Kimberly-Clark Professional North America (KCP NA) is proud to continuously take significant strides within the realm of sustainability. Their sustainability programs help customers achieve their own sustainability goals, and visibly demonstrate their purpose of Better Care for a Better World. As sustainability metrics increasingly show up in their customer requests for proposals, their company’s solutions and scale also can be a competitive advantage.
Sustainability is Part of Their Promise
The sustainability story begins with Kimberly-Clark’s overarching initiatives. The company has set ambitious 2030 targets that address both environmental and social aspects of sustainability.
By aligning with these initiatives, KCP NA positions itself as a responsible supplier, helping to reduce the collective footprint for their company and their customers and their customer’s journey to zero waste through their RightCycle™ Program, the first large scale manufacturer-led recycling program for non-hazardous PPE, flex-film packaging and wet cleaning wipes.
Another one of the key aspects of KCP’s sustainability capability helps customers choose products that can reduce their environmental footprint. Through their Responsible Partners Program, KCP identifies products that can help with sustainability goals in nine critical areas, including the use of recycled content and renewable energy. The Responsible Partners’ Program is essentially a collection of products within their portfolio that are designed to:
- Lighten their collective footprint
- Provide product efficiency improvements
- Ship and transport in an environmentally responsible way
To be a part of this program, products must meet specific criteria, which is intended to help customers to make more eco-conscious choices.
Zero Waste Initiatives and Landfill Diversion
Many of KCP’s customers have embarked on zero-waste or near-zero waste initiatives, looking to implement some method of landfill diversion. This is where their RightCycle™ Program comes into play. Since 2011, The RightCycle Program has helped their customers divert over 5.5 million pounds of plastic waste streams from landfill1.
The program enables customers to divert waste from landfills, a crucial step in their sustainability journey. Customers can collect used, non-hazardous KCP products and their recycling partners ensure that these materials are repurposed by turning them into plastic pellets used to make durable consumer goods.
One common question they often receive is why The RightCycle™ Program only accepts Kimberly-Clark products. KCP NA knows the exact composition of our products, including the types of plastics and coatings used. This knowledge is crucial for the reclamation process to ensure a consistent quality of material content produced through The RightCycle™ Program.
The transparency of The RightCycle™ Program, with data available through WasteBits®, offers customers peace of mind and a clear view of the impact they are making. WasteBits is an online tool that plays a vital role in The RightCycle™ Program, allowing customers to enroll, set up waste stream profiles, and track their waste streams in real-time.
1 Source: 2023 WasteBits* and 2023 Kimberly-Clark Corporation proprietary insights.
*WasteBits is a 3rd party company that provides software and services to the industry, including sustainability tracking.
Serving Their Customers
Understanding customer sustainability initiatives is the first step they take in engaging with those who can benefit from KCP NA’s sustainability solutions. They believe in helping customers make environmentally conscious choices and contributing to a more sustainable future by offering a sustainable solution that aligns with the values of customers and team members alike.
Their sustainability initiatives truly demonstrate their company’s commitment to making a positive impact on the planet and the well-being of people.
Kimberly-Clark was recently recognized on the 2024 World’s Most Ethical Companies® list by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, and is ranked #2 on Barron’s 100 most sustainable U.S. companies 2024 list. For more information on their company sustainability initiatives, please visit their website, view their most recent sustainability report, and check out their RightCycle™ Program video.
