Huggies® is the first baby care brand in the UK to work with The Carbon Trust following Kimberly-Clark's decision to become a pilot partner in
the Carbon Trust carbon footprinting initiative.
The facts as we know them today...
During 2007, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its fourth major review. The result of many years
of research, the paper concludes that human activities are increasing the concentrations of green house gases that trap heat in the Earth's
Atmosphere.
These green house gases act like a blanket, keeping heat in and stopping space from cooling the Earth, resulting in a rise in average
temperature on the Earth (sometimes called Global Warming). The rise in average temperature is widely accepted to be the cause of
climate change.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is seen as the main greenhouse gas. As almost everything we do results in CO2 emissions – watching TV,
going on holiday, reading this information... reducing carbon emissions emitted into the atmosphere won't be easy and requires us all
to play our part.
The total carbon emitted by an activity is called its carbon footprint.
Most things have a carbon footprint. For example the organic carrots you can buy at your local supermarket have a carbon footprint,
which includes the ploughing of the field, the harvesting of the carrots, the sorting and packing, and their delivery to store.
Our point of view...
Addressing climate change is one of the most important challenges facing us all if we are to ensure a healthy and happy future
for the generations to come.
Reducing carbon dioxide emissions is a key way of tackling climate change, and, as everything people do generates carbon emissions,
we need a common measurement of carbon footprint to prioritise our areas of focus.
Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Huggies®, believes that with a common standard for measuring carbon footprints, consumers will be able
to make informed choices about the impact of their purchase decisions on carbon emissions in the UK.
You may be interested to know what we are doing...
Kimberly-Clark is focused on fully understanding the carbon impacts of its products, including Huggies®, so it can pinpoint where
those impacts come from and put plans in place to reduce them.
The company is working with The Carbon Trust in the UK to calculate the carbon footprint for
Huggies® nappies by measuring the CO2e (Carbon Dioxide equivalent) emissions involved in each step of making and selling the products.
This crucial information will help us identify where we can take the biggest steps in reducing our carbon emissions across our nappy
manufacturing operations.
Kimberly-Clark is also contributing to the development of a carbon footprint measurement standard for the UK which is currently being
pioneered by The Carbon Trust, Defra and
BSI British Standards.
You may also be interested to know that Huggies® has been working towards reducing its carbon emissions through increased energy
efficiency between 2005 and 2008 as part of Kimberly-Clark's global energy efficiency program. To read about Kimberly-Clarks' energy
efficiency program Click Here.
