WE invest in plastic packaging attributed to renewable materials instead of fossil raw materials
Climate change is one of the major global challenges of our time. We at Henkel are committed to the 1.5-degree Celsius target set in the Paris Climate Agreement. We integrate tackling climate change and its impacts into our sustainability strategy, across our entire value chain and are committed to climate protection. Therefore, Henkel has defined a net-zero roadmap in 2024, substantially extending its targets for emissions reduction along the value chain.
One part of this journey is making the packaging of our laundry and home care and hair and body care products from more sustainable materials. We are doing so by developing smart packaging solutions designed for reuse and recycling, reducing fossil-based virgin plastic, and using more recycled plastic. Where no technical solution for recycled plastic exists yet due to product safety, quality or availability issues, we explore new solutions.
Where do our plastic packaging materials come from?
At Henkel Consumer Brands, we purchase plastic from our suppliers. We constantly work to increase the share of post-consumer recycled material for our plastic packaging.
Plastic packaging that is not made of mechanically recycled plastic can be made of fossil-based and/or renewable raw materials. Fossil raw materials come from sources like crude oil. Such fossil sources result from a transformation of plant-based materials over thousands or millions of years in the earth. Renewable raw materials can come from different sources including biomass from organic waste, forestry or agriculture feedstocks. We aim to use virgin plastic made from renewable raw materials to reduce the reliance of fossil-based feedstock in our upstream value chain.
Why does the CO2 footprint of fossil raw materials differ from renewable raw materials?
Fossil raw materials are collected by extracting oil or gas from under the earth’s surface, where it has remained undisturbed for thousands or millions of years. Extraction brings captured CO2 to the planet’s surface, thereby at the end of the life cycle increasing the overall amount of CO2 in our atmosphere.
Renewable raw materials come from plants growing today on the surface of our planet. Plants capture CO2 from the air during their lifetime and use the carbon (along with water) as source. Plants then release oxygen back into the air. This process is called photosynthesis. The CO2 that a plant captures, the carbon uptake, is named biogenic carbon. At the end of the life cycle CO2 is then released again. This is called the closed carbon cycle.
Within the full life cycle the usage of renewable raw materials shows a lower total CO2 emission than the usage of fossil raw materials.
How can we decrease the amount of fossil sources for our plastic packaging?
The cage of most of our toilet rim blocks1 has been made of 30 percent post-consumer recycled plastic already. For the remaining 70 percent (excluding masterbatch for colored cages) of virgin plastic in our rim block cages1, we decided to invest into the cooperation with our suppliers to increase the amount of renewable raw materials to produce plastic and thus contribute to CO2 footprint reduction. Compared to conventional fossil-based virgin plastic, the so produced plastic based on renewable raw materials will come with a lower CO2 footprint, amounting currently to more than 10,000 tons CO2 in annual savings globally (based on same sales figures as in previous year). That’s how much 500.000 trees absorb per year.
The current solution that is used to determine the amount of fossil and renewable sources in the production process is called “mass balance approach”.
The mass balance approach: an innovative path towards replacing fossil sources
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What is the mass balance approach and how can it help to replace fossil sources?
In the production process of our suppliers, renewable and fossil raw materials are combined to manufacture the plastic for the cage of our toilet rim blocks (so called “mass balance approach”). This mass balance process and attribution is verified by an independent, third-party certification organization ISCC PLUS.
To better understand the mass balance approach, let us compare it to the sourcing of renewable electricity. When paying for renewable electricity, it is not guaranteed that the electricity entering the home comes directly from renewable sources. But one can be sure that the equal amount of energy you buy is produced somewhere by green technologies.
Same applies for our cooperation with our suppliers: We cannot guarantee that the plastic for our packaging which our suppliers deliver is directly made from renewable raw materials. But due to the certification by ISCC PLUS it is assured that the equal amount of renewable raw materials that would be needed to manufacture the plastic for the cages of our rim blocks is actually sourced and used by our suppliers for the production of plastic. Therefore, the chain of custody option is called the “mass balance approach“.
How can you be part of our journey?
We aim to further increase the amount of renewable raw materials, thereby reducing our use of fossil raw materials. This is a strong contribution to more sustainable sourcing and production processes.
By purchasing our toilet rim blocks of the variants Power Active, Deluxe or Spa Moments, you are supporting the use of more renewable-based raw materials via the mass balance approach.
And this is only the beginning of our journey. Be part of it!
1The following variants with white cages will have cages that contain 30% recycled plastic and 70% virgin plastic for which we financed the replacement of fossil raw materials by renewable raw materials via the above explained mass balance approach: Power Active, Deluxe and Spa Moments. And we are working on an identical solution for our rim blocks with colored cages. The cages of our ProNature variants are already made of 100% post-industrial recyclate.