Kimberly-Clark plans to be natural forest-free by 2030
Kimberly-Clark today published its annual sustainability report, including an update on the company's progress toward its 2030 sustainability goals and a new ambition to be 100% Natural Forest Free across its portfolio beyond 2030.
Over the past decade, the company says it has made significant investments in developing more sustainable products as part of the company's innovation strategy and focus on delivering products with enhanced consumer benefits while striving to lower its environmental footprint.
"Sustainability is woven into the fabric of our 152-year-old company's innovation strategy and purpose, serving as a guiding principle across every facet of our operations," said Mike Hsu, chairman and CEO at Kimberly-Clark. "I am proud of our team's commitment to our purpose of Better Care for a Better World, focusing on where we believe we can make the biggest impact."
The report details achievements in areas it calls Better Products, Better Society, and Better Workplace. Among them, the company said in 2023, it strengthened its human rights due diligence and supplier engagement processes, including more robust risk segmentation, monitoring tools and supply chain mapping and by connecting suppliers with resources and experts to improve their human rights performance.
The company also appointed Lisa Morden, formerly vice president of safety, sustainability, and cccupational health to the role of chief sustainability officer.
"We are proud of our progress and, in 2023, we continued to address challenges associated with single-use plastics, carbon emissions, and water use in our operations and value chain, while working to decrease forest reliance and increasing our use of renewable energy," said Morden. "We recognize that there are still challenges and opportunities ahead and we remain dedicated to supporting a more sustainable future for all."
In addition, Kimberly-Clark noted that it partners with a wide range of stakeholders and nonprofit organizations to deliver innovative products and solutions to improve the future for babies and children, including UNICEF.
Since 2015, Kimberly-Clark has provided over $24 million in funding to UNICEF to help strengthen neonatal health systems, increase access to safe water and sanitation, promote safe menstrual health and hygiene, and support early childhood development, resulting in nearly 14 million lives impacted across 26 countries. Additionally, Kimberly-Clark has donated over $4.6 million to UNICEF's humanitarian responses, including during emergencies in Colombia, Haiti, India, Peru, Puerto Rico, and global support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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