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Making great strides in eco-efficiency: Hewlett-Packard, SC Johnson, Unilever
Hewlett Packard, SC Johnson and Unilever are setting and meeting strict environmental goals. Their results are improving their bottom line. Hewlett-Packard Scanjet 4500c and 5550c RPET is a blended material that contains plastic from HP print cartridges recycled in HP’s Planet Partners™ program and post-consumer recycled plastic drinking bottles. RPET is used at full production levels in the carriage cover for two HP scanners, the ScanJet 4500 and 5550. This reduces virgin materials use, and with additional volumes and experience, it could lead to cost savings. Two additional scanners using the recycled material were launched in 2004. One of these models is expected to use about 100 tonnes of RPET during the next two years. SC Johnson Greenlist™ Through the Greenlist ™ process the company developed a new formula for Windex® using raw materials that are better for the environment. The primary goal was to improve cleaning while reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), organic gases, which are sources of indoor air pollution and can have ill-health effects. In 2002, 181,800 kg of VOCs were removed from the formula while maintaining the "streak-free" formula. In 2004, Windex® was again reformulated eliminating 818,000 kg of VOCs while improving its cleaning performance by 30%. This was done using a patentable combination of surfactants, low VOC solvents and a unique polymer. At the same time SC Johnson removed a volatile organic solvent, 2- butoxy ethanol, that was recently classified as "toxic" under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Consequently, the product has exceeded the expectation of the consumers by not streaking and being easy to wipe. Since the introduction of the new formula in September 2005, Windex® sales have increased by 8% and market share has increased 3.9 points. SC Johnson is one of the largest produces of aerosol products in the world. Taking into account this situation, the company identified an opportunity to reduce the propellant in its aerosol Glade® Air Freshener which wouldn’t harm the excellent consumer acceptance of the product. Through innovation and the development of patented technology the company was able to significantly reduce the propellant and improve the performance. It cut VOCs by 16 percent, reducing annual VOC emissions by 2.8 million pounds in Glade® while improving the performance. Sales of the new Glade® formula with lower VOCs has increased by 30 percent and market share has increased 3 points. Read the full Greenlist™ case study Unilever
Unilever has many manufacturing operations in this region and water is an essential utility or ingredient in its processes. In response to the challenges posed by the region’s water supply, the head of foods supply chain challenged food manufacturing sites to reduce their water imprint by 1,000,000m³. In response, Unilever’s corporate Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC) and the Latin American Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) coordination team jointly launched Project Medusa in April 2003. A training course on eco-efficiency and a two-day workshop for SHE coordinators and site engineers from each of the 17 foods manufacturing sites across the region kicked off the program. Knowledge sharing formed a key part of the workshop and attendees were asked to bring as many examples of good environmental practice in the area of water optimization as they could find. These good practices were then added to the many examples already collected from their active involvement in Unilever’s global operations and discussed in detail at the workshop. They were then grouped into three distinct areas:
From the developed list of good practices, which became known as the “target board”, sites were then asked to select those practices that could be implemented at their own sites for:
Once they had selected the good practices that applied to their operations, sites were asked to quantify or estimate their expected water savings. This document then became the site’s “Medusa contract and action plan” - their minimum pledge of the water savings they could achieve. To ensure the water savings are genuine, each site has implemented monitoring and targeting activities, developed site water balances and installed additional metering to quantify the environmental and cost benefit. The Medusa model is now seen as an effective way to work on a range of environmental issues measured against key performance indicators (KPIs) for water, waste and energy use. Unilever’s largest manufacturing site in the Goiânia region in Brazil has reported water savings of over 500,000 m³ due to the implementation of its Medusa action plan. In total the current estimate of water savings overall in Latin America is approaching the target of 1,000,000 m³. Further information
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In 2003, 
Project Medusa - Latin American manufacturing operations water minimization program
