Kimberly-Clark Corporation announced today the release of its 2011 Sustainability Report – Full Circle, highlighting the company’s progress towards its Sustainability 2015 goals.

The 2011 Sustainability Report is K-C’s ninth sustainability report and is structured around the company’s Sustainability 2015 strategy framework of People, Planet and Products introduced last year. The new framework represents K-C’s most ambitious and comprehensive sustainability strategy to date, and embodies the company’s commitment to weaving a sustainable business practice and mindset into every facet of the organization and as an integral part of its Global Business Plan.  

“In 2011, we introduced Sustainability 2015, an aggressive set of goals and strategies that encompasses the full circle of our responsibilities and opportunities to improve lives by contributing to the environmental, social and economic success in the communities we operate around the world,” said Suhas Apte, Vice President, Global Sustainability for Kimberly-Clark. “I’m proud to report we made progress on the majority of our goals during the first year of our five-year program, advancing in such areas as workplace safety, supplier social compliance standards, water and energy reductions, third-party-certified fiber sourcing and generating net sales from environmentally innovative products, as well as in many other areas.”

Notable 2011 Kimberly-Clark Sustainability Accomplishments

• Sourced 99.9 percent of its fiber from suppliers certified by sustainable forestry practices.
• Generated 13 percent of 2011 net sales from environmentally innovative products.
• Accomplished its goal of zero workplace fatalities.
• Communicated to all of its key suppliers its Supplier Social Compliance Standards, which encourages suppliers to align its operations with K-C’s Code of Conduct practices and internationally accepted standards for corporate social responsibility and human rights.
• Achieved zero manufacturing waste to landfill from all its European Personal Care business facilities.
• Extended the Huggies brand Every Little Bottom campaign in the U.S. to assist moms who struggle to provide their babies clean disposable diapers.
• Expanded the Huggies diaper composting initiatives by opening a second K-C-sponsored recycling plant in New Zealand.
• Kleenex brand became the first U.S. consumer tissue to offer Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified tissue products and extended its Kimberly-Clark Professional business’ FSC certification to more than 95 percent of its tissue and towel lines in North America.
• Initiated water-replenishment projects in India, Israel, Colombia and Spain, anticipating an annualized return of 205 million gallons of water to surrounding communities.
• Conducted social initiatives in 23 countries, providing cash and product donations totaling more than $32 million.
  
  

“Sustainability is no longer only in the realm of our operations, it is embedded across our entire value chain in every function, brand and business at K-C,” said Apte. “Our progress in 2011 reflects the hard work of our employees worldwide in helping to integrate sustainable business practices into everything we do. And while we are proud of our 2011 efforts, we realize this is an area in which our work will never be done.”
Additional highlights, along with the full report, can be accessed online at www.sustainabilityreport2011.kimberly-clark.com. This year’s report also includes new multimedia features that enable readers to identify and locate areas of interest more quickly, access K-C’s progress in those areas more easily, and build and print customized reports as well as share various pages through social media channels. A video reviewing the Kimberly-Clark Sustainability 2015 goals can be viewed on YouTube by clicking K-C Sustainability 2015 Video.  

An external assurance process of the report was conducted by Two Tomorrows, an international corporate sustainability agency, as well as an extensive review and assessment provided by   K-C’s external Sustainability Advisory Board. Established in 2007, this board provides an outside view and guidance on K-C’s pursuit of an A+ rating by the Global Reporting Initiative, as well as global expertise on the company’s sustainability initiatives. The assurance statement along with more information about K-C’s sustainability advisory board can be accessed through the sustainability report.