SC Johnson has released its 26th annual Sustainability Report, The Science Inside, which shares publicly the criteria inside the company’s Greenlist™ ingredient selection program. The Greenlist™ program helps the company continually improve its products by choosing ingredients to better protect human health and the environment. People can now see, in detail, the care that goes into choosing each of the ingredients that are used in SC Johnson products. SC Johnson’s Sustainability Report also publishes the company’s progress on its longstanding commitments to transparency, the environment and improving lives for families around the world.
“We know consumers today are more interested than ever in the products they bring into their homes,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “What matters most is the trust consumers place in our company and that they count on our products to be effective and safe. We believe it’s our responsibility to give people the facts so they can make informed choices, and we hope other companies will join us.”
SC Johnson has long been an industry leader and trendsetter in transparency. Today’s announcement of the detailed scientific criteria inside the Greenlist™ program builds upon the company’s commitment to tell the whole story about the ingredients it uses and the rigorous science that informs those choices.
Unveiling the Greenlist™ Program Criteria
SC Johnson’s Greenlist™ program has guided the company’s product development for nearly two decades. Every ingredient in every SC Johnson product goes through the rigorous Greenlist™ program, which is centered around a peer-reviewed, four-step evaluation of its potential impact on human health and the environment. The Greenlist™ program looks at both hazard and risk to select the ingredients the company uses, and at what concentration, if at all. It’s grounded in best-in-class data collection, and driven by the company’s commitment to continually improve its products.
As part of the Greenlist™ program, SC Johnson maintains a list of ingredients that are not allowed in its products. This list is termed the “Not Allowable” list. It includes over 200 unique raw materials in roughly 90 material categories, and over 2,400 fragrance materials. These materials all meet legal and regulatory requirements — and are often used by other companies in the industry. But they simply do not meet SC Johnson standards.
Championing Ingredient Transparency
The company began its industry-leading ingredient transparency program in 2009 by launching WhatsInsideSCJohnson.com and has been setting industry standards ever since. As a company that works to ensure families have the information they need to make the best product choices, SC Johnson continued to make large strides in its global transparency program this past year.
In May 2017, SC Johnson broke new ground by announcing its plans to disclose 368 skin allergens that may be present in its products. The list of allergens was published on WhatsInsideSCJohnson.com and the site now lists allergens on a product-specific basis. This move goes beyond regulations in the European Union and also in the United States, where there are no rules requiring allergen transparency.
Last fall, SC Johnson expanded its ingredient transparency program to Asia Pacific. The program now serves more than 5 billion consumers, providing access to a comprehensive list of ingredients for more than 5,300 products sold in 52 countries.
Continued Environmental Leadership
Over the past year, SC Johnson continued to make strong progress to reduce its environmental footprint. The company reached zero manufacturing waste to landfill status at more than 65 percent of its manufacturing facilities. This puts the company ahead of schedule in meeting its goal to send zero manufacturing waste to landfill from its factories by 2021.
SC Johnson also has set an aggressive goal of further reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent by 2020 from the base set in 2015. This could result in a reduction of more than 15,000 metric tons of emissions over five years. The company has already exceeded that target, and was honored with a Climate Leadership Award for Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management (GHG) Goal Setting by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) and The Climate Registry (TCR). Since 2000, SC Johnson has realized a 55 percent reduction in greenhouse gases, indexed to production.
For the past 13 years, SC Johnson has used renewable energy sources around the world to power its facilities. Globally, 35 percent of the company’s energy use in fiscal year 2016/17 came from renewable sources. In May 2017, the company announced its manufacturing site in Bay City, Michigan, which manufactures Ziploc® brand storage bags, became its third company-owned site to run on 100 percent wind energy for electricity.
Improving Lives for Families around the World
Since 1937, SC Johnson has given 5 percent of all pretax profits to charities. The company’s annual Sustainability Report summarizes its efforts over the past year to make a real difference in people’s lives through advocacy, educational resources, products and grants.