Henkel published its sustainability report for the fiscal year 2023 today, reporting on progress in the implementation of its global sustainability strategy, particularly in the use of renewable energies and the promotion of the circular economy. Additionally, the company has continued to work systematically on a more sustainable product portfolio and further expanded its employee engagement program.
“Sustainability is a central pillar of our Purposeful Growth Agenda,” said Carsten Knobel, CEO of Henkel. “Especially in challenging times like these, sustainable action is more important than ever. We are therefore working continuously on the implementation of our sustainability goals, and I am proud that we made very good progress again in the course of 2023. Our excellent results in leading external ESG ratings, for example the repeated EcoVadis Platinum achievement, show that we are on the right track and that our progress is recognized.”
“Last year, we focused on advancing our environment and social impact commitments,” added Sylvie Nicol, member of the Henkel Management Board, responsible for Human Resources, Infrastructure and Sustainability. “I want to highlight the significant progress on the sustainable sourcing of key commodities, for example palm and palm kernel oil certification. We have also made great efforts in contributing to a circular economy in both our business units. Moreover, we have continued to promote social equity, and I would like to emphasize the introduction of gender-neutral parental leave for all employees worldwide.”
Significantly improved sustainability performance
The “2030+ Sustainability Ambition Framework” defines clear ambitions and targets for Henkel’s global sustainability pathway on environment, social and governance issues. The company made significant improvements in the area of climate last year and reduced its overall CO2 emissions in production by 61 percent per metric ton of product (compared to the base year 2010), while it increased the proportion of electricity purchased from renewable sources to 89 percent. In total, 14 further sites have been converted to carbon-neutral production in 2023. Building on its progress in reducing CO2 emissions from raw materials and packaging by 17 percent (per ton of product, compared to the base year 2017), Henkel has also developed its net-zero pathway across all emission categories.
An important goal of Henkel is to promote a circular economy. Overall, Henkel has increased the share of recycled plastic in its consumer goods packaging to 19 percent worldwide. A prominent example is doubling the recycled content level to 50 percent for the entire universal liquid detergents portfolio in Europe, such as Persil.
Henkel has also continued its efforts to protect natural resources. This includes the responsible use of raw materials such as palm oil and palm kernel oil. At the end of 2023, the company was able to cover 96 percent of its global demand with sustainably certified palm (kernel) oil and reached a traceability rate up to the mill of 89 percent. With a particular focus on supporting smallholder farmers in the palm oil production, Henkel has celebrated 10 years of cooperation with the development organization Solidaridad. Over 39,000 smallholder farmers have already benefited from the joint initiatives. The partnership will be further expanded through specific projects in the coming years, including in Colombia and Indonesia.
