How Kimberly-Clark is Making Kleenex Greener with Solar
When considering the environmental impact of Kleenex, your mind might jump to paper.
However, the energy required to produce this household staple can be pretty big.
Kimberly-Clark, the company behind Kleenex, Huggies and Kotex, has announced a multi-country partnership with BNZ to support three virtual solar power purchase agreements (vPPAs).
Oriol Margó, Sustainability Leader at Kimberly-Clark, says: “Kimberly-Clark's collaboration with BNZ is another example of our dedication to make progress in our decarbonisation journey.
“The renewable energy generation of the new solar farms will be equivalent to over 40% of the total electricity consumed by our European production facilities.
“Energy transformation is a key priority for us and through these projects we are increasing the amount of renewable electricity available in the grids that we draw from, which also benefits the community.
“We continue to invest in the future of the planet, our business and our industry, with our consumers and customers in mind, and hope to encourage other organisations to do the same.”
Meet BNZ
BZN is an independent power producer that has carved a niche in developing, building and operating solar photovoltaic projects across Southern Europe.
BNZ is part of the portfolio of Nuveen Infrastructure, one of Europe’s largest renewable energy fund managers.
BNZ’s Head of Revenues, Rodrigo López, says: “This multi-country PPA agreement with a leading industrial client committed to sustainability represents a significant milestone for BNZ.
“At the same time, it reflects a growing trend: more and more companies are choosing long-term contracts that not only ensure energy stability but also reinforce their responsibility to create a more sustainable world.
“This shift not only benefits businesses but also drives meaningful progress for society and the economy as a whole.”
Kimberly-Clark's sustainability aims
“Sustainability is a key component of the Kimberly-Clark innovation strategy,” said Mike Hsu, Chairman and CEO at Kimberly-Clark in its 2023 Sustainability Report.
“As the world becomes increasingly complex, we at Kimberly-Clark will continue to raise the bar for ourselves in how we serve the needs of consumers, customers, employees, society and shareholders.”
With targets to halve its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from 2015 levels by 2030, Kimberly-Clark is trying to tackle climate change head-on.
It is also reducing its plastics footprint and aims to advance the wellbeing of a billion people in vulnerable and underserved communities.
Kimberly-Clark’s vPPAs with BNZ will support two projects in Italy and one in Spain scheduled to launch in Q2 of 2025.
The Italian projects are located in Camposcala and Rinaldone, and Spain in Santa Catalina.
The vPPAs are forecasted to generate 164GWh of renewable electricity each year, equivalent to more than 40% of the total electricity consumed by Kimberly-Clark’s Western and Central European production facilities.
Other projects that Kimberly-Clark supports include:
- A £75m (US$96m) onshore wind farm in Scotland that opened in 2023, generating 160,000MWh annually
- Rooftop solar photovoltaic systems at its Cape Town, South Africa manufacturing site, installed in 2024 that produce 3,700MWh per year
- One of the largest rooftop solar photovoltaic systems at its Salamanca facility in Spain, completed in January 2025, generating 6,500MWh annually.
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