In the run up to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992), Henkel was one of the first companies to sign the International Chamber of Commerce's Business Charter for Sustainable Development in 1991. Taking the 16 management principles of the ICC Business Charter for Sustainable Development as a basis, Henkel has conducted a self-evaluation in 2002 of how far it has progressed toward sustainability during the past years.

In 1993, Henkel joined the World Industry Council for the Environment. In 1996, the Council merged with another industry initiative to form the WBCSD, of which Henkel is therefore also a founding member.

In 2003, Henkel joined the United Nations´ Global Compact. By participating in the Global Compact (text link to 4.8.5.), Henkel publicly committed to uphold human rights and fundamental principles and rights at work, to protect the environment and to work against all forms of corruption.

To develop and promote new solutions for sustainable harvesting and use of palm oil throughout the value chain, we have been actively supporting the aim of the "Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil" (RSPO) for years. In 2007, for example, a Henkel representative attended the fifth meeting of the Round Table (RT5) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Since April 2008, Henkel has been an official member of the RSPO.

Henkel supports the “Global Roundtable on Climate Change“ of Columbia University, New York, since May 2007. The multi-stakeholder forum brings together high-level representatives from the private sector, research institutions, and international governmental and non-governmental organizations. The objective is to discuss and explore areas of potential consensus regarding core scientific, technological, and economic issues critical to shaping sound public policies on climate change.

Since April 2008 Henkel participates in the Product Carbon Footprint Pilot Project Germany. Under the project leadership of the WWF, Öko-Institut-Institute for Applied Ecology, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and THEMA1, Henkel and nine other companies have come together to work on the issue of assessing and communicating product-related greenhouse gas and CO2 emissions, or so-called Product Carbon Fsootprints (PCF). The objective is to contribute to the international harmonization of methodologies for PCF assessments. The Project will explore possibilities of communicating PCF of goods and services to customers and consumers, taking into account recent developments in other markets.