Living up to our responsibilities
We want to make sure of a sustainable future not just for our business and our shareholders but also for the communities in which we play a part. Achieving this affects the way we do business around the world. We aim to outperform wherever we focus, and our commitment to CSR is a good example - our programme is the most ambitious in the industry.
Our environment
We try to operate in a way that minimises our environmental impact - in real terms. For starters, 70% of our manufacturing waste is now recycled. Between 2000 and 2006 we reduced greenhouse gas emissions from our global factories by 22% per unit of production.
And now we’re going further still. Our new target is to reduce our products’ Total Carbon Footprint, by 20% per unit by 2020 versus 2007. But we don’t stop there. Over 90% of our third-party factories in developing markets have been audited to ensure they meet our high global standards. In the meantime over two million ‘Trees for Change’ are being planted to offset our carbon emissions.
We’re in the process of implementing our new ‘Our home, Our planet’ initiative. This is a product labelling initiative that aims to give consumers access to information about product-related ways to make a positive impact on the environment.
Community projects
We don’t just show a firm commitment to the global environmental agenda. We also work closely with communities in numerous ways, and donated £1.5m to charitable causes during 2007 alone.
We work with many organisations in our markets around the world, but our global charity partnership is with Save the Children. We’re currently engaged in a joint initiative to help to prevent children dying from preventable diseases. The cost of providing basic health and hygiene support for one child is £10, and so by raising £1.5m by the end of the year we hope to save 150,000 lives. We’re well on track, having already smashed our previous target of 100,000 lives/ £1m.