Kimberly-Clark's UK Operations Move to Renewable Energy to Manufacture Andrex, Kleenex, Huggies, WypAll and Scott

Kimberly-Clark, the parent company of leading household brands including Andrex^®, Kleenex^® and Huggies^®, has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that will lead to the construction of a new wind farm owned by Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust that will make almost 80% of all its electrical power consumption in the UK renewable.

The new Cumberhead onshore wind farm in South Lanarkshire, Scotland will supply Kimberly-Clark with approximately 160,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy annually for consumer brands Andrex, Kleenex, Huggies, and business to business brands WypAll^® and Scott^®. This represents an emissions reduction of 55,625 MTCO2e per year – the equivalent of taking 38,628 passenger vehicles off the road every year.

This agreement is a first for Kimberly-Clark outside of North America and marks a significant step towards the company’s goal of halving its absolute greenhouse gas Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2030.

The agreement will cover almost 80% of the electricity needs for Kimberly-Clark’s Barrow, Flint Site and Northfleet manufacturing facilities which between them produce Andrex toilet rolls, Kleenex tissues, alongside Huggies baby wipes and other personal care products for the UK market. The deal also means renewable power for Kimberly-Clark’s two main UK distribution centres in Chorley and Northfleet.

“We are proud to announce this partnership with Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust as the first of many that will be needed to deliver the energy transformation that we aim for,” said Oriol Margo, Sustainability Leader, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Kimberly-Clark.

“Consumers expect brands to lead change, be purpose-driven and environmentally sustainable. We are constantly innovating to find our next sustainable solution and reduce our environmental footprint. This is a significant step forward in our efforts to decarbonise our operations in the UK."

Chris Gaydon, Investment Director, Octopus Renewables, said: “We are pleased to announce the PPA with Kimberly-Clark and its many UK leading consumer brands. The PPA will provide a long-term energy agreement that will create sustainable, renewable energy powered manufacturing facilities for this well-known business and its leading brands, and cover 80% of the electricity needs for its five main sites. By connecting well-known and popular brands like these with renewable generation via the Octopus Renewables Infrastructures Trust, we’re making it possible for investors to have a tangible part in building, managing and benefiting from the growth opportunity of clean, green energy.”     

The construction of the new windfarm recently started and will take approximately 12-15 months.

This forms just one of many ongoing sustainability innovation projects at Kimberly-Clark as part of a vision to decarbonise the business by rolling out renewable electricity across Europe, Middle East and Africa and continuing the exploration and development of decarbonised gas solutions.

Kimberly-Clark’s 2030 sustainability strategy aims to address the key social and environmental challenges of the next decade, improving the lives and wellbeing of one billion people in underserved communities around the world. The transition to renewable energy will form a vital part of the company’s global effort to halve its total environmental footprint by 2030.

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For more information, contact communications.emea@kcc.com or +44(0)1737 736458.