Clorox Sustainability & Diversity Leaders Share Learnings From Responsible Sourcing Partners in Ghana

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2023 / The Clorox Company
By Niki King, Vice President and Head of Sustainability, and Shanique Bonelli-Moore, Chief Diversity and Social Impact Officer

Since joining Clorox, we've both embraced our company purpose to champion people to be well and thrive every single day. But what would it mean to see it come to life, intersecting with our professional passions? After all, the "S" in our ESG approach represents a multifaceted commitment to social impact and responsible sourcing - efforts that sit at the crossroads of our teams. To find out, we traveled to Tamale in Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa, to immerse ourselves in the heart of our responsible sourcing work.

Foto: Accesswire

We traveled to Tamale, located in the northern region of the country, to learn about Clorox's partnerships with the Global Shea Alliance and three of our most strategic shea and beeswax ingredient suppliers. Rooted in our mutual dedication to sustainability, biodiversity, responsible sourcing and the empowerment of vulnerable populations, these collaborations not only secure a steady supply of high-quality shea and beeswax for our various Burt's Bees products, but they also cultivate resilient, thriving communities where these raw materials are sourced.

Throughout our visit we were awestruck by the fortitude and shared sense of community among the women who showed up, often with their children in tow, to learn about the crafts of beekeeping and collecting, processing, and preserving shea. From bustling shea processing centers to swarming beehives across six communities and facilities, we were able to get a glimpse into Clorox's impact championing women-centered agriculture, economic empowerment and commerce.

In the communities we visited, we witnessed one of our shea supplier's most successful initiatives supported by Clorox: improved cook stoves. These stoves are essentially a zero-cost alternative to traditional three-stone stoves widely used throughout West Africa, made with locally available and sustainable materials such as cow pats, dried straw and termite sand.

We accompanied a group of roughly 50 women to learn how to construct the improved stoves, joining the thousands of women trained since this program launched in 2016. Clorox was the first partner to begin training programs on rocket stoves in shea communities in 2017.

In addition to learning how to build the stoves, we were also taught how doing so helps mitigate environmental degradation and fight desertification. Depending on the size of the stove, this alternative method can save anywhere from 33% to 65% of wood, which in turn reduces the community's carbon footprint. The rocket stoves are not only more efficient and safer to use in homes with children, but they also save the women time they would otherwise spend collecting the wood from their local bush.