SC Johnson ahead of time with energy and waste reduction

Household cleaning firm SC Johnson has beaten two of its 2016 targets, having reduced carbon emissions by 50.5% and waste by 71% across its global manufacturing sites since 2000.


The figures come from SC Johnson’s 2014 sustainability report which details progress on its current five-year environmental objectives and offers new detail on the SC Johnson Greenlist process – launched in 2001to rate all of the ingredients and packaging materials used by the company globally. (scroll down for full report)

Other progress in the third year of SC Johnson’s five-year strategy includes a total of eight zero-landfill manufacturing sites on four continents, and 32.3% renewable energy usage – close to its goal of 33% by 2016 – as a result of global wind, biofuel, cogeneration, and solar initiatives.

The company has also achieved a 29% increase to 47% in the use of ‘better’ or ‘best’ ingredients in products since 2001, as measured by the Greenlist process, with a 2016 goal of 58%.

The Greenlist uses a computerised product scenario planning tool to enable formulators and packaging engineers to compare product and packaging options.

TABLE: SC Johnson’s Greenlist

SC Johnson chairman and chief executive Fisk Johnson said: “While there are 4,600 materials we screen for in our product development, the SC Johnson Greenlist process is not simply about eliminating the ‘bad’.

“It’s about making it easy for product developers to add in ‘better’. It’s a systematic, computerised process that helps us continually make better ingredient choices for our products.”

In July, edie interviewed SC Johnson senior director for manufacturing in Europe, the Middle East and Africa Clint Filipowicz, who underlined how sustainable business practices underpin the company. 

REPORT: SC Johnson 2014 Sustainability Report

Lois Vallely

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