OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Clorox
Company (NYSE: CLX) released its fiscal year 2016 integrated annual
report highlighting its business and corporate responsibility
results and its 103-year evolution focusing on the health and
wellness of its consumers, communities and the planet.
"Evolution is essential to remain relevant and thrive, and we're
constantly evolving our business, building on an already strong
foundation to deliver good growth — growth that's profitable,
responsible and sustainable — for the long term," said Chairman and
CEO Benno Dorer. "From our origins
in disinfecting as a bleach company to our recent acquisition of
digestive health company Renew Life, Clorox offers a broad
portfolio of brands that make a difference in the health and
wellness of people's lives. This report also showcases how we've
evolved to create meaningful value for all our stakeholders."
The report details the company's progress against its 2020
Strategy, which encompasses financial and corporate responsibility
performance, in areas such as innovation, technology, employee
engagement, diversity, environmental sustainability and community
support. The report's feature story on health and wellness shows
how the company's portfolio includes brands that encourage a better
diet, enhance skin care, and help create healthier surroundings in
homes and businesses. A companion video, featuring a conversation
with Dorer, provides further insight into the company's health and
wellness journey.
The company's 2016 fiscal year financial results include the
following:
- $5.8 billion in net
sales
- $398 million in cash
dividends
- 36 percent total shareholder return, third in the
company's peer group1
- 3 percent incremental sales from product
innovation
These key nonfinancial metrics are among those highlighted in
the report:
- 87 percent employee engagement, which is one point
higher than last year, eight points higher than levels at global
fast-moving consumer goods companies2 and about three
points higher than companies combining superior financial
performance and human resources practices.3
- A recordable incident rate of 0.61 — a measure of
workplace safety that is superior to world-class
norms.4
- Diversity in corporate governance, including 50
percent minority independent board members, 30 percent female
independent board members and 31 percent female Clorox
Executive Committee members.
- Environmental sustainability improvements marked by
cumulative reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (17 percent),
solid waste to landfill (25 percent), energy consumption (14
percent) and water consumption (14 percent) since
20115 and cumulative product sustainability
improvements to 31 percent of the company's portfolio of
products.
- Nearly $17 million in
community impact from foundation cash grants, employee
volunteerism6, U.S. cause marketing contributions and
U.S. corporate product donations.
As part of Clorox's efforts to continually enhance the rigor of
its corporate responsibility reporting, an independent accounting
firm provided review-level assurance for 14 key nonfinancial
metrics. These performance indicators are shown with an "A" symbol
throughout the report.
Clorox followed the Global Reporting Initiative G4 Guidelines,
which provide a recommended framework and indicators for reporting.
The company's report features a corporate responsibility
materiality overview, including a matrix, which highlights the
company's 17 priorities in this area. Incorporated into the GRI
Index is the company's Communication of Progress, which describes
the company's actions in implementing the Ten Principles of the
United Nations Global Compact. In October
2015, the company became a signatory to the United Nations
Global Compact, the world's largest organization bringing together
companies, nongovernmental organizations, governments and other
stakeholders to advance the most important global sustainability
issues.
The 2016 integrated annual report is available online at
annualreport.thecloroxcompany.com. The annual report website offers
animated content, video, downloadable versions of the printed
executive summary and full online report, and a brief survey to
share insights and feedback.
The Clorox Company
The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) is a leading multinational
manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products
with about 8,000 employees worldwide and fiscal year 2016 sales
of $5.8 billion. Clorox markets some of the most trusted and
recognized consumer brand names, including its namesake bleach and
cleaning products; Pine-Sol® cleaners; Liquid Plumr® clog removers;
Poett® home care products; Fresh Step® cat litter; Glad® bags,
wraps and containers; Kingsford® charcoal; Hidden Valley® dressings
and sauces; Brita® water-filtration products; Burt's Bees® natural
personal care products; and Renew Life® digestive health products.
The company also markets brands for professional services,
including Clorox Healthcare® and Clorox Commercial Solutions®. More
than 80 percent of the company's sales are generated from brands
that hold the No. 1 or No. 2 market share positions in their
categories.
Clorox is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, a
community of global leaders committed to sustainability. The
company also has been broadly recognized for its corporate
responsibility efforts, most notably receiving two Climate
Leadership Awards for Excellence in 2015 and a Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award in 2016
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as well as being
named to CR Magazine's 2016 Best Corporate Citizens list and
included in the 2016 Newsweek Green Rankings. The Clorox
Company and its foundations contributed nearly $17
million in combined cash grants, product donations, cause
marketing and employee volunteerism in the past year. For more
information, visit TheCloroxCompany.com, including
the Good Growth blog, and follow the company on Twitter
at @CloroxCo.
CLX-C
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and such forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties. Except for historical information, statements about
future volumes, sales, foreign currencies, costs, cost savings,
margins, earnings, earnings per share, diluted earnings per share,
foreign currency exchange rates, cash flows, plans, objectives,
expectations, growth, or profitability are forward-looking
statements based on management's estimates, assumptions and
projections. Words such as "could," "may," "expects,"
"anticipates," "targets," "goals," "projects," "intends," "plans,"
"believes," "seeks," "estimates," "predicts" and variations on such
words, and similar expressions that reflect our current views with
respect to future events and operational and financial performance,
are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are only predictions, subject to risks
and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from
those discussed. Important factors that could affect performance
and cause results to differ materially from management's
expectations are described in the sections entitled "Risk Factors"
and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition
and Results of Operations" in the company's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016, as updated from
time to time in the company's SEC filings. These factors
include, but are not limited to: intense competition in the
company's markets; worldwide, regional and local economic
conditions and financial market volatility; the ability of the
company to drive sales growth, increase prices and market share,
grow its product categories and achieve favorable product and
geographic mix; volatility and increases in commodity costs such as
resin, sodium hypochlorite and agricultural commodities, and
increases in energy, transportation or other costs; dependence on
key customers and risks related to customer consolidation and
ordering patterns; risks related to reliance on information
technology systems, including potential security breaches,
cyber-attacks, privacy breaches or data breaches that result in the
unauthorized disclosure of consumer, customer, employee or company
information, or service interruptions; costs resulting from
government regulations; the ability of the company to successfully
manage global, political, legal, tax and regulatory risks,
including changes in regulatory or administrative activity; risks
related to international operations, including political
instability; government-imposed price controls or other
regulations; foreign currency exchange rate controls, including
periodic changes in such controls, fluctuations and devaluations;
labor claims, labor unrest and inflationary pressures, particularly
in Argentina; and potential harm
and liabilities from the use, storage and transportation of
chlorine in certain international markets where chlorine is used in
the production of bleach; risks related to the possibility of
nationalization, expropriation of assets or other government action
in foreign jurisdictions; risks relating to acquisitions, new
ventures and divestitures, and associated costs, including the
potential for asset impairment charges related to, among others,
intangible assets and goodwill; the ability of the company to
develop and introduce commercially successful products; supply
disruptions and other risks inherent in reliance on a limited base
of suppliers; the impact of product liability claims, labor claims
and other legal proceedings, including in foreign jurisdictions;
the success of the company's business strategies; the ability of
the company to implement and generate anticipated cost savings and
efficiencies; the company's ability to attract and retain key
personnel; the company's ability to maintain its business
reputation and the reputation of its brands; environmental matters,
including costs associated with the remediation of past
contamination and the handling and/or transportation of hazardous
substances; the impact of natural disasters, terrorism and other
events beyond the company's control; the company's ability to
maximize, assert and defend its intellectual property rights; any
infringement or claimed infringement by the company of third-party
intellectual property rights; risks related to the potential
increase in the company's purchase price for The Procter &
Gamble Company's (P&G) interest in the Glad®
business and the impact from the decision on whether or not to
extend the term of the related agreement with P&G; the effect
of the company's indebtedness and credit rating on its business
operations and financial results; risks related to the company's
discontinuation of operations in Venezuela; the company's ability to pay and
declare dividends or repurchase its stock in the future; the
company's ability to maintain an effective system of internal
controls, including after completing acquisitions; uncertainties
relating to tax positions, tax disputes and changes in the
company's tax rate; the accuracy of the company's estimates and
assumptions on which its financial projections are based; and the
impacts of potential stockholder activism.
The company's forward-looking statements in this press release
are based on management's current views and assumptions regarding
future events and speak only as of their dates. The company
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required by the federal
securities laws.
1 June 30, 2015, through June
30, 2016 (assumes reinvestment of quarterly dividends). Peer
companies — an average of 16 consumer packaged goods companies,
excluding Clorox — used for benchmarking purposes.
2 The Willis Towers Watson global fast-moving
consumer goods norm consists of over 162,000 employees from 59
companies. This norm is comprised of a weighted average of employee
survey results from a cross-section of organizations who produce
fast-moving consumer goods. The data are derived from recent client
studies and a representative sample of employee data collected
through general workforce attitude studies conducted by Towers
Watson. The norm is updated annually.
3 The Willis Towers Watson global high-performance
norm is based on responses from 145,000 employees at 28 companies.
Companies qualify for the norm by meeting two criteria: 1) superior
financial performance, defined by net profit margin and/or return
on invested capital that exceeds industry averages; and 2) superior
human resources practices, defined by employee opinion scores near
the top among the most financially successful companies surveyed by
Willis Towers Watson.
4 Based on corporate benchmarking by Clorox, we
consider a recordable incident rate, or RIR, of 1.0 or less to be
world-class. Our FY16 RIR of 0.61 means that for every 100 Clorox
employees, we averaged less than one reportable incident during
this past year. According to the latest available data from the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average RIR for
goods-producing manufacturing companies is 3.8. The criteria used
to determine RIR follows U.S. Department of Labor Occupational
Safety and Health Administration guidelines and is applied
globally.
5 CY 2015 vs. CY 2011 per case of product sold.
6 Financial equivalent of 123,053 volunteer hours,
calculated at $23.56 per hour, based
on the 2015 U.S. value of volunteer time from
IndependentSector.org. Less than 5 percent of these hours are by
employees outside the U.S., but all are calculated using the U.S.
average rate.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160923/411416
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160913/407107LOGO
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I90kfDVyRE
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evolve-this-clorox-2016-integrated-annual-report-highlights-fiscal-year-progress-against-2020-strategy-and-more-than-a-century-of-evolution-in-health-and-wellness-300333576.html
SOURCE The Clorox Company