Sustainable Development Goals: Diversey’s Progress and Plans

Sustainable Development Goals Sustainable Development Goals
Dan Daggett
Vice President, Corporate Sustainability
Jul 15, 2021

In 2015, the United Nations outlined a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to address global economic and social development issues. Each of these SDGs has their own set of complex, related targets that represent an internationally shared global mission for sustainability looking forward to 2030. Diversey stands committed to these principles alongside governments, fellow corporations and global citizens. By setting smarter targets that account for environmental and social contexts, we are working diligently to achieve these goals for future generations.  

 

Diversey’s new sustainability plan will be announced soon, aligned with several key SDGs: 

  • No poverty. We have implemented effective Creating Shared Value (CSV) programs such as Soap For Hope™ and Linens For Life™ that provide extra income and help lift individuals from poverty by providing them with raw materials and manufacturing equipment.  A source of livelihood is created by reprocessing soap and linens from Diversey customers into something useful again. 

  • Gender equality. Committed to developing female professionals at all levels and experience, the ISSA Hygieia Network provides mentoring and learning opportunities for the many women in the cleaning industry who take on low-paying jobs to support themselves and their families. I am proud to be involved in this organization and to oversee Diversey’s internal Women's Initiative Network (WIN) initiative, which helps create a more equal and diverse workforce free from gender discrimination. 

  • Clean water and sanitation. Through our innovative products and technologies, we are helping to conserve water and improve sanitation in our customers’ facilities around the world.  Solutions like Taski IntelliFlow™ can reduce water up to 76 percent during cleaning processes, significantly reducing water use during cleaning.  Greener chemistries such as our Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide (AHP) are helping reshape infection control and sanitation with highly effective sanitizers and disinfectants.  In our own operations, we’ve reduced water usage by 34.6 percent since 2013. 

  • Affordable and clean energy. Our products have been designed for efficiency and to ensure energy savings in all of our product categories.  For example, our low temperature laundry programs help laundries reduce water, steam, electricity and wash times to save resources and lower costs.  

  • Industry, innovation and infrastructure. Innovation is at the forefront of everything we do. Our Internet of Clean™ platform has introduced numerous connected solutions, like smart soap and sanitizer dispensers, that improve the way many different industries approach cleaning and hygiene. 

  • Climate action. In conjunction with global trends, we are working swiftly to evaluate and identify every possible opportunity to reduce carbon emissions across the business. In our partnership with WWF Climate Savers, we achieved an absolute greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 48.5 percent.  

  • Life below water; Life on Land. Through our plastic waste prevention efforts and our overall use of less packaging throughout our product range and supply chain, we are working to protect life on land and under water.  Unfortunately, the majority of packaging is not recycled today, so our efforts to reduce the amount of packaging is critical.  Diversey has been a leader in increasing the concentration of our cleaning products for decades to eliminate gigatons of packaging from entering the environment. 

 

To learn more about Diversey’s CSR and sustainability initiatives visit, www.diversey.com/sustainability