Employees are the principals of sustainable development.

by Deborah Gardner | December 08, 2011 | (0)

SUSTAINABILITY IS “WHERE” DÜSSELDORF-BASED HENKEL CHOOSES TO BE COMPETITIVELY SUCCESSFUL. Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three business areas: laundry and home care, cosmetics/toiletries and adhesive technologies. Think: Dial soap, Purex laundry detergent and Loctite Adhesives.

For more than 130 years, Henkel has worked to achieve sustainable development while creating balance among its products, partnerships and people. The company’s strong approach on sustainability is a corporate value, maintained between economic success, protection of the environment and social responsibility. 

“Sustainability is a differentiating factor at Henkel innovation,” said Dr. Pete He, senior research fellow of sustainability. “Every new product is required to enhance its value and reduce its environmental footprint defined by our new Sustainability Strategy 2030.”

Henkel’s sustainable strategy works like this: The company systematically concentrates on elevating living standards within the resource limits of the planet. The core of Henkel’s sustainable development is achieving more with less by delivering more value with a reduced footprint. The company recently set a 20-year goal to triple the value per footprint in core areas: energy and climate, water and wastewater, materials and waste, health and safety, performance and social progress. 

Laundry care brand Purex showcases the company’s direct contributions to sustainability. In order to produce a detergent that would make washing easier and better with less impact to the environment, Henkel developed Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets and refills. Launched in May 2009, the sheets are the first and only product with a load’s worth of detergent, softener and anti-static all in one sheet. 

What’s Henkel’s secret? 

“We have developed a matrix and calculation tool called ‘Henkel Sustainable Consumption Index’ to measure our progress in sustainability innovation,” Dr. He said. “Henkel is an initial founder for The Sustainability Consortium, in which 80-plus members from different industry sectors, universities, government agencies and NGOs are working together to develop a science-based, open and transparent sustainability measurement and reporting system.”

Henkel puts the highest priority on acting responsibly throughout the value chain, where it gains momentum from some 48,000 international employees who assume responsibility for their own areas—in every business unit, function and region. Employees are the principals of sustainable development, and the company’s corporate values play a key role in this. They provide orientation for the daily decision-making and are, therefore, the basis for long-term corporate success rooted in clear value concepts such as sustainability.

The overall payoff: An excellent reputation with globally leading positions. Henkel has received many well-deserved awards—high ratings from major sustainability analysts such as Dow Jones, Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Award, Frost & Sullivan’s Green Excellence of the Year Award, Kellogg’s Environmental Stewardship Award and the Switzerland Coop Naura Award. 

Henkel, a worldwide leader, is determined to remain in the vanguard of sustainability. Where are you going to focus your sustainability efforts? One+

Deborah Gardner

Deborah Gardner, CMP is the principal and founder of two successful companies, a business specialist and consultant for DG INTERNATIONAL, and a speaker/trainer for COMPETE BETTER NOW! LLC. - a company that helps translate competition into higher sales, better customer service, stronger negotiations. Deborah is the author of How to Sell to Men without Wearing a Low-Cut Dress which was released this summer with rave reviews. Deborah is a member of the National Speakers Association, a 26 year veteran in the hospitality sales industry, an 18 year MPI member, immediate past president for the Arizona Sunbelt MPI Chapter, and currently the Arizona State University project director for the MPI CMP on-line study guide. Deborah has a special page dedicated to the MPI community: www.DeborahGardner.com/Topics/MPI

TAGS: csr , column , sustainability , One+ December 2011