At P&G, environmental stewardship is deeply rooted in our Purpose, Value & Principles. And it’s not something new.
In 1956, we published our first environmental safety publication to measure surfactants in rivers. In 1973, we developed the first test to evaluate chemical biodegradability.
In the 1990s, we established a corporate sustainability department, and published our first annual sustainability report.
Our global sustainability program is integrated into all parts of our business, and our employees are invested in helping us reach ambitious sustainability goals.
Earth Day is an opportunity to reflect on our progress around the world across three specific focus areas: Climate, Waste and Water. Accomplishments such as:
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NORTH AMERICA – Launching Tide purclean™: Tide purclean™ will be the first bio-based laundry detergent with the cleaning power of Tide (65% bio-based), and will be made in a zero manufacturing waste to landfill facility powered by 100% wind power electricity.
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EUROPE – Making bottles from post-consumer recycled content: We’ll be making flagship fabric brand bottles Ariel, Dash and Lenor in Europe with up to 50% post-consumer recycled content by the end of this year. That’s enough bottles to go from the North to South Poles.
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CHINA - Making advancements in water purification, and solar energy: At our Huangpu Plant, we saved 48,000m per year by optimizing water purification. We also partnered with a local utility supplier to install solar panels on the plant’s rooftop, making Huangpu the first P&G manufacturing plant in Asia to host solar PV panels.
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MEXICO - Conserving water in our manufacturing: Our Beauty plant in Marsicala found innovative ways to use steam instead of hot water to clean equipment, which will help save more than 100 million liters of water per year. And our Naucalpan plant achieved a 67% reduction in water consumption by improving the way they clean portable containers.
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INDIA - Finding the worth in waste: In our Mandideep and Baddi facilities, we partnered with a local company to use non-recyclable plastic laminate materials from our plant to create low-cost housing partitions. This prevented more than 250 tons of waste per year going to landfill, and helped the local community.
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JAPAN - Reducing emissions in transportation: In Shiga, Japan, where we manufacture, pack and ship many brands, a simple shift from trucks to trains in transporting materials from Tokyo to Kyoto effectively reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 20%.
We’re excited to see the growing international momentum to address climate change, as well as consumers’ growing interest to take small steps in their everyday lives to help preserve and protect the planet.
We believe that small, everyday changes add up to make a world of difference. We will continue to be a leader in doing so, and helping the families we serve do the same.
While the environmental challenges we face as a planet are significant, we’re optimistic about the progress and opportunities we see on the horizon.
