Because I do the odd review and giveaway my inbox has slowly attracted more and contact from big corporations and the PR companies working for them. We Mom Bloggers are a popular niche target these days. We are ‘A Marketing Powerhouse.‘
Working with corporations, heck just MENTIONING a corporation on your blog can generate a lot of attention….and not always good. I try to stick with products and services that I do use or like and so I can be truly honest in my reviews ….I owe that to my readers. My honesty is my brand. Is it not?
Anyway….not all the pitches are for product reviews.
I received an email from the people representing Proctor & Gamble in regards to their unveiling of their Sustainability Plan. They were going to have a big webcast where I (and any joe public who wanted to tune in) could tune in to hear speakers like Bob McDonald, P&G Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, Len Sauers, P&G Vice President-Global Sustainability, and Carter Roberts, Chief Executive Officer and President, World Wildlife Fund U.S. outline P & G’s goals for ensuring environmental sustainability of their company and the P & G brands.
Being a mom, I just don’t have time or the type of blog for such an event….however, I did decide to see if I could take them up on their offer to interview Victoria Maybee, Manager of External Relations, for P&G Canada on HER take on the announcement.
I did this because like a LOT of families, we have a LOT of brands from Proctor & Gamble. And while we are NOT the most environmentally friendly household, we do try and we do want to make sure the products we use are safe not just for us, but for the planet…as much as they can be.
I am very thankful for the time Ms Maybee has taken to answer my questions. I think she offers a good overview into P & G’s sustainability goals as a corporation and how it affects us here in Canada.
1. Upon looking around my house for products and brands that fall under the Proctor & Gamble umbrella, I can truly see the size and scope of the company and how vital sustainable practices are for the company on all levels. Is it important for people to see the global scope of P&G’s commitment on a bigger scale than just seeing a ‘Future Friendly’ label on their detergent? Is it important on a purely marketing level or do you feel that P&G is aware of not only the wants and needs of the customer, but of creating new and sustainable practices and products that will help the company thrive in a changing world?
As a company, we are always striving to better understand our consumers so that we can touch and improve their lives everyday. We know that our consumers are busy people and that there is a lot of information out there, especially when it comes to environmental sustainability. Future Friendly is a platform that we created to make it easier for Canadians to find and use products that deliver great results, and also help them reduce their waste, water or energy usage at the same time.
The new long term sustainability vision that we announced last week represents P&G’s true commitment to reducing our impact on the environment. This is important, not only to delight our consumers, but also to help ensure our continued growth. P&G has been around for over 170 years now, and we know that if we want to continue to grow (and even exist), we need to do so in a sustainable manner. Sustainability is at the heart of our growth model.
2. Many of P&G’s brands lean towards making life ‘easier’ and therefore are more disposable (like Pampers or the Swiffer line of dusters and floor cleaners). How do products like these jive with the long-term environmental sustainability vision that includes: Having zero consumer and manufacturing waste to landfills? Are there more plans in the works for even ‘friendlier’ disposable diapers or one off floor cleaners and dusters? Do you feel that there can be fun and easy to use products that are sustainable and ‘future friendly?’
P&G’s long-term vision for sustainability is definitely ambitious, and we know that it will likely take decades for us to achieve it. As you mentionned, one part of our vision is to have zero consumer and manufacturing waste go to landfills. The important piece here is that we don’t want our products to end up as value-less waste in landfills. There are a few different ways that this can happen.
First is recyclability – if our products or packaging can be recycled or composted, they will be transformed into something useful again. Second is energy to waste technology where waste can effectively be used to generate electricity (so long as no toxic emissions are produced). And third is reduction at the source. We have a continued commitment to reduce waste and reduce packaging. In 2005, we began to convert all our laundry detergent formulas to 2X concentrations which reduced packaging significantly. This year, we also introduced Pampers DryMax which uses 20% less materials than before. In fact, if every Pampers mom switches to Pampers with Dry Max, together they could save approximately 20 million pounds of trash every year* — that’s as heavy as 600 conventional school buses!
(*compared to using previous Swaddlers/Cruisers, based on ’08/’09 sales volume for Swaddlers Cruisers.)
We know that we still have a long way to go to meet our long-term sustainability vision and today, we don’t have all the answers. But we are committed to environmental sustainability, and will continue to develop new and innovative technologies and solutions to achieve our targets.
3. The Sustainability Report is HUGE and quite promising. I was wondering how much of it applies to P&G practices here in Canada ? I am sorry to say, that I am not sure what products are manufactured in Canada for P&G.
P&G employs about 2,000 people in Canada in our head office as well as manufacturing plants and distribution centres. We manufacture products such as Always, Swiffer and some Olay cloths right here in Ontario . Our sustainability practices permeate the entire organization and definitely come to life in Canada. The work we do here in sustainability includes a wide range of initiatives from reducing CO2 emissions, water use, energy consumption and waste in our manufacturing plants to eliminating the use of styrofoam cups in our head office.
4. Do you feel that global corporations like P&G should follow the ‘trend’ of the consumers ‘whims’ like being more environmentally conscious, or instead be a leader and show the way and set an example…not just for their loyal shoppers but for their counterparts and partners in manufacturing, supply and development?
Sustainability is not something new for P&G. We’ve had a long standing commitment to reducing the impact of our operations on the environment, and in fact, our global operations have successfully reduced each of CO2 emissions, water use, energy consumption and waste by 50% or more per unit of production since 2002.
We only have one planet to live on, and if we want to be around for another 100 years or more, we all need to do our part to live and operate more sustainably. Sustainability is at the heart of P&G’s growth model because we know that if we want to continue to grow and thrive as a company, we need to do so in a sustainable and responsible way.
5. Where do you think Canada stands globally in awareness about sustainability compared to other countries?
I think Canadians are definitely very aware about sustainability issues. As a whole, we are probably more concerned about sustainability than our neighbours to the south, but slightly behind some our counterparts in Europe . Overall, we know that most Canadians want to do their part for the environment, but don’t want to compromise the needs of their families today. This is why we hope that through things like P&G’s Future Friendly program, we can help Canadians understand that small changes in their habits like washing their laundry in cold water, can add up to make a difference.
Gillian @ Finding My Weigh says
Good interview. It will be interesting to see how the plan rolls out, but it certainly sounds positive. Interesting fact about switching from regular Pampers to DryMax.