L’Oréal, the French cosmetics company, has announced a €15 million ($16 million) commitment in support of climate change resilience in low-income and minority communities.

Launched to coincide with Climate Week NYC events alongside the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, the Climate Emergency Fund will provide grants to local partners and international humanitarian organizations to bolster resiliency and preparedness efforts and reduce the long-term cost to repair and rebuild communities following climate change-related disasters. Among the first organizations to be funded is the Solutions Project, which operates a support network for small Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC)-led community organizations in the United States that specialize in climate disaster-related response.

“We have a responsibility to support people, especially against changes that we provoked,” L’Oréal global chief of corporate social responsibility and sustainability officer Alexandra Palt told Glossy. “Smaller community organizations…are very efficient, but they have a lot of difficulty accessing funding. [Those] that are on the ‘last mile’ to disaster-impacted people are who we want to support.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/ Madalin Olariu)