DALLAS, June 5, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- Kimberly-Clark today published its annual
sustainability report, including an update on the company's
progress toward its 2030 sustainability strategy and goals. The
goals address the social and environmental challenges of the next
decade with a mission of improving the lives and well-being of 1
billion people in underserved and vulnerable communities around the
world – while safeguarding natural systems and reducing the
company's environmental footprint by 50 percent in key areas,
including plastics, forests, water and climate.
"I'm proud of what our teams around the world have accomplished
in the last year and to be part of a company that has never wavered
in providing care for our people, our communities and our planet
since it was founded 150 years ago," said Mike Hsu, Chairman and CEO at
Kimberly-Clark. "Our 2030 sustainability goals are critical to
our purpose of Better Care for a Better World, and our sights are
set on achieving them."
As Kimberly-Clark looks to the next 150 years, the company is
committed to building on its legacy and providing care with the
intention to be even better in the areas that deliver value to its
stakeholders. It is delivering better products through innovation
and the development of more sustainable solutions; supporting a
better planet by being stewards of the climate and natural
ecosystems; fostering a better workplace by building a culture of
integrity and belonging through its commitment to inclusion,
equity, diversity, well-being and human rights; and contributing to
a better society by partnering with changemakers to help uplift
communities.
Key highlights of the company's 2022 results include:
- Better Products: Kimberly-Clark continued to advance
more sustainable solutions, including expanding its range of
biodegradable baby wipes made with plant-based fibers and investing
in reusable period and incontinence products. In addition, the
company reached 5.1 percent of recycled content in its plastic
packaging, moving Kimberly-Clark closer to its 20 percent recycled
content goal for 2025.
- Better Planet: By year-end, Kimberly-Clark achieved an
absolute reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 42 percent
and a 9.4 percent energy efficiency improvement versus the 2015
baseline. In addition, the company continued to address water
scarcity in water-stressed locations, achieving a 42.1 percent
reduction in consumption against its 2015 baseline.
Last year, more than 160 energy conservation initiatives and
process and building efficiency improvements were deployed at the
company's manufacturing sites around the world, yielding
approximately 36,000 MTCO2e in emissions reductions. Executed by
local engineering and process teams, these projects included
lighting systems retrofits, installation of heat recovery systems
and higher-efficiency electrical motors, control and distribution
equipment upgrades, and optimization of compressed air systems,
vacuum systems, chillers, and HVAC systems.
- Better Workplace: Leading with inclusion, Kimberly-Clark
is building an organization that leverages its diversity as a
competitive advantage. The company is a global organization that
mirrors the consumers it serves around the world.
Board of Directors – Six of 12 directors are women, and four
are ethnically diverse.
Executive Leadership Team – 31 percent are women, and 54
percent are people of color.
- Better Society: Kimberly-Clark's essential and
well-known brands bring its purpose to life through social impact
programs designed to enhance the lives of its consumers and
communities. The company's brand-led partnerships with hospitals,
educational organizations and nonprofits have helped to advance the
well-being of 88.9 million people cumulatively since 2015.
This includes Huggies® Más Abrazos, an educational platform that
holds new parents' and caregivers' hands as they navigate the
unknown, from the first steps of pregnancy through the first years
of their child's life. Through free articles, podcasts and videos,
Más Abrazos provides answers about pregnancy, the birthing process,
feeding, attachment, child development, health and wellness, and a
host of other topics. Expanded to its current robust format in
2022, the platform has reached more than 4.6 million people
throughout Latin America.
"We're committed to making lives better while safeguarding the
world's natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Kimberly-Clark's
purpose aligns our business motivations with our sustainability
vision – it's how we show up every day and do what's right for both
people and planet," said Lisa
Morden, Vice President of Safety, Sustainability and
Occupational Health at Kimberly-Clark. "We are proud to partner
with global NGOs and international organizations such as World
Wildlife Fund (WWF), Plan International, WaterAid and UNICEF to
strengthen communities by supporting sustainable practices and
reducing barriers that limit accessibility to proper health,
hygiene, education and sanitation."
This year marks 23 years of
partnership between Kimberly-Clark, the Kimberly-Clark Foundation
and UNICEF. In 2022, Kimberly-Clark expanded its partnership to
support UNICEF's newborn health and early childhood development
program in China, with a goal to
reach more than 14 million newborns, children, and caregivers. The
program will support initiatives to improve maternal and child
health and development outcomes by partnering with national health
agencies to establish new centers of excellence to train health
providers in labor and delivery care, support early childhood
development services, enhance trainings through new virtual
platforms, and create a comprehensive capacity building
strategy.
"Our partnership has uplifted millions of lives as we support
maternal and child health, as well as empower women and girls with
critically important menstrual hygiene education," said
Michael J. Nyenhuis, President
and CEO, UNICEF USA.
"Kimberly-Clark shares our vision for a world where every child has
an opportunity to thrive, and the company continues to be an
important partner as UNICEF drives systems change around the globe
– positively impacting generations to come."
Kimberly-Clark's annual sustainability report and accompanying
disclosures demonstrate the company's progress through stories that
highlight its work around the world as well as key data and metrics
prepared with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) disclosures.
The reporting covers the time frame of Jan.
1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2022.
For more information on the topics in this report, please visit the
sustainability page on Kimberly-Clark.com.
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and
its trusted brands are an indispensable part of life for people in
more than 175 countries. Fueled by ingenuity, creativity, and an
understanding of people's most essential needs, we create products
that help individuals experience more of what's important to them.
Our portfolio of brands, including Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, Kotex,
Cottonelle, Poise, Depend, Andrex, Pull-Ups, GoodNites, Intimus,
Neve, Plenitud, Sweety, Softex, Viva and WypAll, hold No. 1 or No.
2 share positions in approximately 80 countries. We use sustainable
practices that support a healthy planet, build strong communities,
and ensure our business thrives for decades to come. We are proud
to be recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical
Companies(R) by Ethisphere for the fifth year in a
row. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the
company's 150-year history of innovation, visit
kimberly-clark.com.
Forward Looking Statements
All statements in this news
release that are not historical, including goals for and
projections of future results, the expected execution and effect of
our sustainability strategies and initiatives and the amounts and
timing of their expected impact, constitute forward-looking
statements that are based on management's expectations and beliefs
concerning future events impacting the company.
Many factors outside our control, including competitive
pressures, evolving legal and regulatory requirements, and societal
and market conditions globally and in the markets in which we do
business, could cause actual results to vary. Issues identified as
material for purposes of this release may not be considered
material for SEC reporting purposes. There can be no assurance that
these future events will occur as anticipated. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date they were made, and we
undertake no obligation to publicly update them. Please see
Kimberly-Clark's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent
SEC filings for a discussion of risk factors as they relate to
forward-looking statements.
[KMB-S]
UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, product, or
service.
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SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation