Kimberly-Clark Professional Tries Big-Picture Approach
Kimberly-Clark Professional has launched a new campaign – Reduce Today, Respect Tomorrow – that takes a big-picture approach to environmental sustainability and is the first truly global communications campaign developed by the company.
Kimberly-Clark Professional is one of the largest manufacturers of washroom products in the world, serving commercial and institutional facilities such as office buildings, hotels, schools, healthcare facilities, manufacturing plants, and other public buildings. It is aligned with Kimberly Clark Corp.'s commitment to sustainability at all levels of its business.
"Our ongoing efforts to achieve outstanding environmental performance are not just our responsibility as corporate citizens, they are vital to our success as a business," said Jan Spencer, president, Global Kimberly-Clark Professional. "These efforts are also guided by global, company-wide objectives for improving operational performance in energy, water, waste, and environmental management systems."
The central premise of the campaign is that 100-percent recycled fiber content does not address the total picture. The company strives to reduce environmental impact, or use source reduction, at every stage of a product's lifecycle. Source reduction is essentially waste prevention, or designing products to eliminate waste before it ever becomes waste.
The company also considers ways to reduce environmental impact at every stage of a product's lifecycle, including:
- Developing unique fiber-efficient technologies, such as the patented UCTAD manufacturing process, which reduces by up to 17 percent the amount of fiber needed to make tissue, towel and wiper products versus competitive wet press technology.
- Compressing or redesigning products and packaging so that more fits into every case.
- Introducing products such as Scott Coreless Standard Roll Bath Tissue, which reduces packaging waste by nearly 55 percent, compared with standard roll bath tissue – including 100-percent core and paper wrap elimination.
- Resizing cases to optimize how they fit onto standard pallets, so truck space can be used more effectively, reducing the total number of deliveries needed to fill orders.
As part of its overall environmental strategy, Kimberly-Clark recently became the first away-from-home tissue products provider in North America to receive Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain-of-custody certification for a broad range of tissue and towel products. The certification applies to a variety of tissue products marketed under the Kleenex and Scott brand names for the away-from-home market.
In addition, Kimberly-Clark Professional has received Green Seal™ certification for a range of its Scott brand products, which are designed for customers who are interested in or mandated to use only 100-percent recycled fiber washroom products.