Many companies now boast on packaging and in ads that their products are manufactured using energy from the sun or wind, but I doubt we'll be seeing L'Oreal products screaming, "Made with manure," anytime soon.

A L'Oreal haircare products factory in Belgium is setting up an anaerobic digestion system that will take waste from nearby cattle farming, capture methane emitted from it, and burn the methane to provide energy and heat.

The system, which is expected to provide 85 percent of the factory's energy needs, will initially use a mix of biomass and corn when it starts up this summer, eventually cutting out the corn.

That's just one of the steps L'Oreal is taking towards its new goal to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent by 2015, compared to 2005. The company is looking at adding more onsite renewable and clean energy generation, including solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.

L'Oreal also recently announced plans to cut water use and waste generation per unit of finished product 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2015.

In 2005, the company emitted 230.3 thousand tons CO2, used .72 liters of water per finished product, and created 32.2 grams of waste per finished product.

^{Via BusinessGreen.com}

^{Cows - CC license by St0rmz; L'Oreal product - CC license by justj0000lie}