News Environment & Sustainability
Kimberly-Clark honoured with SmartWay Excellence Award

Kimberly-Clark was honoured with a 2021 SmartWay Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The company was recognized as an industry leader in freight supply chain environmental performance and energy efficiency with this award.

The award is presented to companies that use fuel-saving strategies in their shipping and freight delivery services that reduce transportation emissions and make freight delivery more sustainable.

“We are proud to receive a ninth consecutive SmartWay Excellence Award, which recognizes our continued efforts to minimize the carbon footprint of our transportation network,” said Scott DeGroot, vice-president of distribution and planning at Kimberly-Clark. “We will continue to work with our suppliers to find innovative ways to increase operating efficiency, lower greenhouse gas emissions across our value chain, and provide better care for a better world with the smallest environmental footprint.”

Kimberly-Clark is among 12 shipper and logistics companies that received this award this year. Kimberly-Clark joined the SmartWay program in 2006. Since then, the company has been in the top two percent of all SmartWay shippers that meet or exceed emissions and carrier selection standards outlined by EPA, a total of 12 times. Since joining the program, the company has reduced transportation-related CO2 emissions by 1.3 million metric tons.

In July 2020, Kimberly-Clark announced ambitious 2030 goals to reduce the carbon footprint of its operations and supply chain for its brands, which include Huggies, Kleenex, Cottonelle, Scott, Kotex and Depend. The new targets include a 50 percent reduction in absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (direct and indirect) from its operations from a 2015 base year.

Catalyst Paper was one of the 12 recipients of the award as well.