We introduced Design for Environment (DfE) as part of our Vision 2010 environmental program. DfE aims to make sure we consider environmental impacts as a matter of course when developing new and modified products and processes.

We consider the environmental impacts of our products throughout their life, from the raw materials used and our manufacturing processes through to product use and disposal. This enables us to understand the full impact of our products and focus our efforts where we can make the most difference.

We have included environmental considerations as part of our product development decision-making process and we train our product designers and developers around the world on our environmental priorities. This training emphasizes the introduction of life-cycle assessment (LCA), a well-established analytical technique used to calculate environmental impacts.

We have carried out LCAs of several of our lines to inform new product design and changes to existing products. One significant example is an LCA of tissue products carried out for Kimberly-Clark by the consultancy Environmental Resources Management.

This study was carried out to internationally recognized standards and assessed 14 different consumer and commercial tissue products containing differing proportions of virgin and recycled wood fiber. It examined the impact of each tissue product on air pollution, water use and pollution, resource use and waste. The study concluded there is no environmental preference between recycled or virgin fiber in the manufacture of K-C tissue products. Read a summary of the findings here.

We also consider the results of life-cycle assessments carried out by other reputable bodies. In 2008, the U.K. Environment Agency updated its 2005 life-cycle assessment comparing the environmental impacts of disposable and reusable diapers. This confirmed the original study’s conclusion that neither diaper can be considered environmentally preferable, partly because the impact of reusable diapers depends greatly on how they are washed.

The update shows that the global warming potential of disposable diapers has decreased by 12 percent since the 2005 study, primarily because disposable diapers have reduced in weight by an average 13.5 percent and because of energy efficiency improvements during manufacturing. Over the two and a half years a child typically wears diapers, using disposables will result in around 550kg of greenhouse gases. Based on an average washer and drier, reusable diapers produce roughly 570kg of greenhouse gases.

There are additional examples of how we applied life-cycle thinking and Design for Environment principles in 2008 on the performance page.

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