Kenvue has surpassed its 2025 goal of reducing its virgin plastic use by 25%, hitting a 33% reduction as brands like Listerine and Aveeno switch to more post-consumer recycled plastic. The company has deployed a new tool to center sustainability in its research and development.
Sustainability Innovation Profiler
The tool, called the Sustainability Innovation Profiler, gives a real-time assessment of how sustainable a product is. It crunches more than 1,300 equations to come up with scores around an existing product’s environmental footprint, carbon footprint, green chemistry makeup, and packaging circularity.
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According to the report, Oliver Price, Kenvue’s R&D global head of product resiliency and sustainability, said the tool helps the company put sustainability front and center in the design process. The tool is part of the company’s “Healthy Lives Mission” that includes ambitious goals like reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 42% by 2030 from a 2020 base year.
Impact on Product Development
The profiler is used by at least 600 product developers who have undergone mandatory training on the tool. Recently, the company removed a pearlescent from Neutrogena shampoo that had a high carbon footprint, a move that instantly helped the product score higher on the tool. The company has also transitioned all of its adult lotion and body wash bottles to post-consumer recycled plastic, which saves about 300 metric tons of virgin plastic.
Kenvue published an abridged methodology of the patent-pending Sustainability Innovation Profiler to share how the tool is constructed with others in the industry.
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The company’s focus on sustainability is also reflected in its Healthy Lives Mission, which includes ambitious goals like reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 42% by 2030 from a 2020 base year. By using tools like the Sustainability Innovation Profiler, Kenvue is well on its way to achieving these goals.
It is a key part of the company’s effort to reduce its environmental footprint.
The tool has already helped the company make changes to its products, such as removing a pearlescent from Neutrogena shampoo.