Author: sHq_LoGiNz

Henkel manufacturing sites are proud to produce quality adhesive and consumer brands products that have become must-haves in homes and for businesses across North America, and around the world.

More than ever, our production teams are finding innovative ways to produce these high-quality products with less impact on the environment. In recognition of World Environment Day, we are proud to highlight a few of many sustainability success stories from Henkel’s front lines.

Adhesive Technologies

Enoree, South Carolina

Targeting the steam system’s heavy usage of energy and water, in October 2025 the team at Enoree installed energy-efficient upgrades to the boiler and steam traps, reducing natural gas and water consumption and contributing to the site’s water circularity goals. These upgrades are part of a three-phase plan to add efficiency measures throughout the steam system, which will ultimately save more than 8,000 MWh of electricity, 7,300 cubic meters of water and 1,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Warren, Michigan

Thirsty for water savings, the team in Warren developed a 3D printed spacer for use as the membrane in the site’s reverse osmosis (RO) water purification system, which feeds the deionization (DI) water system. Since installation of this RO element in October 2025, the site has seen improved DI water flow, reduced system pressure, and increases in overall water efficiency to the tune of 8,000+ cubic meters per year.

Mentor, Ohio

With production increasingly focused on silane modified polymer (SMP) adhesive products, the team in Mentor sought a cure for material waste. In the manufacturing process, once SMP material is exposed to moisture in the atmosphere, the material cures and cannot be re-worked. In the past, this led to large volumes of high-value material going to waste. In November 2025, the site installed an additional buffer press to reclaim previously scrapped material and slowly feed it back into the system. As a result, the site is now producing 272 fewer tons of waste every year and saving significantly in raw materials and disposal costs.

Brandon, South Dakota

When our Brandon facility doubled its size to better serve the evolving needs of the electric vehicle (EV) and electronics industries, sustainability became part of the blueprint. As a result, this flagship facility became the first in Henkel’s North American Adhesive Technologies business to achieve a LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the most widely recognized green building rating system. The Brandon plant’s LEED Silver status reflects enhanced performance in sustainability, energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor environmental quality, and waste management. 

“Finding more efficient ways to make quality products is an integral part of our plant teams’ focus across both businesses. As we celebrate Henkel’s 150th anniversary in 2026, we are excited to bring our founder’s pioneering spirit to building a legacy of conservation for the generations to come.”
– Bjoern Jackisch, Senior Vice President Operations and Supply Chain, Henkel Adhesive Technologies

Henkel Consumer Brands

St. Louis, Missouri

At our consumer brands St. Louis facility, which produces ingredients used in laundry detergents, the wastewater pretreatment process is particularly challenging due to the onsite sulfonation chemical manufacturing process. The plant’s commitment to environmental responsibility and outstanding efforts to protect public water quality through effective wastewater pretreatment earned Henkel the prestigious 2025 Gold Award from the Missouri Water Environment Association (MWEA).

Bowling Green, Kentucky

The 2025 launch of concentrated laundry detergent formulas and smaller, more sustainable bottles recently earned Henkel the American Cleaning Institute’s 2026 Sustainability Spotlight Award. At the Bowling Green consumer brands facility, concentrated formulas were introduced across the all® free clear, Persil® and Snuggle® brands. This effort helped reduce water usage by 9 million gallons of water a year, while redesigned packaging reduced net plastic use by 5% and increased shipping efficiency, resulting in fewer trucks on the road.

“Our manufacturing plants are at the heart of Henkel’s sustainability journey, where innovation meets execution every day. By empowering our teams to rethink processes, reduce resource consumption, and scale impactful solutions, we are driving measurable progress toward our sustainability goals while continuing to deliver high-quality products to our customers.”
– Gianmatteo Cingano, Vice President of Manufacturing, Henkel Consumer Brands

These sustainability success stories are just a few ways Henkel employees are leveraging technology and outside-the-box thinking to make manufacturing processes more sustainable.

Henkel manufacturing sites are proud to produce quality adhesive and consumer brands products that have become must-haves in homes and for businesses across North America, and around the world.

More than ever, our production teams are finding innovative ways to produce these high-quality products with less impact on the environment. In recognition of World Environment Day, we are proud to highlight a few of many sustainability success stories from Henkel’s front lines.

Adhesive Technologies

Enoree, South Carolina

Targeting the steam system’s heavy usage of energy and water, in October 2025 the team at Enoree installed energy-efficient upgrades to the boiler and steam traps, reducing natural gas and water consumption and contributing to the site’s water circularity goals. These upgrades are part of a three-phase plan to add efficiency measures throughout the steam system, which will ultimately save more than 8,000 MWh of electricity, 7,300 cubic meters of water and 1,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Warren, Michigan

Thirsty for water savings, the team in Warren developed a 3D printed spacer for use as the membrane in the site’s reverse osmosis (RO) water purification system, which feeds the deionization (DI) water system. Since installation of this RO element in October 2025, the site has seen improved DI water flow, reduced system pressure, and increases in overall water efficiency to the tune of 8,000+ cubic meters per year.

Mentor, Ohio

With production increasingly focused on silane modified polymer (SMP) adhesive products, the team in Mentor sought a cure for material waste. In the manufacturing process, once SMP material is exposed to moisture in the atmosphere, the material cures and cannot be re-worked. In the past, this led to large volumes of high-value material going to waste. In November 2025, the site installed an additional buffer press to reclaim previously scrapped material and slowly feed it back into the system. As a result, the site is now producing 272 fewer tons of waste every year and saving significantly in raw materials and disposal costs.

Brandon, South Dakota

When our Brandon facility doubled its size to better serve the evolving needs of the electric vehicle (EV) and electronics industries, sustainability became part of the blueprint. As a result, this flagship facility became the first in Henkel’s North American Adhesive Technologies business to achieve a LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the most widely recognized green building rating system. The Brandon plant’s LEED Silver status reflects enhanced performance in sustainability, energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor environmental quality, and waste management. 

“Finding more efficient ways to make quality products is an integral part of our plant teams’ focus across both businesses. As we celebrate Henkel’s 150th anniversary in 2026, we are excited to bring our founder’s pioneering spirit to building a legacy of conservation for the generations to come.”
– Bjoern Jackisch, Senior Vice President Operations and Supply Chain, Henkel Adhesive Technologies

Henkel Consumer Brands

St. Louis, Missouri

At our consumer brands St. Louis facility, which produces ingredients used in laundry detergents, the wastewater pretreatment process is particularly challenging due to the onsite sulfonation chemical manufacturing process. The plant’s commitment to environmental responsibility and outstanding efforts to protect public water quality through effective wastewater pretreatment earned Henkel the prestigious 2025 Gold Award from the Missouri Water Environment Association (MWEA).

Bowling Green, Kentucky

The 2025 launch of concentrated laundry detergent formulas and smaller, more sustainable bottles recently earned Henkel the American Cleaning Institute’s 2026 Sustainability Spotlight Award. At the Bowling Green consumer brands facility, concentrated formulas were introduced across the all® free clear, Persil® and Snuggle® brands. This effort helped reduce water usage by 9 million gallons of water a year, while redesigned packaging reduced net plastic use by 5% and increased shipping efficiency, resulting in fewer trucks on the road.

“Our manufacturing plants are at the heart of Henkel’s sustainability journey, where innovation meets execution every day. By empowering our teams to rethink processes, reduce resource consumption, and scale impactful solutions, we are driving measurable progress toward our sustainability goals while continuing to deliver high-quality products to our customers.”
– Gianmatteo Cingano, Vice President of Manufacturing, Henkel Consumer Brands

These sustainability success stories are just a few ways Henkel employees are leveraging technology and outside-the-box thinking to make manufacturing processes more sustainable.

Originally published on Aflac Newsroom

When it comes to cancer, progress is often measured not only by new treatments, but by how early the disease can be found. For Ryan Schoenfeld, Ph.D., CEO of The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, that distinction has become a defining focus — one that is reshaping how scientists, funders and institutions work together to confront some of cancer’s most urgent challenges.

At the helm of the New York-based philanthropic organization, Dr. Schoenfeld is championing an approach grounded in collective action. While advances in treatment have improved survival rates for many cancers, some of the most deadly — such as pancreatic, ovarian and liver cancers — remain notoriously difficult to identify early. Symptoms often appear late, and reliable screening tools are limited or nonexistent. The result is a sobering reality: Too many patients are diagnosed only after the disease has progressed.

For Dr. Schoenfeld, addressing this gap is among the most pressing trials in modern oncology. Tackling this truth is why Dr. Schoenfeld has been recognized as an Aflac Check for Cancer Champion.

Building a new model of collaboration and turning breakthroughs into reality

This philosophy recently took shape through a new coalition, led by The Mark Foundation and launched to advance early detection tools for the world’s most difficult-to-diagnose cancers.

The coalition, which also includes the American Association for Cancer Research, Lustgarten Foundation, Break Through Cancer, and The Honorable Tina Brozman Foundation (Tina’s Wish), has so far invested $12 million in six collaborative research projects focused on pancreatic, ovarian and esophageal cancers, as well as cancer predisposition syndromes.

The grant program represents a notable shift in approach. Historically, research efforts have often unfolded in parallel, with funders and institutions pursuing similar goals independently. The coalition upends that paradigm by bringing together philanthropic organizations, scientists and research institutions to align resources, share knowledge and accelerate progress.

By fostering collaboration at this scale, the coalition aims to overcome one of the field’s greatest obstacles, which is not a lack of scientific ingenuity, but the fragmentation that can slow its application.

Dr. Schoenfeld sees this unified strategy as essential.

“I’m proud to lead a foundation that prioritizes the ‘big swings’ in science, and to work alongside a coalition of partners and scientists who are working tirelessly to make early detection a clinical reality,” Dr. Schoenfeld said. “We can’t cure what we can’t detect, and initiatives like Aflac’s Check for Cancer highlights the urgent need to work together to ensure that every patient benefits from an early, lifesaving diagnosis.”

The coalition’s focus on early detection comes at a pivotal moment. Advances in fields such as genomics, biomarker discovery and artificial intelligence are opening new pathways for identifying cancer long before symptoms emerge. Yet significant challenges remain in translating these discoveries into practical, widely accessible screening tools.

By aligning funding and expertise, Dr. Schoenfeld and his partners hope to bridge that divide, moving promising science out of the lab and into clinical use more quickly.

A shared commitment to patients

Despite the complexity of the scientific challenges, Dr. Schoenfeld remains focused on the human stakes. Every initiative, every partnership and every grant ultimately ties back to a single goal: improving outcomes for patients and their families, because for them, the potential impact is profound. Early detection not only increases survival rates but can also expand treatment options and improve quality of life. It shifts cancer care from reactive to proactive, offering a chance to intervene before the disease takes hold.

Looking ahead, Dr. Schoenfeld is both realistic and hopeful. Progress will require sustained effort, continued collaboration and an openness to rethinking long-standing approaches. In that sense, his work is less about singular breakthroughs and more about building a system capable of delivering them faster, more effectively and for the benefit of all. And for Dr. Schoenfeld, that vision — of catching cancer earlier, when it can be treated and even cured — is one worth pursuing with unwavering determination. It is the vision of a champion.

The Check for Cancer Champions program is part of Aflac’s Check for Cancer initiative, a bold, national movement to increase cancer screenings by 10% over 10 years. Learn more about the Check for Cancer movement by visiting Aflac.com/CheckForCancer.

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