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Fisk Johnson on plastic covered beach

SC Johnson Announces Global Partnership with Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Company Signs On as the 10th Global Partner to Help Advance a Circular Economy

RACINE, Wis., January 23, 2019 – Today, SC Johnson and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation announce a global partnership reflective of their mutual passion and dedication to accelerating the transition to a circular economy.  SC Johnson joins the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's nine existing Global Partners including Intesa Sanpaolo, Danone, Google, H&M, Nike, Phillips, Renault, Solvay and Unilever in driving forward market leading circular economy initiatives at scale.

SC Johnson and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation share a vision for influencing system-wide change and will work with others to encourage new circular business innovation. The multi-year partnership builds on SC Johnson's decade long journey to improve the sustainability of its products. As part of this effort, the company has spent years working with industry experts to understand barriers to circularity and to find solutions to overcome them.

"Plastic pollution is an enormous problem, and it is going to take businesses, governments, consumers and civil society working together to solve it," said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. "We're all going to have to come together, and Ellen and the Foundation have done an excellent job creating an opportunity for partnership and progress."

"Built upon their strong history as a family company and pioneering work on transparency and product circularity, SC Johnson is taking a leadership role to help redesign global systems according to circular economy principles, and to address major challenges such as plastic pollution," said Dame Ellen MacArthur, Founder and Chair of Trustees of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. "We are delighted to welcome SC Johnson as a Global Partner and look forward to the progress we can drive together, towards an economy that works in the long term."
With the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimating that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean, it is imperative that all actors come together and change the way people live with and use plastic. 

In October 2018, Fisk Johnson joined leaders from around the world to sign the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment at the 2018 Our Ocean Conference in Bali, Indonesia. SC Johnson joined a global coalition of leading businesses and governments to tackle the plastic pollution crisis. This commitment, led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with U.N. Environment, is addressing the root causes of plastic pollution and will help keep plastic out of our oceans. 
With the increasing attention on the global plastic waste crisis, SC Johnson also published its commitments and progress to further reduce its own plastic footprint, as the company has been relentlessly focusing on designing unnecessary plastic packaging out of its products for years. The company announced plans to boost recycled plastic content in its packaging and support reuse of plastic bottles through concentrated refills, and launched an effort to make Ziploc® bags recyclable at curbside. 

SC Johnson continues its mission to make curbside recycling of used flexible plastic film a reality in the U.S. and reduce waste that enters landfills. The company achieved an important milestone last year with the introduction of the first-ever trash bag made with 100 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) film, including Ziploc® bags, collected through a pilot program at a U.S. recycling center. 

For more information on SC Johnson’s commitment to addressing plastic pollution and to learn how the company is helping to support a more circular plastic economy, visit www.scjohnson.com/plastic 
 
SC Johnson is a family company dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care, as well as professional products. It markets such well-known brands as GLADE®, KIWI®, OFF!®, PLEDGE®, RAID®, SCRUBBING BUBBLES®, SHOUT®, WINDEX® and ZIPLOC® in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including AUTAN®, BAYGON®, BRISE®, KABIKILLER®, KLEAR®, MR MUSCLE® and RIDSECT®. The 133-year-old company, which generates $10 billion in sales, employs approximately 13,000 people globally and sells products in virtually every country around the world. www.scjohnson.com 
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was launched in 2010 with the aim of accelerating the transition to the circular economy. Since its creation, the charity has emerged as a global thought leader, putting the circular economy on the agenda of decision-makers around the world. The charity’s work focuses on seven key areas: insight and analysis; business; institutions, governments, and cities; systemic initiatives; circular design; learning; and communications.

Further information: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org | @circulareconomy