new type of thinking with each artist we partner with. When we strike a contract with the artist, we want this sustainable approach to be part of it, and this is where the members of the steering committee come in.”

The three R’s helped contribute to Guerlain’s rue Saint Honoré capturing one of LVMH’s Life in Stores awards this year. The awards recognise the group’s commitment to environmentally friendly retailing; Guerlain’s redeveloped store won the Interior Design Award for its use of materials and transport.

Sommer notes: “This year was the first time we entered. At the newly renovated and designed store, we reused materials, we used LED lights, we had of course the refillable bee bottles and we trained people to align with our standards and talk about our commitment.”

The company also has some big goals around formula production. “We want to have the most natural elements, 95% in each case where possible. Currently it depends on the product; we are at 90% on many products, but lower at 75-80% natural ingredients on others. But we want to be even better, though it is difficult.”

Traceability is another standard that Guerlain wants to excel at, and it plans to soon reveal a new project that it says will be “ground-breaking”.

A critical focus for the company is to take better care of the planet by reducing CO2 emissions. Makeup and skincare factory La Ruche is among the sites setting a new standard.

The 21,000sq m La Ruche facility has been designed to reap the benefits of daylight through solar panels, which helps to save electricity. Its earth-to-air heat exchanger means there is no need for air conditioning, which is a big CO2 generator.

It also gathers and uses rain water for its sanitary services.

The trickiest area in which to make progress for a high-volume, international goods business is in transport.

“In luxury the first and main impact is through air transport but we are trying to remedy this. We recently used a Silk Road route for shipping our goods to China. It’s a good compromise as it’s more rapid than the ship and lower on CO2 emissions. What is positive is that the delivery time is not all that different. By air (counting all elements of the logistics) you need ten days, by train 20 days and by boat 40 days. So in future we aim to send more goods by train where it is feasible.”

The percentage of Guerlain shipments exported by sea has been increasing steadily year-on-year. In 2017 though, the company only managed 55% of shipments by maritime freight, due to the fast resupply needed to satisfy demand for new fragrance Mon Guerlain.

“It is challenging but we have to reinvent the delivery process,” says Sommer. “In Paris a good example is the use of an electric truck for delivery from Chartres to our boutiques. It travels only at night, it’s quiet and is a good partnership with Guerlain, Renault and our distribution partner. We have to think about this more as the electric truck cannot travel all that far without charging.”

The brand’s biodiversity drive is one of its most public, and ties into its long-time connection with the bee community.

Sommer says: “We use many natural ingredients and it’s our business to make sure that in ten, 20 or 100 years, we can keep using raw ingredients of the same quality. That means biodiversity, as symbolised by the bee.

“Bees are very important; without them there are no flowers and no flowers means no Guerlain. So we have to protect the bee community.

“They are endangered everywhere; each year for 20 years we have lost on average 30% of the bee community, and in places in France it is 80% this year. That is down to environmental conditions, pesticides and intensive agriculture, as well as the Asiatic hornet and the parasites that exist in many places.”

In 2010 Guerlain launched a new skincare line, Abeille Royale, which contains honey from the island of Ouessant, off the west coast of France. The island has now become the heart of the brand’s commitment to bees.

“Ouessant has no agriculture and no pesticide; it’s very natural. That’s why the bees live well there, and because the island is far from the mainland the bees don’t migrate and there are no parasites to attack them. In the rest of the world you have parasites that affect the bee community.

“We have a partnership to help the Ouessant bees, a philanthropic sponsorship so they can continue to protect them, recruit beekeepers on the island, and communicate about the importance of the bee community. The more you communicate, the more you protect.”