MATERIALITY Beginning in December 2012, we engaged a third party to reach out to a number of our stakeholders and seek input on how well our sustainability report provided transparent, comprehensive and accessible coverage of key issues. In addition, stakeholders were asked for their views on the sustainability issues they expected would have a significant impact on Kimberly-Clark in the future. Stakeholders from eight groups (business partners, suppliers, customers, employees, investors, socially responsible investors, NGOs and academics) were engaged through telephone interviews and, when requested, written questionnaires. We have incorporated the feedback from those interviews in this report to the extent possible. 2014 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 1
We placed the same emphasis on collaboration with internal stakeholders by running a series of global workshops to validate material aspects. To do this, we convened regional business and functional leaders and subject matter experts around the world to assess and prioritize sustainability issues most relevant to our business. These workshops generated insights about our core beliefs as a company, where we felt we could have the greatest impact and how we aligned with our global business strategy. We saw strong alignment between our materiality analysis and the findings of the global workshops. Following the workshops, our Global Sustainability Team synthesized regional and global input, then prepared and proposed a set of sustainability goals that aligned with the findings (adjusting based on feedback from stakeholders). These goals were then finalized and provided the basis for commitments across the company. 2014 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2
ONGOING ENGAGEMENT Our ongoing engagement, summarized in the following table, takes many forms from one-way information channels to consumer and customer research and from dialogues with environmental organizations to partnerships with humanitarian organizations. Improved health and hygiene Cause marketing campaigns Consumers Affordability Good customer service Consumer education campaigns Consumer satisfaction surveys Sustainability attributes of products Customer meetings Environmental impacts of manufacturing, e.g. water use Wholesale Customers Post-consumer waste Product quality and safety Consumer education Pricing Sustainability performance Team meetings Raw material sourcing @K-C intranet site Business performance @myhr intranet site Employees Training and development opportunities Safety Fairness and equality Employee engagement Employee surveys Employee networks Town hall meetings with executives Charitable giving Performance management process Contractual terms Sustainability guide for suppliers Sustainability requirements Risk assessments and audits Suppliers Fiber procurement policy Supplier sustainability summits Labor standards and accountability Quality and consistency 2014 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 3
Cost reductions Annual meeting Organic revenue growth Earnings calls Traditional Investors Operating margins Earnings Dividends Corporate governance Meetings between executives and investors Analyst conferences Shareholder resolutions Cost reductions Annual meeting Organic revenue growth Earnings calls Earnings Corporate governance Sustainability Reporting Socially Responsible Investors (SRI) Political contributions and lobbying Sustainability performance Recycled fiber Meetings between executives and investors Analyst conferences Innovation and R&D Shareholder resolutions Product quality and safety Job opportunities Community meetings Communities Local impacts such as water use, noise, air pollution Support of local charities Volunteering programs Media Relations Taxes Government Legal compliance Lobbying Corporate citizenship Meetings with Government Affairs team Meetings with Regulatory Affairs team Meetings between mill staff and local government officials 2014 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 4
Sourcing raw materials Direct engagement with NGOs Wood fiber Environmental impacts of manufacturing, e.g. water use Toxics in the environment NGOs Product life cycles Animal testing Labor standards Bottom-of-the-pyramid Resource use Academics Water availability Life cycle of products Social welfare Renewable materials Waste reduction Business Partners Resource use (water, energy, etc.) Recycling Employee safety In addition, we communicate our progress to the shareholder and investment communities through our 2014 10-K, on the Investors section of our corporate website, in our public SEC filings, through investor and shareholder meetings, at analyst-sponsored conferences and through distribution of our sustainability report. [link] 2014 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 5