Church & Dwight products have been a standard of quality and environmental responsibility since 1846. We are committed to conducting our operations, and the operations within our influence, in a responsible manner. We have implemented an environmental and safety management system which supports our policies and provides a framework to maintain regulatory compliance and ultimately operate beyond compliance.
Global Operations Guiding Principles
Our global operations guiding principles (the "Guiding Principles"), accessible via the tab on this webpage, are our minimum standards to ensure that working conditions are safe, that workers are treated with respect and dignity, and that manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible. In addition, Church & Dwight publicly discloses on our website our supply chain transparency efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from our direct supply chains.
At Church & Dwight, we require all of our suppliers to abide by our Guiding Principles. In addition, our supplier contracts require suppliers to conduct their operations in accordance with all applicable laws. Also, consistent with the Guiding Principles, our supplier contracts include a Child Labor and Forced Labor warranty, which requires suppliers to warrant that they do not charge fees for employment or employ children, prison labor, indentured labor, bonded labor or use corporal or other forms of mental and physical coercion as a form of discipline, and that they will not conduct business with vendors who do so.
In our supply contracts, Church & Dwight reserves the right to audit suppliers' premises for compliance with the Child Labor and Forced Labor warranty. Church & Dwight's standard quality audit protocols, applicable to scheduled audits by Church & Dwight personnel, include suppliers' compliance with the Child Labor and Forced Labor warranty and our Guiding Principles as audit items. Any supplier found to be in violation is subject to corrective action including termination of business.
Sustainability
At Church & Dwight, we are committed to conducting our operations in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner while striving to achieve our business goals. Our focus is on the lifecycle impacts of our operations and products so that we can identify and reduce our areas of highest impact on the environment. As part of this effort, we are a member of The Sustainability Consortium, an independent organization of diverse global participants working collaboratively to build a scientific foundation to drive innovation and improve consumer product sustainability. We believe that products that have been responsibly designed and manufactured contribute to strong financial performance, reduced environmental impact and benefits to the communities in which we operate. Consequently, strong financial performance enables us to continue our innovative product development and product improvement efforts, and provide support for community projects.
We have developed a sustainability strategy that embodies a proactive approach to continued success based on preparedness, action and a manageable approach to sustainability issues and opportunities based on their relevance to our business objectives, corporate social responsibility, and customer and regulatory requirements. Our Sustainability Department guides the integration of many aspects of sustainability into our day-to-day business, aligned with our Guiding Principles. This group also facilitates dialogue with stakeholders, including customers, neighbors, investors and employees, and will help ensure that senior management is aware of significant issues and concerns raised by stakeholders. Personnel throughout the organization continue to evaluate and implement new programs to design safer products, increase product yields, reduce waste, increase recycling efforts, and reduce air emissions, water and energy usage.
We have been issuing annual reports to share information on our sustainability efforts and progress since the year 2008 (for first reporting year 2007). You can access these reports on our website. Our goals are to continue to improve upon these efforts year over year as we develop and refine our programs, and to enhance our transparency with more detailed reporting of our global product, supply chain and overall sustainability programs.
Church & Dwight Co., Inc. Palm Oil Sustainable Sourcing Commitment
While Church & Dwight Co., Inc. does not directly buy or use palm oil or palm kernel oil in our products, we strive to responsibly source palm oil derivatives in a manner which does not contribute to deforestation of high conservation value and high carbon stock forest and peatlands or exploitation of people and local communities. We do this because we recognize the palm oil industry has a significant impact on biodiversity, climate change, people and communities.
Some of our products, including animal feed, liquid laundry detergents, gummy vitamins, oral care and feminine care products, include palm oil derivatives such as glycerin, palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) and palm kernel fatty acid (PKFA), among others. In 2023, Church & Dwight sourced virtually all of the 21,300 tons of palm oil derivative raw material volume we consumed from one supplier, who is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). For more information on our primary supplier’s sustainability program and "No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation Policy" click here.
Church & Dwight’s palm oil derivative ingredient volume represents less than 0.1 percent of palm oil produced globally each year. Given that our palm oil use, and likewise influence, is relatively small on a global scale, we believe our greatest opportunity to impact the supply chain is in partnership with suppliers who are committed to responsibly source palm oil derivatives. We are working with our suppliers towards the goal of ensuring that the ingredients used in our products are from responsible sources. In 2023, we continued our membership with the RSPO and offset 100% of our palm oil-based ingredient purchases through the purchase of RSPO book & claim credits. Our goal is to source 100% of palm oil-based ingredients from certified sustainable physical sources through RSPO from mass balance, segregated or identity preserved supply chains by the end of 2025.
As of December 31, 2023, over 97% of our palm oil derivative volume sourced from our primary supplier was independently verified as traceable back to the mills according to our primary supplier’s supply chain mapping. That supplier has also represented to us that all such palm oil derivatives have been produced in conformance with its "No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation Policy". In addition, we have expanded our Palm Oil Sustainable Sourcing Commitment to more thoroughly address issues relating to deforestation, peatland protection and exploitation of workers in palm oil production. Our new and more comprehensive commitment expands the scope of our sourcing of palm oil derivatives from suppliers that demonstrate compliance with the following specific sourcing practices:
- Do not contribute to deforestation by conserving and protecting primary and secondary forests, High Carbon Stock1 and High Conservation Value2 forests across all of their landholdings;
- Commit to no new development on peatlands, regardless of depth;
- Use best management practices3 for existing palm oil plantations on peat soils;
- Prohibit the use of fire for preparation or clearing of land areas;
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and existing operations;
- Comply with existing RSPO Principles and Criteria or other equivalent standards; and
- No exploitation of rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
We require our primary supplier to meet or exceed the standards set forth in its No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation Policy, provide quarterly reports regarding its supply chain mapping and progress reports against the commitments set forth in its policy and meet or exceed RSPO standards for RSPO certification. From time to time we may also further investigate various other approaches and tools that may be available to help us assess our supply chain. Due to the complexity of the palm oil derivative supply chain, the process of achieving traceability involves a number of companies at many tiers. Because our greatest opportunity to influence the supply chain is through our partnerships with our suppliers, our level of traceability to the mills is subject to change based on the progress of our suppliers. In addition to traceability to mills, we support and encourage suppliers to achieve as much traceability to the plantations as possible and to comply with RSPO standards as they evolve.
Church & Dwight also has a strong commitment to ethical and legal business practices and treating people in our operations and supply chain with dignity, respect and equal opportunity. We expect the same commitment from our suppliers who are required to comply with our Global Operations Guiding Principles, which reflect our commitment to internationally recognized standards and our support and respect for internationally proclaimed human rights and working conditions in our operations and supply chain. In addition, we publicly disclose on our website our supply chain transparency efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from our direct supply chains. We will continue to assess, monitor and verify our direct suppliers’ sourcing practices and identify areas for improvement on an ongoing basis. In the event of non-compliance with our requirements, we reserve the flexibility and right to work with vendors to create corrective action plans with time-bound commitments or terminate business relationships.
Although Church & Dwight’s use of palm oil derivatives is small, we are committed to responsibly sourcing palm oil ingredients. We look forward to driving positive change through our vendors with the ultimate goal to safeguard biodiversity and local communities.
We will update this source and commitment annually.
- High Carbon Stock (HCS) forests as defined at http://highcarbonstock.org by the HCS Steering Group.
- High Conservation Value (HCV) as defined by the HCV network: https://www.hcvnetwork.org/hcv-approach.
- Best management practices covered by the "RSPO Manual on Best Management Practices (BMPs) for existing oil palm cultivation on peat."