Driving business innovation and growth at Procter & Gamble by using Corporate Footprints as the scientific foundation for P&G’s sustainability vision and strategy

corresponding

MARK STALMANS1, GERT VAN HOOF**, CHRIS SMITH2, JOOST DEWAELE1, DIEDERIK SCHOWANEK1*
*Corresponding author
**Currently with Umicore
1. Procter & Gamble, Brussels Innovation Centre
2. Procter & Gamble, Newcastle Innovation Centre

Abstract

Life Cycle Thinking is grounded into Procter & Gamble’s sustainability vision and strategy. Sustainability is considered as a responsibility, a business opportunity and a way to better serve global consumers. The ‘2015 P&G Corporate Footprint’ is a metric that combines product cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessments with sales data for the most important product categories. It provides indicator results for primary and fossil energy, greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater withdrawal and total solid waste. The corporate footprint goes beyond the company gates and enables P&G to focus its sustainability goals and improvement strategies on key product categories and the ‘hotspots’ therein which represent the largest improvement potential. As such, ‘2015 P&G corporate footprint’ served as the scientific foundation for P&G’s 2020 sustainability goals, as guidance for R&D and marketing departments, and it  facilitates data submission for corporate reporting programs.


INTRODUCTION: LIFE CYCLE THINKING IN P&G

Procter & Gamble (P&G) is an international consumer goods company, marketing laundry and cleaning products, absorbent hygiene and paper products, hair, skin and personal cleansing products, oral care and over the counter drugs. Due to the scale and diversity of its business (22 megabrands, more than 180 countries, serving over 4.6 billion global consumers), there is  significant complexity to assess the environmental footprint of the company’s supply chain, operations and the consumer use of P&G products.  Life cycle thinking is embedded deeply into P&G’s product innovation process. While safety of P&G consumer products is managed with risk assessment tools, P&G has a centralized function that conducts Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies to measure and improve at a product (product LCA) or company (Company Footprint, CF) level. 

P&G was one of the first companies integrating social, environmental and economic strategies into its business vison and act ...