Responsible consumer data principles

Today’s consumers increasingly share information through digital mediums, live in connected homes and shop for their favourite products online. They use a wide range of technologies and different platforms to interact with family, friends and brands. Millions of consumers globally have therefore already proactively shared their data with Reckitt, and millions more are indirectly sharing data with us by interacting with our brands digitally.

What is consumer data?

All these experiences generate consumer data. At Reckitt we use consumers’ data to make their engagement with our brands relevant. For example, providing a website in the right language, handling purchases or managing our communications responsibly.

The amount of consumer data generated worldwide is currently expected to be doubling every three years*. We know that more and more consumers are therefore rightly concerned about protecting their data. And we know they want to better understand how we do this responsibly.

Reckitt is committed to treating all data responsibly. This includes our consumers’ data, but also extends to other data we manage, such as the data of our employees’ which is also critical to us. While we consider this to be part of our wider concept of Data Ethics, these principles set out our approach to treating Consumer data responsibly as part of our commitment to put people and consumers first.

How do we protect consumer data?

There are laws and regulations that govern how we manage consumer data. However, there’s no consistent global approach and as technology progresses, those laws and regulations may not always keep up with consumer expectations.

We put consumers and people first. That’s why we’re introducing our new Responsible Consumer Data Principles. These enable us to move beyond the legal baseline for handling consumer data and will guide Reckitt as technology continually evolves in the years to come.

Why are we doing this?

We want to give consumers the reassurance that their data is safe with us, and that we are handling it responsibly.

That’s why we have established four key Responsible Consumer Data Principles to guide our consumer data practices. We’ll be evolving these Principles as technology continues to advance, regulations change and consumers’ preferences evolve. We promise we will always develop them in a way that enhances the consumer experience and relationship with our brands, while staying in line with the letter and spirit of laws and regulations.

We’re investing in a robust training and change management programme, so that anyone handling or designing the means to handle consumer data in Reckitt understands what is required of them and relevant partners when it comes to being compliant with these Principles. We will also be developing further monitoring capabilities, as well as governance and reporting processes.

Fabrice Beaulieu, Chief Marketing, Sustainability And Corporate Affairs Officer:

"Globally, eight out of 10 consumers are currently concerned about their data privacy. These four new principles will mean that consumer data is not only acquired, stored and used by Reckitt in line with local laws and regulations, but also treated as our consumers expect. We’re driven to do the right thing, always. And the launch of our new principles is just one example of this in action."

Responsible consumer data principles

1. Transparency

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When consumers engage with us, their data is often shared. We strive to make it easy for consumers to understand why this happens, how data is used, by whom and what privacy management options are.

We rigorously review and update our consent and privacy notices. Reckitt’s current privacy policy can be found here.

Our ambition: We want our consumer data notices to hold the same level of clarity as our marketing communications and activities. We are therefore committed to testing these notices for consumer understanding throughout 2023 and further refining them based on these insights.

2. Control

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We champion consumers having greater choice when it comes to how their data is collected and used. We are committed to giving consumers greater control over the data they share with us, and how it is used.

Our ambition: We will continuously evolve your consumer data experience with Reckitt through the depth of control over how you consent to, manage, or delete your data. Our goal is to improve the level of control we give to our consumers when it comes to their data.

We are committed to reviewing new tech advances to ensure our data practices are compatible with these Principles.

3. Reasonableness

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We commit to only ask for or collect as much data about our consumers as is helpful to assess and improve brand experience, consumer services or consumer support. This may be to personalise communications or improve our products.

Our ambition: Unless you ask us to delete it, we will only use and store data for as long as it continues to provide a beneficial consumer experience, or if the law requires us to hold it. When we no longer need it, we will delete it.

4. Fairness

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We strive for bias-free data practices and standards to ensure we collect, store and use data inclusively. We commit to using data for positive impact. This means we, or technologies managed by us and our partners, do not use consumer data in a way that inadvertently discriminates against you or others.

Our ambition: We will work to continuously raise our standards and collaborate with the industry to share best practices as we learn.

To feedback on your consumer experience, please send an email to responsibleconsumerdata@reckitt.com, and we will review your case.