SC Johnson’s Progress Improving Lives in 2016/17: An Excerpt from Our 2017 Sustainability Report

At SC Johnson, we work to make lives better in the communities where we operate. Since 1937, SC Johnson has given 5% of all pretax profits to charities. 2017 marked 80 years of giving, and the 58th year for our charitable foundation, SC Johnson Giving, Inc.

Our goal is to make a real difference in people’s lives through advocacy, educational resources, products and grants. Here’s a sample of a few of our projects from fiscal year 2016/17.

As a leading manufacturer of pest control products, we have an important opportunity to help families protect themselves from mosquitoes that may carry disease.

In February 2016, we announced plans to donate at least $15 million in pest control products and financial support to charitable organizations, aiding at-risk families in response to global outbreaks of Zika, dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases. In June 2017, we exceeded our goal.

We partnered with international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and health foundations to provide personal insect repellents, spatial repellents and household insecticides. We also provided cash contributions to cover logistics, distribution and educational materials. And, we offered support to government-led dialogue and planning including the Zika Action Plan Summit at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs’ Zika Roundtable.
 
Ultimately, more than 4.8 million units of SC Johnson personal insect repellent and insecticide products were shipped to NGOs for distribution to communities with the greatest need, primarily in the United States, Caribbean and Latin America.

With Amazon rainforest deforestation once again on the rise, SC Johnson and Conservation International (CI) teamed up in 2017 to help protect 10,000 acres of rainforest through an acre-for-acre match campaign. 

The funds from the campaign will help kick off the world’s largest tropical reforestation project in the Brazilian Amazon. As part of the company’s work with and contributions to CI since the 1990s, more than 100,000 acres of land have been conserved.

The acre-for-acre campaign was launched in conjunction with SC Johnson’s sponsorship of Under the Canopy, an immersive 360-degree virtual reality film that allows viewers to experience the wonders of the Amazon. 

The film, co-produced by CI and leading cinematic virtual reality company Jaunt, explores the extraordinary landscape of Amazonia guided by the indigenous people who inhabit the region and are essential to its protection. It has been seen by more than half a million viewers worldwide.

SC Johnson and CI have partnered on environmentally focused projects for nearly 16 years. Since 2001, SC Johnson has served on the board for CI’s Centre for Environmental Leadership in Business. In 2009, SC Johnson became a founding member of CI’s Team Earth, a worldwide preservation effort unifying businesses, nonprofit organizations and other participants to confront environmental issues.

Supporting education has been a longstanding priority for SC Johnson. We have provided more than $10 million in scholarships for SC Johnson people and their families since 1959, and have matched donations to provide more than $15 million to educational institutions in the last 20 years. And in fiscal year 2016/17, we continued to focus on supporting educational opportunities.

• For the 2017/18 school year, SC Johnson provided more than $300,000 in scholarships to 51 students in Racine, Wisconsin.
• A donation of $500,000 was made to support the renovation of the integrated science lab at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wisconsin, providing a facility to continue offering students the opportunity to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.
• In 2017, the second SC Johnson Science Laboratory Project was kicked off at Cosmo City West Primary School in South Africa, donating a state-of-the-art science laboratory to the school. The first laboratory was completed in 2016.

Here are examples of local giving in communities around the globe:

• Canada: SC Johnson Canada has been partnering with the Bruce Trail Conservancy since 1998, helping fund programs establishing a conservation corridor with a public footpath along the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario. In 2017, SC Johnson Canada helped fund a 50th anniversary edition of the BTC Reference Guide — the hiker’s blueprint for the Trail.
• Australia: SC Johnson Australia’s contributions to the Starlight Children’s Foundation have helped fund the Starlight Express Room at the Children’s Hospital Westmead, a medical-free section of the Hospital for children who are patients and their families. The donations helped stock the craft corner of the room full of paints, pencils, paper and materials, allowing the children to have fun while taking a break from their medical treatments and procedures.
• United Kingdom: The Prince’s Trust, a leading youth charity in the United Kingdom, helps disadvantaged young people build a better future for themselves. A donation from SC Johnson United Kingdom in 2017 helped fund free programs focused on helping disadvantaged young people obtain work, education or training opportunities in two locations across the United Kingdom.
• Rwanda: SC Johnson in 2017 teamed up with The Coca-Cola Company, Solarkiosk and Society for Family Health Rwanda as a part of the EKOCENTER program, which provides safe drinking water, sanitation, solar energy and wireless communication. EKOCENTERS are modular retail experiences that are run by women operators and provide a place to buy basic goods including OFF!® mosquito repellent lotion, Baygon® mosquito coils and KIWI® shoe polish. EKOCENTERS also offer a place for community gathering and for entrepreneurs to set up business.