Henkel leaders highlight sustainability and packaging innovation to U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal

Henkel Corporation, a manufacturer of leading Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care brands such as Persil^®, Purex^®, Dial^®, Schwarzkopf^®, and Snuggle^®, welcomed U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal to its North American Consumer Goods Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut today. Company leaders provided a tour of the newly-opened Henkel Experience Center and shared examples of Henkel’s sustainability commitments and innovative product packaging solutions that contribute to the circular economy for plastics.

The newly-opened Henkel Experience Center is unique and interactive, and brings to life the company’s proprietary consumer insights, digital technologies, omnichannel marketing expertise and commitment to sustainability for its customers.

“We are pleased to host Senator Blumenthal at our new Henkel Experience Center to demonstrate Henkel’s commitment to growth as an innovative leader in brands, technologies and sustainability practices, said Stephan Fuesti-Molnar, President of Henkel Consumer Goods in North America. “Henkel has a target of making 100 percent of its Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025, and we’re pleased to have already achieved having 80 percent of our packaging meet these criteria. We welcome the opportunity to share our goals and achievements with the Senator.”

“Henkel is committed to collaborating across the entire value chain – from suppliers, trade partners, consumers and organizations through to governments to develop sustainable solutions for a circular economy,” said Jillaine Dellis, Head of Sustainability, North America - Consumer Products. “One way we do this is by making investments in partnerships and alliances that impact society to create a circular value chain, while we also continue to innovate for smart design of our product packaging.”

Henkel’s investments in a circular economy include a partnership with Plastic Bank – a social enterprise that aims to reduce ocean plastic stop plastic and provide opportunities for people in poverty at the same time. At three collection centers in Haiti that have been built as part of the cooperation with Henkel, a total of around 63 metric tons of plastic has already been collected, sorted and subsequently introduced into the recycling value chain.

The company is also a founding member of the global Alliance to End Plastic Waste, an organization formed to develop and bring to scale solutions that will minimize and manage plastic waste. The Alliance has committed over $1.0 billion with the goal of investing $1.5 billion over the next five years to help end plastic waste in the environment.

While touring the Henkel Experience Center, company leaders shared examples of product packaging solutions and partnerships that its consumer goods brands are investing in to further advance its sustainability commitments, including:

• Purex^® laundry detergent blue bottles, which include up to 35% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content (vs 25% in other high-density polyethylene bottles), enabling the re-use of 1.8 mm pounds of blue PCR, thus reducing the burden on virgin or higher demand PCR
• Dial^® soap that will include innovation breakthroughs in recycled packaging content and recyclability in 2020
• Partnerships with organizations such as TerraCycle^® and How2Recycle^® that make it easier for customers and consumers to navigate the difficulty of recycling caused by variations in local recycling programs and unclear labeling systems

“Henkel’s efforts towards sustainable solutions for our environment are a model for other companies. Their leadership and commitment to continued innovation and increased use of recyclable materials sets a strong example of how business and communities can collaborate for long-term positive impact. I am proud of their commitment to the environment and their hardworking, dedicated Connecticut employees,” said Blumenthal.

Senator Blumenthal’s visit also included an open-forum Question & Answer session with Henkel employees from its Stamford, Darien and Trumbull locations.

“Our employees appreciated the opportunity to have a Q&A with Senator Blumenthal to learn more about his work in Washington, D.C. on behalf of residents of our state,” said Heather Wallace, Henkel Senior Vice President & General Manager Beauty Care North America.  “We were pleased to host the Senator at our new Henkel Experience Center, a collaboration center that was created because we know that only together – with our customers, consumers and business partners – we can create and bring to life sustainable innovations that contribute to a more beautiful world.”

Henkel employs more than 1,000 people in Connecticut at sites including its Rocky Hill Regional Headquarters for North America, its Consumer Goods Headquarters in Stamford, its Beauty Care Hair Professional offices in Darien, and its R&D facility in Trumbull.