Smart Business Magazine, Oct 2012

10 Smart Business Indianapolis October 2012 Cover Story Make it a priority One of the most important steps in the success of Cloroxs corporate responsibility initiatives dates back to 2006 when Knauss and his executive leadership team first formalized the companys commitment to corporate responsibility CR What began with a meeting about Cloroxs centennial business strategy the company turns 100 in 2013 quickly turned into a call to action as the group examined four megatrends going on in the business world including health and wellness sustainability multicultural shifts and of course affordability As Knauss and his team dove into the causes behind each trend they kept coming back to the issue of corporate responsibility Over the years Clorox has grown from its trademark bleach and cleaning products to manufacturing and selling everything from salad dressing to water filters cat litter and trash bags And like many other brand driven enterprises its spent years focusing on its commitment to build trust with its customers But in that meeting Knauss and his team realized that it was time to take the extra step They needed to make the companys commitment to corporate responsibility a formal strategy with clear metrics and goals It was that insight to seeing the connection consumers were making between brands and companies that made us even drive it harder Knauss says They narrowed Cloroxs focus to five pillars of corporate responsibility performance planet people products and purpose And they went about setting goals for each pillar Some of these included making sustainability improvements to 25 percent of the product portfolio by 2013 reducing waste and moving to more sustainable product materials They also structured the goals in phases annual goals as well as a three year plan allowing the leaders to adapt the strategy over time as consumer or economic trends play out If you set unrealistic goals you can create some pretty bad behavior throughout the organization he says Build alignment Creating a formal CR strategy gave Clorox the foundation it needed to drive the commitment throughout the organization From there Knauss says it was up to the companys leadership to build alignment on the strategy or tone at the top It starts with the top he says So a CEO or COO really has to drive this thing if youre going to get traction with the rest of the company and then get traction with outside constituents You have to keep people informed So its not just me talking to the executive committee Feature The Clorox Co If you set unrealistic goals you can create some pretty bad behavior throughout the organization Don Knauss chairman and CEO The Clorox Co