Company: CL
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000021665-25-000008
Chunk: 86

Company: COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 86
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 additional disclosure obligations, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, and extended producer responsibility obligations that relate to our product packaging. Such additional regulations may adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition by increasing our compliance and manufacturing costs and/or negatively impacting our reputation if we are unable to, or are perceived (whether or not valid) not to, satisfy such requirements or expectations. Achieving our sustainability and social impact targets will require significant efforts from us and our stakeholders, such as our suppliers and other third parties. It will also require capital investment, additional expense (e.g., renewable energy costs) and the development of technology that may not currently exist. Failure to achieve our sustainability and social impact targets or the perception (whether or not valid) that we have failed to act responsibly with respect to such matters or to effectively respond to new or additional legal or regulatory requirements regarding climate change or other sustainability matters, could result in adverse publicity and increased litigation risk and adversely affect our business and reputation. There is also increased focus, including by governmental and non-governmental organizations, investors, customers, consumers, regulators, our employees and other stakeholders on these and other sustainability and social impact matters, including responsible sourcing, deforestation, animal welfare, labor, employment and human rights, the use of plastic, energy and water, the recyclability or recoverability of packaging, including single-use and other plastic packaging.  From many of these stakeholders, there is also a growing demand for natural or organic products and ingredient transparency, such as sources of palm oil and palm kernel oil, and an increased focus on reducing our impact on nature. Our reputation could be damaged if we do not (or are perceived not to) act responsibly with respect to sustainability matters, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Our reliance on third parties in many aspects of our business could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We use third parties including, but not limited to, suppliers, contract manufacturers, distributors, commercial banks and other external business partners, to support many aspects of our business including those that provide support across much of the lifespan of our products from the purchasing of ingredients up to and including the sale of our products to consumers. While we maintain robust policies and procedures to govern and manage our interactions with and requirements of these third parties, including building in redundancies and alternatives wherever possible, we inherently have a lesser degree of control over the business operations, governance and compliance of these unrelated entities. As a result, disruptions in