Environmental Sustainability Drives Opportunities for Growth at Procter & Gamble
June 21 2019 - 12:59PM
Dow Jones News
By Dieter Holger
Home goods giant Procter & Gamble is ramping up its
eco-friendly packaging and products, but the company is also moving
into green energy. Dow Jones Newswires interviewed James McCall,
P&G's global product supply sustainability leader, at Schneider
Electric's annual sustainability conference in Barcelona on
Thursday to learn more about the company's clean-energy efforts,
the challenges it faces and the lessons it has learned during its
sustainability program. Below are some insights from the
interview.
Focus Is on Green-Energy Goals in US
The U.S. is where P&G uses the greatest share of renewable
energy and will likely see faster growth in green energy than other
markets. The company is expanding renewable energy across all
markets as it works toward 100% renewable electricity by 2030--but
the U.S. is particularly important because it is the largest market
for the consumer goods giant. "I would say the U.S. will expand
quickly just because we have our largest footprint there. We focus
where we can make the biggest impact," Mr. McCall says.
Technology Remains the Challenge to Green Energy
P&G is waiting for technology to catch up so that it can
fully harness the power of green energy, This is the same challenge
facing the whole of the manufacturing industry, but P&G still
expects to hit its 2030 goal of using 100% renewable electricity,
Mr. McCall says. "We look for ways we can move to green energy and
also more cost-effective energy or more resilient energy at the
same time," he says.
Climate Change Offers More Opportunity Than Risk
Climate change is presenting more opportunity than risk for
P&G. This is because consumers are demanding products that are
more eco-friendly and sustainable, which P&G is delivering to
meet market demand, Mr. McCall says. "Our consumers, our retailers
are clear that they want more sustainable products, more
sustainable choices," he says.
Consumers, Company Culture Pressure P&G to Go Green
P&G is facing pressure from consumers and its own company
culture to move into green energy. "Everything we do starts first
the consumer and we work backwards from there," Mr. McCall says.
Employees inside the company are also encouraging P&G to have
more sustainable practices, he adds. "Whether we had the consumer
demand or not, we feel like this is our responsibility," he
says.
P&G Looks for Green Energy With Local Advantages
One of the lessons P&G has learned from its sustainability
journey is to tailor renewable energy projects based on regional
advantages. For instance, P&G uses geothermal energy in China
because it's available there. In Albany, Georgia, where there's an
abundance of waste organic material available to burn--such as tree
limbs, pecan shells and peanut hulls--it uses a biomass facility to
generate power.
P&G Urges Consumers to Go Green by Example
Companies can only successfully encourage people to lead more
sustainable lifestyles if they are also walking the walk. For
example, P&G is encouraging consumers to recycle its products
and will also reach zero-waste to landfill from its manufacturing
sites next year. "We need to have our own house in order to be able
to have a meaningful conversation with consumers around their own
footprint," Mr. McCall says.
Green Business is Smart Business, Says P&G
Making a company more environmentally-friendly meets consumer
demand but it also makes smart financial sense. P&G has saved
more than $2 billion since it launched its latest waste-reduction
program in 2017, which is money the company can reinvest into other
innovation projects, Mr. McCall says. "It's not just something we
do for the consumers--we do it because it's smart business," he
says.
Write to Dieter Holger at dieter.holger@dowjones.com;
@dieterholger
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 21, 2019 12:44 ET (16:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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