Discover the brands from our business units Henkel Adhesive Technologies and Henkel Consumer Brands.

Reducing our ecological footprint
We are constantly innovating to offer better performance with a reduced ecological footprint.
Many companies source their raw materials from suppliers around the globe. That’s why a company’s supply chain is such an important resource – because collaboration between companies at every step in the chain can open up powerful opportunities to minimize the overall environmental impact and maximize the overall positive social impact.
Of course, global supply chains are also very complex. Raw materials are often handled by many different companies and travel long distances before reaching their final destination. This creates challenges for companies when seeking to boost sustainability at every step in their supply chain.
At Henkel, our global supply chain includes business partners in more than 120 countries. Together, we want to drive progress toward 100 percent responsible sourcing. That’s why we operate a holistic supplier management approach – and work closely with our suppliers and partners to promote sustainability throughout our supply chain for the benefit of people and the planet.
Ingredients based on palm oil and palm kernel oil are a strong example of how we actively promote sustainability in our supply chain. Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil and cannot easily be replaced by other oils. To produce the same amount of oil, oil palm trees require about four times less land than rapeseed and as much as eight times less than soy. Palm oil, especially palm kernel oil and its derivatives, are important renewable raw materials required to produce surfactants that we use for our laundry detergents, household cleaners and cosmetic products.
We recognize our responsibilities regarding the purchase and use of ingredients based on renewable raw materials. In this spirit, we have set dedicated targets for palm (kernel) oil for 2025:
Our responsible sourcing stories
Learn more about responsible sourcing and palm oil and deepdive into our stories:
With our leading approach to responsible sourcing, we aim to enable purposeful growth by driving sustainability throughout our supply chain for the benefit of people and the planet.
Here’s how we implement our responsible sourcing strategy:
Within our purchasing department, we are strongly committed to contribute to Henkel’s Purposeful Growth strategy and its ambitions with our ‘100% Responsible Sourcing’ strategy.
Bertrand Conquéret, President Global Supply Chain and Corporate Senior Vice President Purchasing
Millions of people around the globe work within our supplier base. This means we have a responsibility to manage the impact of our business activities. We do this by choosing suppliers who consider the safety and health of their employees – and who operate in line with our high expectations for social standards and fair business practice.
We constantly engage in open dialog and collaboration with our suppliers to promote sustainability and respect for human rights. Our Responsible Sourcing Policy is an integral part of our sourcing processes, and we also support the implementation of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this way, we ensure a holistic supplier management process that is based on a strong commitment to conducting business responsibly.
Only together with our partners – our suppliers, business partners and cross-industry initiatives – we can accelerate our efforts towards responsible sourcing.
If you didn’t see it, you would never believe how far we’ve come in these 35 years.
Fausto Martínez, Smallholder Palm Oil Farmer in Honduras
Palm oil and palm kernel oil FAQ