Colgate-Palmolive's CSO at Sustainability LIVE: Climate Week

At Sustainability LIVE: Climate Week NYC, Ann Tracy, Chief Sustainability Officer for Colgate-Palmolive, took the stage to highlight Colgate-Palmolive’s ongoing journey toward sustainability. 

In her keynote, Tracy shares insights into the company’s environmental targets, its global reach and the key priorities guiding Colgate-Palmolive’s strategy.

Speaking to an audience eager for meaningful change, she emphasises that focus and partnerships are essential in today’s dynamic sustainability landscape.

Colgate-Palmolive’s long-standing commitment to sustainability

Tracy opens by noting Colgate-Palmolive’s historic dedication to sustainability, emphasising its position as the oldest consumer goods company in the United States. 

With more than 20 years of baseline data on emissions, water use and waste, Colgate-Palmolive has made impressive strides, including setting a net-zero carbon target for 2040.

Tracy adds that Colgate-Palmolive will be powered by 100% renewable electricity across all US operations by 2025, an achievement approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and critical to the company’s ambitious sustainability targets.

“We’re a brand that reaches six out of ten households worldwide, which gives us both the responsibility and opportunity to influence consumer habits on a global scale,” Ann says. 

With this reach, Colgate-Palmolive’s efforts extend well beyond carbon targets to include improving consumer habits and building sustainable products.

The pillars of Colgate-Palmolive’s ‘Smile’ sustainability strategy

Ann introduces Colgate-Palmolive’s sustainability framework, known as the ‘Smile Strategy’ which focuses on three core pillars: 

1. Driving social impact
2. Helping millions of homes
3. Preserving the environment

Each pillar represents a distinct area of impact and involves coordinated efforts from various departments, including HR, research and development, and procurement.

Driving social impact

Colgate-Palmolive’s flagship ‘Bright Smiles, Bright Futures’ initiative delivers oral health education to children worldwide, a mission close to Ann’s heart. 

She shares that through mobile dental vans and partnerships with healthcare organisations, Colgate-Palmolive has reached 1.7 billion children to date.

The goal is to increase this number to three billion by 2030, leveraging digital platforms to engage new generations in under-resourced regions.

Helping millions of homes

Focused on designing sustainable products, this pillar is largely driven by Colgate-Palmolive’s research and development, packaging and marketing teams.

Ann highlights the importance of creating sustainable product formulations and packaging that reduce waste.

“It’s all about making it easier for consumers to build sustainable habits at home,” she says.

Preserving our environment

With a 20-year legacy of eco-focused improvements, this pillar encompasses efforts in climate action, water stewardship and waste reduction. 

Ann underscores the pivotal role of Colgate-Palmolive’s supply chain, adding that sustainability is embedded into every decision within Colgate-Palmolive’s logistics, production and procurement processes.

A focus on reducing plastic waste and climate impact

When asked by the audience to identify Colgate-Palmolive’s top priorities, Ann acknowledges the dual importance of reducing plastic waste and addressing climate change, noting that the two are interlinked. 

Colgate-Palmolive has committed to making all packaging recyclable and reducing virgin plastic usage by a third. 

As a founding member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Global Commitment, Colgate-Palmolive works to eliminate unnecessary plastic components and has redesigned its toothpaste tubes for recyclability.

In 2015, Colgate-Palmolive began the journey to create a fully recyclable toothpaste tube — a key focus given that Colgate-Palmolive produces nearly half the world’s toothpaste tubes. 

Working with the Association for Plastic Recyclers, Colgate-Palmolive developed a recyclable tube made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a common, widely recyclable plastic. 

After developing the tube, Colgate-Palmolive shared the technology with competitors, a decision Ann describes as essential to scaling the impact.

As of 2023, 90% of all toothpaste tubes worldwide are now recyclable — a milestone achieved with the cooperation of Colgate-Palmolive’s industry peers.

“We have a responsibility not just to innovate but to lead by example and encourage others to join us in this mission,” Ann says, underscoring Colgate-Palmolive’s commitment to an open-source approach in certain areas to catalyse change across the industry.

Building strategic partnerships for sustainability success

Ann highlights the importance of partnerships, both internal and external, in driving sustainability efforts. 

“Focus is essential, but partnerships are key,” she says, pointing out that each aspect of Colgate-Palmolive’s sustainability strategy relies on collaborations with suppliers, NGOs and even competitors.

Internally, Colgate-Palmolive’s procurement and supply chain teams work closely with Ann’s sustainability team to tackle significant challenges, such as Scope 3 emissions from materials and packaging. 

Externally, Colgate-Palmolive partners with NGOs, government bodies and industry groups to create standards for plastic recyclability and influence policy changes.

Concluding her address, Ann urges companies to focus on clear priorities and leverage external partnerships to amplify their impact. 

“We all have limited resources, so pick your priorities and commit,” she advises, adding that sustainability isn’t just part of Colgate-Palmolive’s strategy — it is the strategy, woven into every aspect of the company’s operations.

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