The owner of brands such as Burt’s Bees cosmetics and Hidden Valley condiments recorded a 32% reduction in its GHG emissions per case of product sold in the latest iteration of its annual integrated report. The US-based company set its target against a 2011 baseline.

The report reveals that Clorox achieved these reductions after making its first moves to incorporate renewable electricity into its energy mix last year.

“As a brand leader, there’s an expectation of corporate responsibility that we take seriously,” Clorox’s chief executive Benno Dorer said.

“Through this report, we wanted to emphasize what makes us stand out: a portfolio of strong, purpose-driven brands. While we’ve made great progress, we’re not satisfied. We’ve already begun planning the next phase of our corporate responsibility strategy and will be looking to raise the bar even higher as we set our new objectives for 2025.”

The company activated a solar array at its Fairfield plant in California and another at its Aberdeen distribution centre in 2017, after the projects were built as part of power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Elsewhere, the company made further GHG savings by installing energy-efficient LED lights across its estate of manufacturing plants, distribution centres and offices.

Good growth

This achievement comes after Clorox met its 2020 water target to reduce its water usage by 20% four years early. The company recorded a 22% reduction in 2017, after repairing a string of leaks from underground piping at some of its older facilities and opening a new water-efficient manufacturing plant in Atlanta.

Clorox has also taken action to reduce the environmental impact of its waste output, having surpassed its 2020 aim of reducing the amount of solid waste it sends to landfill by a fifth in 2013.

In 2017, the company reused or recycled 90% of its “non-sellable materials” and achieved zero-waste-to-landfill status at five of its sites. The achievements came despite the challenges posed by the construction of Clorox’s new Atlanta plant, which resulted in an increase in hard-to-recycle construction and demolition waste.

As for energy efficiency, the report reveals that Clorox is on track to meet its 2020 target of using 20% less energy per case of product than it did in 2011, recording a 17% reduction as of 2017. The remaining 3% reduction is set to be achieved with a string of site-specific energy-efficiency measures such as retrofitting energy-efficient lighting, the company said.

Sarah George

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