Palm oil commitments

• Source only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil for palm oil and its derivatives through RSPO physical supply chains by 2025, and report on our progress through our RSPO Annual Communication of Progress and other public disclosures.
• Ensure suppliers sourcing palm oil and palm kernel oil in our supply chain have public sustainable palm oil commitments aligned with the RSPO Principles and Criteria, including what is commonly referred to as NDPE (No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation).
• No deforestation and no development of high conservation value or high carbon stock areas.
• No development on peat lands.
• Protect human rights including respect for the rights of indigenous and local communities to give or withhold their free, prior and informed consent to operations on lands to which they hold legal, communal or customary rights.
• Maintain a public grievance process and response procedures for cases of noncompliance.
• Continue to hold suppliers accountable to the principles outlined in our Business Partner Code of Conduct, including compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries of operation, and respect for human rights throughout the value chain.
• Continue mapping, tracing and/or monitoring the supply chain of our palm ingredient suppliers and ensure adherence to Clorox and their own sourcing commitments and practices.
• Continue engaging with our suppliers, industry peers, shareholders, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders to promote sustainable palm oil supply chains, including collaborations to strengthen certification and verification mechanisms.
• Report annually on our progress against these commitments.

Supplier requirements

At Clorox, we recognize that our ability to achieve our palm oil commitments depends heavily on the changing practices of the palm industry and the future market availability of the palm derivatives used in our products. We are committed to that change and strive to clearly communicate our expectations to support our suppliers in their effort to source responsibly.

Clorox expects our palm ingredient suppliers and their upstream supply chains to: 

• Source CSPO through RSPO physical supply chains by 2025.
• Incorporate our commitment criteria in their supplier selection process.
• Comply with all RSPO Principles and Criteria.
• Comply with our Business Partner Code of Conduct and our Responsible and Sustainable Sourcing Policy and Supplier Standards.

Clorox seeks to support our suppliers first and leverage our business to drive change within the supply chain; however, in the event of non-compliant conduct, we may, at our sole discretion, require the business partner to implement remedial measures specified by Clorox within a defined time period or impose consequences up to and including termination of the business relationship and any related contracts.

Business ethics and human rights

Clorox holds direct suppliers of palm ingredients accountable to the following business practices listed in our Business Partner Code of Conduct. We also meet with priority suppliers further upstream, and expect all direct and indirect suppliers to meet or exceed our standards:

• Comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries of operation.
• Prohibit child labor, forced and/or bonded labor.
• Compensate workers in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations—including those pertaining to minimum wage, overtime, maximum hours, benefits and leave.
• Prohibit discrimination, harassment and inhumane treatment in employment or occupation.
• Create safe working conditions and a healthy work environment for all workers.
• Respect workers’ rights to freedom of association and to collective bargaining.
• Prevent and prohibit corruption, including extortion and bribery.
• Use ethical recruitment practices, in which recruitment processes are documented and transparent, and costs charged to the workers are transparent, justified and legal.
• Identify and implement efforts to reduce environmental footprints, adopt safe work procedures and require appropriate personal protective equipment to prevent chemical exposure, and, where possible, eliminate worker exposure to harmful chemical, biological and physical agents. 

Traceability

Clorox continues to establish and maintain traceability of our palm supply chains to first refiner and mill level. This visibility is critical in ensuring our palm commitments are effectively communicated and practiced throughout the supply chain. To advance our traceability work, we focus our engagement on high-volume, priority suppliers. We also work with NGOs, including Earthworm Foundation and Action for Sustainable Derivatives, to conduct regional risk profiling. This allows us to identify opportunities where Clorox can support our suppliers on specific transformation activities and allows us to ensure transparent NDPE policies.  

To date, we’ve worked to trace 99.7% of our known palm supply chain.

Below are the percentages by year of our priority supplier volume traced to first refiner and mill:

The Aceh Landscape Program

Since 2016, Clorox has supported Earthworm Foundation’s Aceh Landscape Program, which advances long-term, community-level sustainability transformation in the Indonesian region of Aceh Tamiang, Sumatra. The program:  

• Strengthens NDPE policies and practices by commercial actors. 

• Improves the livelihood prospects of communities. 

• Builds capacity of local government to conduct spatial planning and district development processes that are inclusive and data-driven. 

Between 2016 and 2019, the program contributed to a 60% reduction in deforestation and diversified the livelihoods of more than 2,000 households in communities where we source our ingredients. It also provided support to strengthen local leadership and entrepreneurship of women and youth. Additionally, we provided technical support for palm oil replanting in Indonesia, training over 300 people, including 150 high school students and members of a young farmers group. 

Forest Conservation Fund 

In 2024, Clorox began supporting Forest Conservation Fund, which aims to decentralize conservation by empowering local communities and private sector actors to protect forests. Through Forest Conservation Fund, Clorox contributes to conservation of the Lesan River Forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, which is an important sourcing region for palm oil derivative starting materials. 

The Burt’s Bees Global Supply Chain Investment Program

Since 2019, our Burt’s Bees brand has partnered through its Global Supply Chain Investment Program on a multistakeholder effort, facilitated by BSR, focused on ensuring safety and well-being of workers in palm growing and harvesting in Indonesia. We’ve supported a series of workshops to deepen understanding of labor issues and identified a set of palm oil producers in Indonesia who are committed to collaboration to improve plantation management practices related to working conditions and worker welfare. In 2021, this collaboration was expanded to include suppliers and NGO implementation partners in Malaysia, in addition to those continuing to participate from Indonesia.