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Reckitt Benckiser has implemented an environmental initiative called Carbon 20. The initiative, which was announced in November 2007, aims to cut the total carbon footprint of its products - from creation to disposal - by 20% by 2020. As part of the initiative the company has reduced by 70% the amount of plastic in the packaging of its Vanish cleaner.
The Independent characterised the Carbon 20 initiative as "a typically savvy bit of marketing on the part of Bart Becht, the company's CEO. It observed that Reckitt Benckiser's initiative seemed to go further than similar green initiatives by other companies, and that it would lead to increased profits.
The article quoted a city analyst who follows Reckitt Benckiser: "I was surprised by this. Reckitt has never been considered the most environmentally-enlightened company, they are typical red-blooded capitalists". The newspaper also spoke with Martin Deboo, an analyst at Investec: "They've done this because they have to, because they have these products that are seen as messy and full of lethal chemicals".
Trees for Change
In June 2006 Reckitt Benckiser launched Trees for Change, a major forestation project designed to offset the greenhouse gasses created as a by-product of its manufacturing processes. The project aims to create over 25 square kilometres of forest by planting more than two million trees on previously deforested land in British Columbia, Canada. Over the next 80–100 years the forest will absorb over two million tonnes of CO2, making the company carbon neutral for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Awards
In 2008, in the U.S., RB was one of 40 companies awarded Champion Status in the Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative (SDSI). The SDSI "recognizes environmental leaders who voluntarily commit to the use of safer surfactants". In the same year the company was awarded platinum status in the UK’s Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index. The index is an audited "voluntary, self-assessment survey, comprising 88 sets of questions on how companies are managing, measuring and reporting their social and environmental impacts".
Reckitt Benckiser has implemented an environmental initiative called Carbon 20. The initiative, which was announced in November 2007, aims to cut the total carbon footprint of its products - from creation to disposal - by 20% by 2020. As part of the initiative the company has reduced by 70% the amount of plastic in the packaging of its Vanish cleaner.
The Independent characterised the Carbon 20 initiative as "a typically savvy bit of marketing on the part of Bart Becht, the company's CEO. It observed that Reckitt Benckiser's initiative seemed to go further than similar green initiatives by other companies, and that it would lead to increased profits.
The article quoted a city analyst who follows Reckitt Benckiser: "I was surprised by this. Reckitt has never been considered the most environmentally-enlightened company, they are typical red-blooded capitalists". The newspaper also spoke with Martin Deboo, an analyst at Investec: "They've done this because they have to, because they have these products that are seen as messy and full of lethal chemicals".
Trees for Change
In June 2006 Reckitt Benckiser launched Trees for Change, a major forestation project designed to offset the greenhouse gasses created as a by-product of its manufacturing processes. The project aims to create over 25 square kilometres of forest by planting more than two million trees on previously deforested land in British Columbia, Canada. Over the next 80–100 years the forest will absorb over two million tonnes of CO2, making the company carbon neutral for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Awards
In 2008, in the U.S., RB was one of 40 companies awarded Champion Status in the Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative (SDSI). The SDSI "recognizes environmental leaders who voluntarily commit to the use of safer surfactants". In the same year the company was awarded platinum status in the UK’s Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index. The index is an audited "voluntary, self-assessment survey, comprising 88 sets of questions on how companies are managing, measuring and reporting their social and environmental impacts".
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