Kimberly-Clark produces mainly paper-based personal care products, including popular brands such as Cottonelle, so it's only fitting that the global company focuses on sustainable forestry. Its latest corporate social responsibility report lists short- and long-term goals to make its products more sustainably produced. One of the short-term goals is to source 100 percent of its wood fiber from suppliers who have achieved third-party certification by 2015. It has already achieved 71.1 percent.
Kimberly-Clark produces mainly paper-based personal care products, including popular brands such as Cottonelle, so it's only fitting that the global company focuses on sustainable forestry.
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Its latest corporate social responsibility report lists short- and long-term goals to make its products more sustainably produced. One of the short-term goals is to source 100 percent of its wood fiber from suppliers who have achieved third-party certification by 2015. It has already achieved 71.1 percent. Two of KC’s long term-goals also involve sustainable forestry, including obtaining 90 percent of the fiber in its tissue products from environmentally-preferred sources by 2025, and transitioning at least 50 percent of wood fiber sourced from natural forests to alternative fiber sources by 2025.
KC states it will not knowingly use conflict wood, illegal fiber or fiber procured from special forest areas, including endangered forests. All KC tissue mills in North America and about 50 percent of mills in other regions are chain-of-custody certified. The goal is to achieve 100 percent chain-of-custody certification for all of its mills by 2016.
KC uses vast amounts of water in its manufacturing process, so focusing on water use reduction is also important. Its water reduction goal is to reduce water use by 25 percent by 2015, a goal it met the goal in 2013 by achieving a 26.4 percent reduction. KC met the goal through a more efficient manufacturing footprint, water conservation programs, and upgrading water and waste systems. In addition, mill staff optimized water use reduction programs and effluent recycling systems that were installed in 2012. KC also completed six major water reduction projects in 2013.
Puppy with toilet paper image via Shutterstock.
Read more at ENN Affiliate, TriplePundit.
