Kimberly-Clark's forestry and waste reduction strategies in its 2015 sustainability report

manufacturer, which opens it up to a number of issues regarding sustainability. This paper will review Kimberley Clark\'s approach to sustainability, based on information presented in the company\'s 2015 Sustainability Report, and understanding of the key issues surrounding sustainability in general.

Sustainability

Kimberley Clark produces a periodic sustainability report, and the last one was produced in 2015. The production of these reports is voluntary for business, and the content contained within them is also voluntary. In general, production of a sustainability report is an important step towards transparency and accountability in the sustainability practices of a business. The 2015 report sets out the company\'s strategy through 2022, and recaps the outcomes of the last strategy, which ran from 2010 to 2015.

There are several major impacts on the environment that arise from KC\'s business. The first is the forestry activities that produce the logs that are turned into paper. The company\'s prior strategy focused on partnership with the Forest Stewardship Council, and increasing the amount of FSC-certified virgin fiber in the company\'s tissue products. This went from 7% to 75% during the span of this report, showing the changes that the company made to its supply chain during the study period. The impacts on forests for the coming years are going to focus on reducing the \"natural forest footprint\" in the products by 50%. The report claims FSC is a high standard, but does not provide details as to what this actually means. They do, however, elaborate on their strategy to reduce the forest footprint of their products, and this largely involves the use of non-forest fibers. The company intends to invest in labs that can investigate the use of \"algae, and prickly, dry forms of plantlife\" (p.14) in its products.

The key metrics that KC uses are the amount of FSC-certified forest products it uses as a percentage of total forest products, and it has now introduced a target for the metric of forest footprint of its products as a means of measuring how much non-forest fiber it will be using going forward. The company has not been awarded for its forestry practices, though it has won awards in other categories of its corporate social responsibility program.

It is also worth mentioning that the company has a waste/recycling program. Paper, of course, is one of the waste products that is frequently recycled, so this is a natural for the company. It notes, however, that it has also diverted 95.6% of manufacturing waste from landfills by 2015, and has targeted zero waste for its 2022 goal in this regard. Further, it views recyclables as a value creation mechanism. To this end, the company has set a target for 2022 to have cumulatively diverted 150,000 tons of post-consumer product and packaging waste (p.16). The company has waste reduction programs across its large network of facilities, in North America, Europe, ANZ and in Latin America.

Further, it has initiatives pertaining to the climate. KC has targeted the elimination of 1,000,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from their 2005 baseline. Their factories have adopted LEAN energy management, and many utilize alternative energy. For example, biomass is a byproduct of production and can be used as fuel to provide energy. The company also harnesses gas from landfills as another means of powering its facilities, enough to power 12,000 homes per year (p.17). And its waste reduction initiatives also focus on the supply chain

Community Engagement

Kimberley Clark\'s strongest area is in community engagement, as the company has sponsored a number of different initiatives around the world. It outlines several of these in its sustainability report. One is the Toilets Change Lives program, where in partnership with non-profit organizations, the company is seeking to improve access to proper sanitation facilities, reflecting the reality that one in three people worldwide does not have access to modern sanitation facilities. Further, the company\'s Water for People program was launched in order to address the issue of basic sanitation and water access in the United States.

Further, the company has diaper brands, and has used that as a means of donating 22 million diapers to Diaper Bank Network in order to provide diapers to mothers and babies in need in the United States. The agency is quoted in the report, highlighting how pleased it is with the company\'s participation, as this participation allows them to reach more families.

The company also partners with Malaria No More, which operates in Africa, and targets malaria, because that affects a lot of babies, who are especially vulnerable in poor, rural areas. The have Project Growth in Brazil, wherein employees volunteer in a number of different projects in a particular part of the country. The company has a factory in the town where the program is based, so the program is a means of giving back to the town a little bit, investing in the community where its workers come from. It is not known if there are other volunteer programs for employees, but this is one that is mentioned in the report.

Conclusion

Kimberley Clark has done some work in terms of sustainability, and some of its initiatives are interesting. Worth noting that its initiatives start with the baseline of \"we are going to produce stuff\" rather than admitting that there are better alternatives to disposable diapers, or using paper. But insomuch as they intend to continue in business, they have set some good objectives in terms of greening their business. They recognize, rightly, that such initiatives will often take several years, so the targets should be ambitious enough to leave time to not only conceptualize and launch a program, but give it time to build momentum. The company does well on that front.

Its strength seems to lie with its social responsibility programs. It is unclear the extent to which it has employee volunteer groups -- local ones exist - but the company wins a lot of awards for being a good employer, and has some excellent corporate-wide initiatives. The Toilets Change Lives one ties into one of its core products, but at the same time they are correct in the need and benefits of proper sanitation. Fighting malaria is always a good cause, and their other programs are also of high quality and genuine commitment. So the company has its strengths and weaknesses in CSR and sustainability, but its programs do appear thought out, and are not just related to finding ways to earn more profit or market themselves better.