For more than a century, as a family-owned and -managed company, SC Johnson has been guided by the belief that the product decisions made today must be made for the next generation – not the next quarter.

To further the company’s longstanding commitment to environmentally responsible products, in 2001 SC Johnson devised the environmental classification system Greenlist™ to transform the way the company measures, tracks and continues to advance its products. Through Greenlist™, SC Johnson continues to lead the way with responsible raw material choices.

Greenlist™ is a reflection of SC Johnson’s steadfast commitment to the environment and spirit of innovation. From being a pioneer in the introduction of water-based aerosols in 1955 to its leadership as the first company to remove chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from all aerosol products three years ahead of the 1978 U.S. mandate, Greenlist™ is the company’s most recent voluntary innovation to safeguard our shared environment. Greenlist™ goes beyond regulatory requirements to meet SC Johnson’s own high standards for product formulation.

As a patented system, Greenlist™ (US Patent Nos. 6,973,362B2 and 7,096,084B2) formalizes the classification of raw materials used in SC Johnson’s products according to their impact on the environment and human health. To that end, Greenlist™ has helped SC Johnson continue to phase out certain raw materials, and use more materials considered to be environmentally “better” and “best.” The result is a process that gives SC Johnson scientists around the globe ready access to a rating of ingredients in any new product or reformulation and enables them to continuously improve the environmental profile of the company’s products. Additionally, consumers get a more environmentally responsible product along with the performance excellence they trust and expect from SC Johnson.

How the Process Works
Each raw material ingredient receives a rating from 3 to 0. An ingredient with a 3 rating is considered “Best,” 2 is “Better,” 1 is “Acceptable,” and 0 rated materials are used on a limited, approved basis. When SC Johnson scientists create a new product or reformulation, they work to select raw materials rated “Better” (2) or “Best” (3). When existing products are reformulated, the scientist must include ingredients that have ratings equal to or higher than the original formula.

While some raw materials with a 0 score are not restricted by government regulatory requirements, over the years SC Johnson limited their use. SC Johnson has chosen to replace these 0 rated materials with materials that are more biodegradable and have a better environmental profile.

Today, Greenlist™ provides ratings for more than 95 percent of the raw materials SC Johnson uses including surfactants, solvents, propellants, insecticides, resins, chelants, preservatives, waxes, fragrances, inorganic acids and basis, non-woven fabrics and packaging. Company scientists also have developed criteria for dyes, colorants and thickeners, and are working on additional categories as well. Each category of raw material is judged based on four to seven key criteria.

The Impact
When SC Johnson introduced Greenlist™ in 2001, the company set a goal to improve its baseline Greenlist score for all raw material purchases from 1.2 to 1.41 by 2007. This goal was accomplished in early 2005 and is at 1.49. In 2001, SC Johnson’s use of “Better and Best” materials was at 9 percent of all raw materials scored, by 2005, this number increased to 28 percent of all raw materials scored. The company uses an annual planning process to help drive these scores and the Greenlist™ results are shared in the company’s annual public report. (found at www.scjohnson.com)

Best on Glass – Even Better for the Environment
In just one example of the positive impact of the Greenlist process, SC Johnson used Greenlist™ to reformulate Windex®, the leading glass cleaner in the market. The company was able to replace a 0 rated solvent with a 3 rated solvent and unique cleaning ingredient system. This helped reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the Windex® formula to less than 4 percent. At the same time, the cleaning power of Windex was boosted by 30 percent, making Windex best on glass and even better for the environment.

Through Greenlist™ SC Johnson has also:

• Phased out chlorine-based external packaging worldwide, including bleached paperboard containers or bottles made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
• Reduced hydrocarbon propellant by 16 percent in one of the company’s key aerosol brands.
• Surpassed the California Air Resource Board’s requirements by using a non-VOC solvent in one of the company’s leading insect control brands.
• Replaced organo-phosphates in Raid® with “Better and Best” materials.

Sharing the Learning
The company has shared its Greenlist™ process with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environment Canada, the Chinese EPA, industry associations, universities, corporations and others. Equally important, the company has been able to use insights from Greenlist™ to partner with suppliers to identify and develop ingredients that are more environmentally sustainable. In fact, the company’s core fragrance houses now rate materials before giving them to SC Johnson.

Through a licensing agreement with Five Winds International SC Johnson has made the Greenlist™ process available to other companies royalty-free. Five Winds will work with companies interested in licensing Greenlist™ to improve the environmental profile of their products.