Our journey to sustainable oral care
Good oral health matters to us all. Just like you, we are on a journey to reduce our environmental impact.
If you are visiting this page from Ireland, please visit our Irish Sensodyne page here: www.sensodyne.com/en-ie/sustainability
Putting the squeeze on our packaging use
All our cartons are fully recyclable.
Our tubes and caps
We are currently rolling out our recycle ready[1] tubes across Great Britain and Ireland.
In 2023, globally we produced over 336 million recycle-ready[1] toothpaste tubes. From May 2024, all of our Sensodyne and Pronamel caps are being made using recycled plastic*. Our Sensodyne and Pronamel tubes, caps and cartons are also fully recyclable.
*up to 95% recycled plastic
[1] Recycle-ready means packaging that has been developed to be compatible with a targeted existing or emerging recycling infrastructure. By recycling infrastructure, we mean the state-of-the-art technology and operations capable of achieving efficient collection, sorting and processing into recycled material feedstocks.
We are committed to reducing the amount of plastic we use:
Our plastic-free toothbrush packaging uses a revolutionary cellulose-gum to allow you to see the brush while sealing it from contamination.
Our Sensodyne Nourish Healthy White toothbrush: friendly for your teeth and the planet-has a handle made from a natural by-product of paper production, it has dense, end-rounded soft bristles made of recycled PET, designed for gentle yet effective cleaning in even hard to reach area.
It’s not simply a way of thinking, it’s a complete way of behaving.
In Great Britain and Ireland, we made 27.7 million recycle ready[1] tubes of toothpaste in 2023 for Sensodyne and Pronamel. We are proud of the journey that we are on in moving towards being more sustainable.
Our factories are transforming
We have switched to using 100% renewable electricity across all our factories which we directly control.
Renewable electricity
All of the Haleon factories we own and control are now operating with zero waste to landfill[2]. While maintaining this performance, we want to move towards greater circularity by diverting more of the waste we generate into circular cycles.
[2] This calculation excludes waste which we are legally obliged to send to landfill.
Re-using
Recycling
Composting
We recognise that water used in our supply chain is a local resource shared with the communities in which we operate. As members of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), we are taking steps to ensure our management of water is environmentally sustainable and socially equitable through AWS certification of our sites.
We also signed the CEO Water Mandate, an initiative that mobilises business leaders on water, sanitation and the Sustainable Development Goals, and we’re committed to continuous progress against the core commitments of the mandate.
Our trusted ingredients
Earning trust starts with how we select and source ingredients that people feel good about using.
At Haleon, including Sensodyne we strive to only conduct business with third parties that maintain good ethical standards and operate responsibly. Our Working with Responsible Third Parties position outlines the expectations that Haleon has of the third parties we work with in order to promote the highest standards of professional integrity and trust.
Working collaboratively with suppliers and partners is critical to making progress on sustainable sourcing. We’re a member of Action for Sustainable Derivatives (ASD), a collaborative initiative that brings together companies in the cosmetics, home and personal care, and oleochemicals industries to collectively tackle supply chain issues around palm oil and palm kernel oil derivatives.
Sensodyne is one of Haleon’s brands in which we strive to be better.
Mint
Improving opportunities for farmers in our mint supply chain
We source most of the natural mint used in our products from growers in India and the United States. In North America, we’re members of the Mint Industry Research Council (MIRC) who are working together with growers and others in the industry to help ensure mint crops are high-quality, resilient and sustainable. India is responsible for around 80% of the world’s mint production, with the majority of mint grown by smallholder farmers on land that’s usually under an acre. Mint is a valuable crop in the annual cycle. However, in many parts of the region farmers are struggling with poverty, together with rising production costs and limited access to services.
In 2022, we undertook a Human Rights Impact Assessment of the India mint supply chain which involved interviews and engagement with over 600 rights holders. The research was undertaken with the support and collaboration of four tier 1 suppliers and two tier 2 suppliers. The mint supply chain is complex, with many intermediaries between Haleon and the mint farmers, so following the assessment, we have been working closely with our suppliers to develop action plans to seek to address some of the root causes of issues identified.
These action plans support our Healthy Mint Supply Chain strategy, which aims to uphold health and safety standards in mint farming, improve farmers’ livelihoods, support health and gender empowerment in mint growing communities and reduce the environmental impact of mint production.
Our Sensodyne Nourish Healthy White toothpaste is blended with natural mint & citrus oil for a nourishing and cleansing sensation.
Palm oil
Industry collaboration to tackle supply chain issues around palm oil and derivatives
Our membership of Action for Sustainable Derivatives has helped us to gain greater transparency of our palm oil supply chain by mapping 96.3% of volumes to refineries, 92% to mills and 30.7% to plantations[7] in 2021. We have also participated in ASD’s Sustainable Palm Index (SPI) which uses an in-depth third-party evaluation to assess suppliers’ progress on sustainable sourcing practices and compliance with No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation principles. Based on 2021 data, 89.5% of our suppliers are compliant with SPI requirements, with the remaining 10.5% working to close compliance gaps[7]. We are supporting two ASD Impact Fund projects, including the Kaleka Mosaik Initiative, aiming to ensure that all commodities within the Central Kalimantan district of Indonesia are produced more sustainably and inclusively, including protecting and restoring habitats. We are also supporting a BSR HERrespect programme in Indonesia to improve working conditions for women in the palm oil supply chain.
[7] Scope includes Haleon’s globally managed spend. Data is from 2021, when our membership with ASD was as GSK Consumer Healthcare.
Our mission
How Sensodyne, as part of the Haleon range, is striving to be better
Haleon and Smile train
Haleon continues to support Smile Train’s vital work to transform the lives of children and families in need of cleft surgery and other comprehensive cleft care, including nutritional support, orthodontics and speech services, in over 75 countries worldwide.
Through funding toll-free cleft hotlines in India and Nigeria, we’re helping to connect people with clefts and their families to the support and information they need. In addition, together, we are breaking down barriers to cleft care access and providing specialised education to local cleft professionals, including surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, dentists, speech therapists, and nutritionists. We have also delivered in-store campaigns with retail partners helping to raise the profile of Smile Train’s work.
We have a charity team in Great Britain and Ireland that organises activities to raise money for Smile Train. They run bake sales, net ball matches, and an annual Christmas party raffle wherein many of our employees contribute to Smile Train and its mission.
Haleon and Seeing AI
Industry collaboration to tackle supply chain issues around palm oil and derivatives
To help make our brands more accessible, Haleon, including Sensodyne, have collaborated with Microsoft to help them expand the functionality of their Seeing AI app for Haleon products. Seeing AI is a free mobile app that scans the information on product labels and reads it out loud. Consumers can scan the barcode on UK and US Haleon products and hear crucial information such as name, ingredients, and usage instructions.