Reckitt Benckiser Carbon Reduction Target

1st November 2007

                                                                             
         Reckitt Benckiser targets a new standard in carbon reduction          

         20% reduction in the Company's Total Carbon Footprint by 2020         

Reckitt Benckiser Group plc today launches Carbon 20, a major programme to
reduce its Total Carbon Footprint and thereby its impact on climate change. The
approach is unique and different in not just targeting the easy wins of energy
reduction in factories or travel, but the much larger carbon emissions embedded
in raw and packaging materials from suppliers and in consumers' use and
disposal of its products.

  * Carbon 20 is a programme to reduce Reckitt Benckiser's Total Carbon
    Footprint by 20% per unit by 2020.
    The 20% target (on a current base of circa 15m tonnes of CO2 equivalents
    per annum) by 2020 is equivalent to removing the carbon impact of roughly
    1m cars.
   
  * Reckitt Benckiser is the first major FMCG company to tackle its Total 
    Carbon Footprint.
    This `cradle to grave' approach, across the entire product life cycle, is
    pioneering because it measures not only the carbon impact of raw and
    packaging materials, manufacturing, logistics and distribution, but also
    consumer use of products, where the greatest carbon impact can occur.
   
  * Progress will be measured by independent experts, verified by third parties
    and reported annually.
    The Company has and will continue to work with external experts, including
    joining the Carbon Disclosure Project's new Supply Chain initiative, to
    implement a robust measurement system.
   
  Bart Becht, Chief Executive Officer of Reckitt Benckiser plc, said:

"Carbon 20 is right for our business as well as for society. It is an ambitious
but achievable target and Reckitt Benckiser has a proud track record of
delivering its targets. This is a long-term commitment to tackle the real
impact of our products' lifecycle on climate change by addressing their Total
Carbon Footprint, from cradle to grave. This different approach targets more
than just the easy wins under our direct control like factory emissions or
travel; it will require real partnership across our business and with our
business partners to reduce energy consumption; and education and communication
with consumers to enable them to tackle their own impact which can be the
largest part, particularly where laundry or dishwashing machines are involved.

"Carbon 20 will create real business benefits for us and our partners:
consumers want to tackle climate change and will reward brands that offer
solutions; our business partners want to help consumers while addressing their
own impact; our employees and potential recruits want to work for a responsible
and innovative company; and our shareholders want the sustainable growth that
getting this right will provide."

Paul Dickinson, CEO of the Carbon Disclosure Project commented:

"The Carbon Disclosure Project welcomes all initiatives taken to reduce
corporate emissions and applauds steps taken by companies to take
responsibility for their emissions. We are delighted to welcome Reckitt
Benckiser into the Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration, which is a key step
in measuring and subsequently managing emissions generated through the supply
chain.  The Total Carbon Footprint includes very important stages such as the
supply chain along with consumer use, both of which can play a large part in a
company's emissions. In working with Reckitt Benckiser to help measure these
emissions, CDP hopes to help them achieve their emissions reduction targets
they are announcing today."

                              Summary - Key Facts                              

  * Reckitt Benckiser manufactures and sells approximately 5.5 billion consumer
    units a year, equivalent to over 15 million units a day.
   
  * The carbon emissions associated with these products are approximately 15m
    tonnes of CO2 equivalents a year. This amount of CO2 equivalents is 
    comparable to:
        * 4.3 million medium sized family cars
        * 2.7m households
   
  * The major contributors to these carbon emissions are energy consumed or
    embedded in the following elements of the supply and consumption chain
    "from cradle to grave":
        * Consumer use of the products, particularly where this involves using
          machines such as dishwashers or washing machines (50-70%)
        * Raw and packaging materials (30-40%)
        * Product and packaging disposal/recycling (3-7%)
        * Product manufacturing (2-6%)
        * Retailer operations (2-6%)
        * Logistics and distribution of products to retailers (1-5%)
   
  * The target of the programme is a 20% reduction per unit in the Total Carbon
    Footprint of Reckitt Benckiser's products by the year 2020. This reduction
    will be the equivalent of:
        * Half a million households
        * Nearly 1 million medium sized family cars
   
  * Major contributors to the success of Carbon 20 will be programmes to:

        * Educate and enable consumers to reduce energy consumption in the home when
          using Reckitt Benckiser products. For example, switching 50% of European
          households currently using 60/65 degree cycles to the "eco" or 50/55 degree
          cycle on the dishwasher could save 338,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents a
          year, equal to the emissions of almost 100,000 medium sized family cars.
   
        * Co-operation with suppliers and trade customers to re-engineer how we make,
          package, distribute and sell our products to reduce or avoid energy use.
          For example, working with our supplier Guala to re-design our trigger
          sprays has avoided the use of 266,000kg of metal and 38,000kgs of plastic
          per year, saving the equivalent of 613 tonnes of CO2 equivalents a year.
   
        * Re-designing products to contain less materials, less energy, less
          packaging and less waste. For example, redesigning our European Air Wick
          Freshmatic packaging will save 680 tonnes of plastic packaging a year,
          equivalent to 2,430 tonnes of CO2 equivalents a year.
   
        * Internal programmes to reduce energy consumed, and switch to sustainable
          energy sourcing, in our own operations. For example moving to 40% of energy
          from sustainable sources would reduce our CO2 equivalent emissions by about
          28,000 tonnes a year.
   
                             Detailed information                              

Total Carbon Footprint

A product's Total Carbon Footprint is the total contribution in terms of carbon
emissions across a product's lifecycle. It comprises far more than a single
company's own direct operations and involves a range of activities and
organisations across the whole supply chain and also in consumers' use (and
disposal) of the product (and its packaging).

Carbon 20 seeks to reduce the carbon impact of Reckitt Benckiser's products
across the entire supply chain from raw and packaging materials, through
production, logistics, distribution, retail sale and consumers' use of the
product, and subsequent disposal of it and its packaging.

How the Programme will be achieved

As a first measure Reckitt Benckiser will seek to reduce carbon emissions
permanently, through lasting avoidance of and reduction in energy consumption.
The second measure is to replace required energy consumption with renewable
energy sources and/or highly efficient conventional energy sources.

Major contributors to the programme will be:

  * Consumer communication and information programmes to allow consumers to
    reduce energy (and water) consumption in the home, for example: operating
    domestic machines more efficiently by using lower energy cycles; removing
    stains with small volumes of stain removers rather than extra large volumes
    of detergent on high temperature (energy and water intensive) washing
    cycles; recycling more packaging; and, to make lower carbon impacting
    product choices.
   
    Lifecycle analysis shows that for many fast-moving consumer goods the biggest
    part of the carbon footprint can rest in their use by consumers in the home.
    Therefore enabling and encouraging small changes in how consumers use products
    can create large reductions in overall climate change emissions. This shows how
    vital it is to address the consumer use stage of the product lifecycle in
    driving a reduction of carbon emissions.

    e.g. That is why Reckitt Benckiser led the European detergent industries
    Automatic Dishwashing Save Energy and Water (www.saveenergyandwater.com) Task
    Force in 2006, to deliver an on-pack consumer education programme encouraging
    the saving of very large volumes of energy (and water) through the use of low
    temperature, ecological cycles on dishwashers across Europe (as opposed to
    higher temperature cycles). This project has since been endorsed by the
    European Commission's Sustainable Energy Europe campaign.

    In addition, Reckitt Benckiser is running campaigns informing consumers that
    switching the average household from dishwashing by hand to using an automatic
    dishwasher can save heating the equivalent of a swimming pool full of water a
    year, reducing both energy and water consumption. This alone can cut the energy
    consumption in washing dishes by up to 40%.

  * Co-operation with suppliers and trade customers to re-engineer how Reckitt
    Benckiser makes, packages, distributes and sells products to avoid and
    reduce energy use across the whole supply chain.
   
    e.g. working with Guala, a leading supplier of innovative packaging, Reckitt
    Benckiser redesigned the trigger spray for the Company's bottles of liquid
    cleaners, reducing the use of plastic by 38,000kgs, and avoiding the use of
    266,000kg of metal each year, saving the equivalent of 613 tonnes of CO2
    equivalents a year in embedded energy.

  * Re-design of the Company's products and packaging to use materials with
    lower volumes reducing `embedded energy', allowing greater reduction and
    recycling of packaging, and reducing logistics and distribution
    requirements. Products may be redesigned to allow consumers to use them
    with greater energy efficiency.
   
    e.g. New packaging has been developed for Airwick Freshmatic in Europe,
    replacing plastic blister packs with recycled and recyclable cardboard
    packaging saving the equivalent of 2,430 tonnes of CO2 equivalents a year in
    embedded energy.

  * Internal programmes to avoid and reduce energy use in the Company's
    worldwide manufacturing and commercial operations.
   
    e.g. Reckitt Benckiser has already achieved 25% energy reduction per consumer
    unit since 2000. If the Company now achieves a further 20% reduction, this
    would save the equivalent of 55,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents a year.

    In addition, Reckitt Benckiser today launches a set of global `Low-Carbon
    Business Guidelines': a 10% reduction in air travel would save about 2,600
    tonnes of CO2 equivalents a year.

Offsetting not included

In contrast to other companies' approaches, carbon offsetting - including the
Company's own ongoing carbon offset project Trees for Change (
www.treesforchange.info) - will NOT be counted towards the Carbon 20 target.

Rationale for the Programme

Carbon 20 builds on the substantial progress Reckitt Benckiser has already made
in reducing its direct carbon emissions and represents a radical step-change in
its commitment and contribution.

The Company believes that by being ambitious and innovative in addressing
climate change there are clear business benefits as well as social and
environmental benefits:

  * Consumers want to buy products with lower carbon profiles, provided they do
    not compromise on quality or performance, and will reward companies that
    address climate change seriously and realistically (just as they may also
    punish `green wash')
   
  * Retailers want to facilitate consumers in reducing carbon emissions, want
    to address their own carbon profiles and want to work with companies that
    help them to address these objectives
   
  * Suppliers want to work with responsible businesses, and are also seeking to
    reduce their impact on climate change
   
  * People want to work for a company that acts responsibly in addressing major
    social and environmental concerns. A real and effective programme to
    address climate change increases employee engagement with the Company and
    will help to attract and recruit future talent
   
  * Government and regulators both need and want business to address climate
    change in order to help society achieve carbon reduction
   
                                   - ENDS -                                    

For further information, contact:

Reckitt Benckiser tel [phone]

                  www.reckittbenckiser.com

Tom Corran        SVP Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Fiona Fong        Head of Corporate Communications
Edward Butt       VP Sustainability


Notes for Editors

1. Measurement and verification

Reckitt Benckiser's trial measurement system provides an estimated Total Carbon
Footprint for the Company and its global products' lifecycle for 2006 of
approximately 15 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents. Reckitt Benckiser's direct
impact from its own operations is less than 5% of this amount. Data for the
calendar year 2007 will form the base year for the Carbon 20 programme and the
20% reduction target. The trial measurement system has been developed in
conjunction with environmental consultancy, URS and is in line with the British
Standard Institute's draft carbon footprinting specification PAS 2050.

Reckitt Benckiser already reports externally verified sustainability
performance data in its annual Sustainability Report. In future, progress on 
Carbon 20, with externally verified data, will be reported annually in the same
way.

Reckitt Benckiser has joined the recently announced Carbon Disclosure Project's
Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration initiative. This project aims to increase
understanding of the CO2 emissions within supply chains, and due to the size
and range of companies who have already signed up to use the CDP's methodology
provides a standardised approach for measuring and reporting on supply chain
CO2 emissions.

2. Partnerships with suppliers & retailers

Reckitt Benckiser is already working with several of its key suppliers in both
pilot and existing programmes to measure and reduce climate change emissions
from energy use across its supply chain. For example, it has been calculating
and publicly reporting emissions across its global product distribution
contractors for several years.

Going forward, Reckitt Benckiser will be seeking the support of major retailers
and suppliers globally, with a view to rolling out programmes to:

  * Enable and encourage consumers to reduce their carbon impact in household
    cleaning at home through more efficient use of machines (such as
    dishwashers and washing machines) and through selection of lower carbon
    products
   
  * Reduce both primary and tertiary packaging materials further, and make use
    of more recycled packaging materials, particularly with regard to materials
    and geographies where there is often little or no real delivery of
    post-consumer plastic recycling back into the product supply chain. Here
    there are a range of both technical and logistical challenges to be
    overcome to enable the large-scale use of recycled plastic packaging in the
    FMCG industry.
   
3. Reckitt Benckiser's track record on sustainability

Reckitt Benckiser has made good progress on reducing its overall environmental
impact for several years and has had a particular emphasis on climate change
since 2000.

Carbon 20 will re-set the base with 2007 as the base year of measurement.
Therefore the targeted 20% reduction in Total Carbon Footprint excludes the
progress that has already been made.

Work achieved since 2000 includes:

  * Energy use has been reduced by 25% per consumer unit (20% in absolute
    terms)
   
  * Greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing energy use have been reduced by
    22% per consumer unit (15% in absolute terms)
   
  * Wastewater discharges have been reduced by 11% per consumer unit (5% in
    absolute terms)
   
  * 70% of all manufacturing waste is now recycled
   
  * Hazardous waste has been reduced by 44% per consumer unit (40% in absolute
    terms)
   
  * A number of ingredients have been voluntarily removed from product formulas
    globally - over and above regulatory requirements - and are now not allowed
    to be used in the Company's products
   
  * 20% of manufacturing energy now comes from highly efficient CHP (Combined
    Heat & Power) energy systems, which supply the Company's top three energy
    using facilities globally, while an additional 6% comes from renewable
    energy sources
   
  * The Company's own carbon offsetting programme, Trees for Change, is
    planting more than 2 million trees over 15 square kilometres of previously
    deforested land in Canada, thereby offsetting the climate change emissions
    from the Company's global manufacturing energy use in 2006 and 2007 (more
    than 8 billion consumer units).
   
  * Reckitt Benckiser has been instrumental in launching the European detergent
    industries Automatic Dishwashing Save Energy & Water project (
    www.saveenergyandwater.com), encouraging dishwasher users to switch to
    using lower energy and water intensive dishwasher cycles
   
  * Reckitt Benckiser has moved its Corporate HQ and North America R&D Centre
    to green energy tariffs
   
  * Reckitt Benckiser is a member of the Corporate Leaders Group on Climate
    Change (CLG). This group brings together business leaders from major UK and
    international companies who believe that there is an urgent need to develop
    new and longer-term policies for tackling climate change ( http://
    www.cpi.cam.ac.uk/programmes/energy_and_climate_change/
    corporate_leaders_group_on_cli.aspx )
   
Reckitt Benckiser is intent on delivering its products in a sustainable and
responsible way. For further details about Reckitt Benckiser's sustainability
performance please go to the company's website (www.reckittbenckiser.com) which
features the Company's 2006 Sustainability Report.

4. About Reckitt Benckiser

Reckitt Benckiser is the world leader in interesting growth categories in
household cleaning and health & personal care. Its products provide hygiene and
health benefits to improve people's lives. The Company employs around 21,000
people worldwide in over 60 country operating businesses and has sales in some
180 countries. Amongst the Company's leading household cleaning brands are
Finish, Calgonit and Electrasol, the world leaders in automatic dishwashing;
Lysol and Dettol, the world's leaders in disinfection and antiseptic products;
Vanish and Spray'n Wash, world leaders in fabric treatment; Woolite, world
leader in fine fabrics; Harpic, world no.1 in lavatory care; Cillit Bang, the
leading power cleaner; and Airwick and Mortein, both No.2 brands in air care
and pest control respectively. In health & personal care leading brand
positions include Veet, the world number one depilatory, Nurofen, a leading
analgesic, Strepsils, the world number one medicated sore-throat tablet,
Clearasil a leading anti-acne treatment, Gaviscon the No.1 gastro intestinal
remedy in the UK and Lemsip the UK No.1. in cold/flu remedies.

Reckitt Benckiser is headquartered in Slough outside London in the United
Kingdom and is listed on the London stock exchange. The Company had net
revenues of £4.9bn and net income of £786m in 2006. With a market
capitalization of c.£20bn it ranks among the top 25 UK listed companies.

5. About Carbon Disclosure Project
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an independent not-for-profit
organisation aiming to create a lasting relationship between shareholders and
corporations regarding the implications for shareholder value and commercial
operations presented by climate change. Its goal is to facilitate a dialogue,
supported by quality information, from which a rational response to climate
change will emerge.

CDP provides a coordinating secretariat for institutional investors with a
combined $41 trillion of assets under management. On their behalf it seeks
information on the business risks and opportunities presented by climate change
and greenhouse gas emissions data from the world's largest companies: 2,400 in
2007. Over 7 years CDP has become the gold standard for carbon disclosure
methodology and process. The CDP website is the largest repository of corporate
greenhouse gas emissions data in the world: www.cdproject.net


6. About URS

URS Corporation is a leading environmental consulting firm with more than 300
offices in key cities around the world. It operates with a global network of
around 29,000 employees, working in more than 20 countries and across all
sectors, both public and private. Its climate change specialists provide
specific consultancy support to organisations that want to develop and
implement strategic policies associated with energy and carbon management. 
www.urscorp.eu