Henkel Sets the Standard for Shippers with Ambitious Sustainability Goals and a Carrier-First Methodology
On this special edition episode of the Transfix Take Podcast, we had an opportunity to sit with John Schilli, Director of Transportation for Consumer Brands at Henkel. We discussed the driving force behind Henkel’s ambitious sustainability plans to reduce plastics and drive a circular economy, their program to increase the proportion of recycled plastic to more than 30%, and their 60 million dollar investment towards women- and minority-owned carrier suppliers in 2021.
In their 2021 annual sustainability report, Henkel notes their commitment to using bio-based plastics to help prevent waste from entering the environment and to reduce plastic volume by 2025. While sustainability efforts have arguably only been made a high priority by other shippers in the last five to ten years, the same cannot be said for Henkel. “When you talk about the company’s DNA -– sustainability is not really a new thing. In fact, we’ve been reporting on our sustainability numbers for the past 30 years.” And this commitment is one they are already well on their way to achieving because, as Schilli says, “if we don’t really look to do these things, we won’t have a planet that’s around in years to come.”
Further into the conversation, we covered Henkel’s approach to deepening relationships with their carrier base. The company holds regular meetings to highlight carrier performance, including devoting time to foster brainstorm conversation with their diverse network. “You’re going to have a stronger end-result the more diverse you are,” Schilli said. “Different carriers have different capabilities that you can tap into. In many cases, carriers are not going to be a one-size-fits-all and we want to utilize our carrier network to their strengths,” Schilli said. This carrier-first approach is one the team at Transfix identifies with, and we’re proud to partner with organizations like Henkel that set a golden standard across the board.
Listen to the full interview here.
