Kimberly-Clark Professional Hong Kong's Second Annual Corporate Sustainability Forum Brings Experts Together to Discuss Sustainable Supply Chain Opportunities
HONG KONG, Oct. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Hong Kong-based companies continue to face pressure to meet the Environment Bureau's carbon intensity reduction targets, while at the same time maintaining financial stability amid global economic uncertainty. This twin challenge facing global and local enterprises was top of mind at Kimberly-Clark Professional's (KCP) Second Annual Sustainability Forum, held in Hong Kong today.
Kimberly-Clark Professional*, the business-to-business arm of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), today brought together over 35 local and international corporations to share solutions and best practices on how companies can meet dual environmental and economic objectives. A key area, often overlooked, is cost saving opportunities in the supply chain.
"Business and environmental objectives are not mutually exclusive. In fact, solutions to environmental challenges often result in significant cost savings, particularly in the supply chain," said Chloe Hui, General Manager of KCP Hong Kong. "By investing in more sustainable products and solutions, KCP helps our customers meet their financial and environmental goals, through operational efficiencies and waste reduction."
Some of the best practice case studies shared at the KCP Sustainability Forum supported this claim. Since 2010, Hong Kong Aircraft & Engineering Co. Ltd. (HAECO) worked with KCP to lower environmental impact and cut costs by switching over from conventional rags to KCP's disposable wipers. The impact was dramatic.
The simple switch of reducing the use of rags by 33% and replacing them with wipers resulted in a 24% reduction in tonnage and a 20% reduction in volume of waste to landfill. At the same time, HAECO reduced its total rag/wiper expenditure by 6% of its total cost (including materials, labor, and disposal costs). This was primarily due to a 90% reduction in costs associated with waste disposal.
In another case, Swire Pacific Group switched from conventional multi-folded towels to KCP AIRFLEX* Hand Roll Towels at four of its Hong Kong properties. The result was equally impressive. The Swire Properties achieved a reduction of 194,400 poly wrappers and a reduction of approximately 9,000 paper cartons, which translates to an 80% reduction in trees consumed.
KCP partners with NGOs like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Greenpeace to ensure that KCP products minimize their impact on forests, which are critical to controlling climate change through the absorption of carbon dioxide. Compared to conventional towels, KCP reduces the amount of fibre needed to make towel products by up to 17% through KCP's innovative AIRFLEX* technology. With an addition of FSC-certified SCOTT® Hand Roll Towels, KCP provides solutions for companies that are struggling to find ways to reduce their environmental impact through smarter procurement purchases.
About Kimberly-Clark Professional
Kimberly-Clark Professional is an indispensable business partner, delivering leading-edge health, hygiene and productivity solutions that provide tangible value every day, everywhere. Kimberly-Clark Professional is committed to reducing environmental impact at every stage in a product's life cycle with its Reduce Today, Respect Tomorrow program. Known for innovative, quality solutions for away-from-home washrooms, "clean" and "industrial" manufacturing environments, the global brands of Kimberly-Clark Professional include Kleenex, Scott, WypAll, KleenGuard and Kimtech. Headquartered in the USA, Kimberly-Clark Professional is one of Kimberly-Clark Corporation's four business segments. Kimberly-Clark Professional has been operating in Hong Kong for 19 years, and can be visited on the web at http://www.kcprofessional.com/hk.
About Kimberly-Clark
Every day, 1.3 billion people - nearly a quarter of the world's population - trust Kimberly-Clark's brands and the solutions it provides. The company's well-known brands and businesses include Huggies, Kotex, Kleenex, Andrex and Scott, Kimberly-Clark Professional and Kimberly-Clark Healthcare. Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 market share positions in many parts of the world, including Hong Kong. It employs nearly 56,000 employees world-wide.
Kimberly-Clark Hong Kong is a subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), a Fortune 500 company. To learn more about the company's brands and businesses globally, please visit www.kimberly-clark.com
®/* Trademarks of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. ©2011 KCWW. All right reserved.
Media Enquiries
| Kimberly-Clark Professional Twiggy Lil Chan |
Edelman Public Relations Camille Lam |
| Tel: +852-2355-8646 | Tel: +852-2837-4720 / +852-9862-5155 |
| Email: twiggy.chan@kcc.com | Email: camille.lam@edelman.com |