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Product Sustainability
Ecolab advances product safety and sustainability through a holistic engineering approach that considers chemistry, formulation, packaging, dispensing and digital control systems.
Our policies and programs are designed to reduce potential human and environmental exposure across the product life cycle while supporting customers in achieving their goals.
Guided by our Impacts That Matter criteria, we design solutions that help customers improve performance, enhance safety and minimize environmental impact throughout a product’s life cycle.
Sustainable Design Principles
Ecolab embeds product sustainability principles throughout the product life cycle, from ideation to end of life. We pursue innovation that maximizes business outcomes at a high rate of return for our customers while optimizing the footprint of the products we deliver.
Chemical Management
Ecolab applies hazard- and risk-based assessments throughout product development to protect people and the environment. All materials are evaluated using global standards, including GHS and OECD frameworks. We go beyond compliance through our Chemical Product Ingredient Sustainability Policy and our ambition to transition away from EU Substances of Very High Concern in our global portfolio.
Packaging Goals
Ecolab is committed to ensuring that our products and packaging advance safety and sustainability. We continuously improve our designs to help minimize waste and safely deliver best-in-class experiences for our customers. Our commitment to excellence in packaging is supported by a global team of more than 50 packaging professionals, including engineers, materials scientists, analysts and technicians.
By 2030, our ambition is to transition non‑regulated and non‑hazardous products to reusable or recyclable‑by‑design packaging.
Reducing Plastic Waste
- We continue offering products like Ecolab® ReadyDose™, a tablet-based cleaning program with a 98.8% reduction in plastic packaging waste.1
- In 2025, we avoided 16.9 million pounds (~7,700 MT) of virgin plastic, representing 16% of total plastic packaging by weight.1
- We have a long history of pioneering packaging technology. For example, our SmartPower™ technology reduces plastic use by up to 99%, as compared to traditional packaging, by replacing five-gallon plastic pails with shrink-wrapped blocks.
- We were an early adopter of reusable containers for our concentrate products, as well as in the incorporation of post-consumer recycled plastic resin (PCR) into many of our packages. For nearly two decades, our SolidPower™ XL capsule has contained 40% post-consumer resin.
- We pursue our plastic waste ambitions through:
- Reduction: Packaging with reduced plastic content and concentrated product alternatives with lower plastic packaging.
- Reuse: Packaging reuse and purchase of reconditioned plastic containers and IBCs/totes.
- Recycling: Incorporation of post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials into packaging.
- Reduction in plastic waste is an approximation based on customer use of all six Ecolab ReadyDose™ products, assuming use of one case of each product per month over 12 months, compared with the equivalent use of Ecolab liquid products, which is enabled by the smaller, lighter package size for solid tablets.
Discover Ecolab’s commitment to sustainable packaging by accompanying Nevin Sant on a tour of Ecolab’s Water University at our Naperville Campus. Nevin shares key insights into Ecolab’s circular packaging strategy and 2030 ambition to move to reusable or readily recyclable materials in our non-regulated packaging. Ecolab will continue to incorporate post-consumer recycled materials in our packaging where feasible without compromising user safety or performance.
Regulatory
Our regulatory teams, processes, policies and practices are the foundation for keeping our customers and business ahead of ever-changing regulations.
Ethical Sourcing
Supplier expectations are grounded in international standards. Our Ethical Sourcing Standards are the foundation of our global supply chain initiative, requiring our direct suppliers to protect the health, safety and human rights of their associates.
Palm Oil Sourcing
Ecolab does not directly purchase palm oil or palm oil derivatives. However, any supplier partners providing palm derived material are members of Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), to ensure sustainable and responsible sourcing.
Conflict Minerals
Ecolab supports human rights organizations to end violence and atrocities in Central Africa, specifically the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and nine adjoining countries.
Supplier Sustainability
Our suppliers have always been part of our sustainability strategy, which is why we are collaborating with suppliers to help us reduce our absolute Scope 3 emissions by 25% from a 2022 base year of purchased goods and services, fuel and energy related activities, upstream transportation and distribution, and downstream leased assets.