Daniel Zhao, Senior Photographer

Edgewell Personal Care Company, or Edgewell, a Shelton-based consumer products company, was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for their efforts in running their company sustainably. 

Edgewell received The SmartWay Excellence Award, which highlights the top environmental performers out of over 4,000 shipping companies, on Sept. 24. The company was one of 18 of SmartWay’s Partners recognized with this distinction.

“Our company’s purpose — make useful things joyful — and our sustainability vision go hand in hand,” Paul Hibbert, the chief supply chain officer, said. “We believe in innovating solutions, embracing opportunities and embedding practices throughout our operations and supply chain that move us forward on our sustainability journey.”

At Edgewell, sustainability is not just a department — it’s the heartbeat of the entire operation. From the boardroom to the packaging facilities, the retailer is dedicated to integrating sustainable practices into every aspect of their production and transportation processes.

Edgewell’s “people-first” approach significantly shapes its company culture. Each of their teams collaborates with the sustainability department to meet global consumer needs for personal wellness and hygiene products. This approach ensures sustainability is a key consideration while responding to consumer demand.

Before receiving the SmartWay Excellence Award, Edgewell had already made significant strides in sustainability across various aspects of their operations, products and packaging.

One notable achievement was the company’s success in reducing water usage by 5.2 percent by FY23, surpassing its goal of a five percent reduction compared to the FY19 baseline. 

Innovation in manufacturing has also been a key focus for the company. At their Ormond Beach facility, a breakthrough cold processing technique for ingredient batching was introduced during the production of certain sunscreen formulations. This innovation removed the need for traditional heating, reducing energy consumption by 90 percent per batch and saving approximately 75,500,000 kilojoules annually. The new method not only increased production capacity but also significantly contributed to the company’s energy efficiency goals.

Packaging sustainability has been another focal point for the company. Edgewell introduced a reusable sprayer for its BANANA BOAT sunscreen, paired with refill bottles made from recycled plastic. This move was part of the company’s larger effort to reduce waste and support more sustainable product life cycles. Additionally, the CREMO brand redesigned its packaging to include higher percentages of recycled materials.

Amy Knight, the vice president of global sustainability, noted the progress in packaging sustainability, particularly in reducing “virgin petroleum-based plastic.” Edgewell achieved a 55.8 percent reduction in virgin plastic in their razors and blades segment, surpassing their original reduction goal ahead of schedule. According to Knight, this effort underscores the company’s broader commitment to embracing circular economy principles and minimizing packaging waste.

Initially, Edgewell’s sustainability efforts were concentrated on internal operations, such as reducing waste and energy consumption, as well as enhancing workplace conditions within its manufacturing sites. However, the company soon realized that broadening its focus to include product sustainability and actively engaging with consumers would have a more significant impact. This shift allowed them to drive their sustainability initiatives forward and communicate their importance to both customers and consumers.

With time, Edgewell expanded its focus beyond the environmental footprint of its manufacturing facilities to address its overall carbon impact. This required the implementation of comprehensive systems to collect and analyze large amounts of data. Using this data, the company is now assessing greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain to uncover reduction opportunities and create strategies for decarbonizing the business as much as possible.

“Some of the biggest challenges we face in integrating sustainability into our operations are the resource availability and the inconsistent standards of facilities across the globe,” Caroline Mallet, the vice president of innovation transformation, said. “The transition to sustainability is a complex but necessary process to ensure social responsibility and long-term relevance.”

Although implementing sustainable solutions is necessary, they often come with increased expenses that most consumers are reluctant to bear. As a result, the company must continually find a way to advance while ensuring that consumers are open to adopting these changes. 

For example, when it comes to product packaging, most of it ends up as waste, making any innovation aimed at minimizing or eliminating this waste a positive development. However, packaging often serves as the main point of interaction with the customer, adding complexity to the issue.

Thinking ahead to emerging technologies and trends, Edgewell’s sustainability department is intrigued by the future intersection of AI and sustainability, according to Knight. While AI presents increasing environmental challenges, it also offers opportunities to track, enhance and expand the company’s efforts.

“We strive to embed sustainability deeper across our organization and at every stage of our product development,” Knight said. “And we entrust and empower our teammates to help bring our vision to life. It’s because of their passion and persistence that we are able to make progress across our global organization — whether through evolving products that inspire moments of consumer joy or embracing opportunities to reduce waste, emissions, energy use and water consumption.” 

Edgewell Personal Care Company is headquartered in Shelton, Conn.