Aydon Rossi
Rutgers Business School
Joe Markert
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Henkel's main innovation is not only their improvement of the production process of their products, it is the company's restructuring as a whole to align with the goals set forth by the United Nations.
For example, Henkel has paved the way for employee career progress. They offer programs such as educational opportunities for high performing new graduates through the Henkel Global Academy which partners with multiple international global institutions such as Harvard, the Thunderburst School of Global Management, and the IESC Business School. This program allows incoming employees to further their career and assist the company to become more innovative and sustainable. Through providing these opportunities, Henkel is able to solidify its place on top of the ever rolling snowball that is innovation.
Henkel also provides educational opportunities outside of the workplace environment through the Henkel Sustainability Ambassador Program. Their Shaping Futures initiative which gives students in disadvantaged areas an opportunity to discover careers in hairdressing and how they can make a global impact in that industry.
Finally, Henkel is also heavily involved in the Light Up Project which gives Chinese children the opportunity to improve their reading skills by donating books and other educational material.
Henkel prides itself on the company's efforts to improve opportunities for students and employees through education which is in direct response to the fourth United Nation goal which is Educational Opportunity.
The main innovation we are focusing on is Henkel’s restructuring of the company to align with the goals set forth by management as well as the United Nations. Henkel has many learning programs for their employees to help strengthen their knowledge as to how to create products that benefit society and are also sustainable for the environment.
Henkel’s main goal as a company is to create more value in their products and also reduce their environmental footprint at the same time. Henkel is trying to maximize profits by also following the UN Goals as a guideline to achieve sustainable development. In fact, they are working towards a goal whereby 2030 they are trying to be three times as efficient as they are today.
We were extremely inspired to create a project around this innovation as we all truly believe in keep the world environmentally safe and sustainable. After seeing the recent innovations by Henkel, it is very evident that the company is attempting to spread sustainability around the nation and it truly captivated us. We were really inspired by how much Henkel has grown over the years and how successful it has become over the many years they have been in business. Learning about Henkel has made us all more environmentally cautious and aware of what is good for the environment and what can harm the environment.
The overall impact of this innovation is that Henkel is able to produce more qualified employees to help reach and maintain their goals which happen to coincide with the United Nations. Especially through the Henkel Global Academy, they are able to produce the exact employees they require to meet and exceed these goals which will eventually improve the global community. It is imperative that Henkel also continue their innovation in their quest to educate people living in underprivileged areas as well. These are the building blocks in which we are able to create more individuals capable of shaping the future in a positive way. Henkel is devoted to creating a better world to live in through all levels of education.
All products created by Henkel, whether they are linked with the UN Goals or not, are sent onto the market to produce a profit. However, Henkel has shown different cases where they follow the UN guidelines to not only benefit others, but to benefit the company too. One example of Henkel doing this is shown throughout some of their education programs set up all over the world. Henkel funds university graduates to work with students in schools in disadvantaged areas, they also provide further education for all of the employees, and help provide more experience through job rotations.
One example of Henkel’s environmental impact is their initiative where they work directly with small farmers to gather sustainable plant oil which can increase productivity on their plantations. This example shows that Henkel is not only committed to making a profit but also want to benefit the societies in which they purchase the goods to produce their products.
Our primary contact, Toni Rossi, stated “All our packaging is designed in such a way that it delivers the performance expected by the consumer while using the least possible amount of and the most sustainable materials. To achieve this goal, our packaging engineers work closely with partners along the entire value chain, so they can make use of leading design techniques, modern production technologies, and advanced materials in the development process.”
Henkel is committed to being environmentally conscious while still maintaining a meaningful product. In addition, Henkel is doing their best to stop using microplastics in any of their products as it is harmful to the environment and ends up in multiple ecosystems. Henkel as a whole is doing great things for the betterment of humanity and the world by doing clinical research into their products and being as efficient as possible with everything they create.
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Toni Rossi, VP, Global Innovation Portfolio Management
Henkel’s goal is to “Create sustainable value” which is extremely important, making it better for consumers and people’s lives in general. They sell many different products overall and have many different areas including adhesive technologies, beauty care, and laundry and home care.
They aim to make things as easy as possible for their consumers and they hold each and every buyer at the highest regard. While trying to be as financially responsible and efficient as possible, they treat each individual customer with respect and care and are trying extremely hard to make sure our planet is taken care of. Henkel uses reusable energy to try and preserve the environment. In fact, they are working towards a goal whereby 2030 they are trying to be three times as efficient as they are right now.