Water

The company’s water intensity fell 5 percent last year, from 2.1 to 1.93 gallons of water per case of product sold. Clorox is aiming for a 20 percent reduction by 2020, from a 2012 baseline.

The company says its Kingsford plants in Parsons, W.V., and Belle, Mo., both reduced their water consumption by more than 40 percent, primarily through investments in water recycling infrastructure and replacing water with air compressor systems.

In 2010 and 2011, the company carried out a number of other water reduction initiatives, including pipe repairs, switching from water-cooled compressors to air-cooled compressors, and improved filtration and recovery systems. It also carried out water process mapping and conservation training at manufacturing facilities and put better plant-level water practices in place.

Waste

The company’s waste intensity fell 1 percent last year, and by 27 percent over the past five years. Clorox is aiming for a 20 percent reduction by 2020, from a 2012 baseline.

Five Clorox facilities are close to obtaining a zero waste-to-landfill designation, the company says. To receive this designation, a facility must reduce, reuse, recycle or compost at least 90 percent of the waste streams at the site; ensure no commonly recycled items such as paper, plastic, corrugate or aluminum are in the remaining waste; and send the remaining 10 percent or less of waste to a waste-to-energy facility.

Four additional Clorox facilities are also working hard be designated as low waste-to-landfill facilities, diverting at least 90 percent of solid waste away from landfills, the company says.

At its Oakland headquarters, Clorox says it has established a robust recycling and composting program that has reduced waste to landfill by 80 percent.

Clorox characterizes itself as a light manufacturer that produces a modest amount of solid waste, the vast majority of which is non-hazardous in nature. The company says it is expanding its use of third-party recyclers to increase its diversion from landfill rates.

Products

Clorox says that with over 2 billion products sold annually, its greatest opportunity to reduce its environmental footprint lies within its product portfolio, either by reducing material inputs or moving towards more sustainable materials for products and packaging. In the past five years, the company has made sustainability improvements to 35 percent of its portfolio.