A welcome letter from President and CEO, Noel Wallace
Colgate-Palmolive is building a future to smile about. We're supporting the well-being of Colgate people, their families, and the communities we serve; strengthening the performance of our Company; and acting as responsible stewards of the planet we share. This report details how we’re working toward a brighter future for all of our stakeholders.
I am especially pleased about Colgate’s leadership in three important areas:
Promoting Children’s Oral Health
Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures® is our flagship oral health education program, reaching children in more than 80 countries. In 2018 we passed an extraordinary milestone: since the program was established in 1991, we’ve reached one billion children and their families with free dental screenings and oral health education.
Saving Water
Colgate’s #EveryDropCounts campaign reached people in 70+ countries in 2018 with our message to turn off the tap while brushing. We spread the word on our packaging, through online videos, and most recently with our sponsorship of water activist and ultra-runner Mina Guli. Joined by Colgate runners along the way, Mina’s campaign to run 100 marathons in 100 days across six continents spread awareness of water scarcity and galvanized a movement of new supporters and advocates.
Reducing Plastic Waste
Reducing plastic waste is one of our most important priorities. We’ve made commitments to reduce the use of plastic in our packaging, use 25% recycled content in our plastic packaging, and make 100% of our packaging recyclable. In 2018 we joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy Initiative, reflecting our commitment to achieving these targets and others by 2025. Supporting our goals, we’re finalizing the design of a breakthrough, recyclable plastic toothpaste tube that we will begin testing with consumers.
We made important progress in other priority areas as well. Seven of our plants have achieved TRUE 'Zero Waste' certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and 11 more are registered and underway. These 18 sites span five continents -- more projects in more regions than any other company.
Colgate’s leadership in these and other areas is being recognized; the company was named to both the 2018 Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indices. In addition, Colgate was recognized as 2019 Best Company for Women, Best Company for Multicultural Women and Best Company for Millennials and was named a 2019 U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for the 9th year in a row.
Of course, our success is driven by the efforts of Colgate people and the partnerships we have forged to help achieve our goals. We believe that we speed up our progress and improve results when we engage with universities, governments, suppliers and NGO’s to find innovative solutions that help reduce our environmental footprint, improve our communities and ensure a brighter future for all.
