At P&G, Sustainability Has Come of Age

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At P&G, Sustainability Has Come of Age



At first, mostly PR glitz and social media agility helped brands address the growing demand from consumers for more sustainable practices and products. But now, actionable results in environmental behavior are part and parcel of the bottom line.

Case in point: Today's release of Procter & Gamble's 2014 Sustainability Report—its 16th—which shows how the company's innovation and collaboration have led to tangible results on every level of the company's operations.

Report highlights include P&G reaching its waste reduction goal six years early, earning its pulp certification goal a year early, and growing to 70 global facilities delivering zero manufacturing waste to landfill.

"Our teams are driven to make a significant, positive and lasting impact on the communities we serve through our operations, product designs and innovative partnerships, and this year's report showcases the results of that dedication," statedd Martin Riant, P&G Executive Sponsor of Sustainability and Group President, Global Baby and Feminine & Family Care.

P&G also delivered its 7 billionth liter of clean drinking water through The P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program (CSDW) in addition to providing disaster relief for millions worldwide.

It's been a big fall for P&G in this department. In October, it announced four new 2020 sustainability goals:

1. Reduce water usage at manufacturing facilities by 20% per unit of production
2. Provide 1 billion people access to water-efficient products
3. Double the use of recycled resin in plastic packaging
4. Ensure 90% of product packaging is recyclable or that programs are in place to create the ability to recycle it.

"We continue to improve the environmental sustainability of our products across all aspects of their life cycle—from manufacturing, packaging and delivery through consumer use," said Riant in a press release at the time.  "We are reducing the environmental footprint of our products for shoppers, our communities and the company while still delivering the quality and performance people expect from P&G products."