Kimberly-Clark Professional announced the 2024 Greenovation Awards to recognize 56 companies for demonstrating sustainability leadership and reducing environmental impact by participating in a landfill diversion program.

The award-winning companies diverted a total of 419,689 pounds of used personal protective equipment (PPE) from landfills in 2023 through The RightCycle Program. The program helps a wide range of Kimberly-Clark Professional’s customers reduce their solid waste streams by enabling them to recycle single-use items including wet wipes, garments, gloves, hoods, boot covers, masks and safety eyewear.

Kimberly-Clark Professional established the Greenovation Awards in 2013 to honor the waste diversion efforts of its customers each year. Some of the companies recognized this year for running recycling collection sites include Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Catalent – Madison, WI, Cook Medical, Integrated DNA Technologies and The Jackson Laboratory.

Since its inception in 2011, The RightCycle Program has helped customers divert more than 5.5 million pounds of PPE waste from landfills. The program has helped Kimberly-Clark Professional customers meet their own sustainability goals with confidence, validated by landfill diversion data from trusted, third-party sources. This recycling program collects used PPE and sends these items to regional recycling partners to become plastic pellets used to manufacture consumer products, including lawn furniture, benches and bicycle racks.

“Our customers have displayed exceptional leadership in sustainability through this program as well as other initiatives to reduce their environmental impact,” says Ashley Davis, global sustainability manager, Kimberly-Clark Professional. “We commend them on their accomplishments and wish them continued success on their sustainability journeys.”

While Kimberly-Clark Professional recently entered into a transaction, which is pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, upon the consummation of which the company would transition away from recycling programs under The RightCycle Program brand, Kimberly-Clark Professional will continue to focus on sustainability and recycling programs under new brands. 

Kimberly-Clark has a global goal to reduce its environmental footprint by 50% by 2030 and is focused on the areas where it can make the biggest difference – climate, forests, water and plastics.