Healthy Environment

Our commitment to consider the impact of our actions on the next seven generations demands that we engage in pioneering work to minimize our impact on the environment — not only in our products, packaging, and business operations — but in our personal lives, as well. Here are a few of our 2010 highlights:

• Boosted our use of renewable (plant-derived) surfactants 68%;
• Reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with product transport by 24% per ton of product shipped;
• Sales-normalized GHG emissions dropped 12% and absolute GHG emissions fell 2%;
• Met our 2005–2010 goal of a 20% reduction in the personal carbon footprint of our employees; and
• Dramatically increased the recycled content of our plastic bottles. While bottles with 25% PCR (post-consumer recycled content) are standard in our industry, the majority of our plastic bottles now contain greater than 80% PCR. We even have some record-breaking bottles where all the plastic is recycled (96% PCR with 4% colorant).

Our 2010 product sales

helped save:

• 188 billion BTUs of energy: enough to power 1,900 US homes for one year
• 132,000 trees
• 47.5 million gallons of water: enough to supply 373 US families for one year

and prevented these chemicals from being released into the environment:

• 36,000 pounds of chlorine
• 121,000 pounds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• 1.6 million pounds of phosphates
• 2,800 pounds of chlorinated hydrocarbons