A sustainable future for P&G Procter & Gamble

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR P&G

The global consumer products giant Procter & Gamble has this year expanded its sustainability goals across its entire operations. In the future it will continue to focus on creating value whilst conserving valuable resources. Industry Europe looks at what this renewed focus on environmental protection will involve, as well as casting an eye over some of the group’s most exciting product launches over the past year or so.

Founded in 1837, today Procter & Gamble is a truly global phenomenon, with operations in more than 70 countries and serving more than 4.8 billion people around the world. It has one of the strongest portfolios of quality leadership brands, including Always, Ariel, Braun, Gillette, Lenor, Olay and Pantene to name just a few.

This year, the group announced its plans to sell off its Duracell battery business as part of a long-term plan to give it a sharper focus. This brand was acquired as part of Gillette in 2005 and has healthy annual sales of $2 billion. Sustainability is key

In addition to continued brand development, the future for P&G will see an increased focus on sustainability issues. To this end, in October this year (2014) it announced the expansion of its sustainability goals to continue creating value with consumer-preferred brands and products whilst conserving resources, protecting the environment and improving social conditions for those who need it most.

Since 2010 P&G has been guided by its vision to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy use, 100 per cent renewable or recyclable materials for all products and packaging, and zero consumer and manufacturing waste going to landfills. Its recent announcement has seen the addition of new goals for 2020, with an emphasis on water conservation and product packaging.

For the first of these, it is looking to reduce the water used at its manufacturing facilities by an additional 20 per cent per unit of production, as well as providing one billion people with access to water efficient products. In terms of packaging sustainability, it will be looking to double the use of recycled resin in its plastic packaging and ensuring that 90 per cent of its product

packaging is recyclable or that programs are in place to create the ability to recycle it. In addition to these two expanded goals, P&G is working across its supply chain to develop the capability, by 2020, to replace top petroleum-derived raw materials as far as cost and scale permit.

Unique organisation

P&G’s unique organisational structure is one of the key reasons behind its continued ability to grow and achieve new targets. It combines the benefits that come from being a global $79 billion company with a local focus. This latter point is vital: all of its operations and products can be tailored to meet the needs of its customers wherever they are in the world. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach.

Its four main Global Business Units are: Global Beauty; Global Baby, Feminine and Family Care; Global Fabric and Home Care; and Global Health and Grooming.

P&G’s products include many of its most recognised brands in the areas of beauty and personal care, feminine hygiene, health and grooming. It would be impossible to name every single product that sits under the P&G umbrella, so vast is its sphere of influence, but some of the many highlights include: Aussie haircare products; Dolce&Gabbana, Dunhill and Gucci Fragrances; Gillette; Head & Shoulders; Herbal Essences; Max Factor cosmetics; Olay; Old Spice; Tampax; Pantene and Wella.

One of the more recent product launches in its beauty subdivision is the new Herbal Essences Naked Collection. This range of haircare products is free from heavy residues and provides a custom premium fragrance blend infused with fresh mint. It comes in three varieties: Naked Moisture; Naked Shine and Naked Volume.

Also in the area of haircare, the new Head & Shoulders range with Fresh Scent Technology is a breakthrough anti-dandruff shampoo that provides scalp relief and flake-free hair along with an appealing scent. Head & Shoulders has been a wellknown leader in the anti-dandruff category for over 50 years, developing an innovative approach that combines proprietary scalp technology and proven hair benefits with a water-activated fragrance boost.

P&G also owns one of the world’s biggest feminine care brands, the abovementioned Always. The company regularly updates its product offering and August 2014 saw the launch of the new Always Discreet for sensitive bladders. This is a revolutionary way for women to manage sensitive bladder issues using innovative liners and pads specifically designed to absorb leaks and odours in seconds. The pads are up to 40 per cent thinner than the leading brand.

Honouring key suppliers

Each year, P&G recognises the importance of its suppliers with its prestitious Partner of the Year awards. The most recent event took place in January 2015 and saw seven companies honoured with the coveted External Business Partner of the Year award. These were: EY; Monosol, Kuraray WS Film Division; PEGAS NONWOVENS; Rising Display Products (Zhongshan Co. Ltd); RONCHI MARIO SpA; SUPERPAC Inc.; and Yamada Electric.

In addition to the above winners, 51 companies received Excellence Awards for consistently high performance. There were: Albany International Corp.; AMPACET CORPORATION; Arkay Packaging; Bilfinger Industrial Services Inc.; Breakthrough Fuel; Carat NA Planning; Cartus; Cellfire Inc.; Chase Design Group; CHEP; Citizen Relations; D.Cloostermans-Huwaert NV; DAWSON Integrated Marketing Communications Co. Ltd; Diamond Packaging; Diversified Supply Inc.; ECS European Containers NV; ELIF; Éltex Ltd; Encapsys; FDK Corporation; Fibria Celulose; FIRMENICH; FLUOR Industrial Services; FOBOHA GmbH; Givaudan Fragrances; Gulsan; Havpak Inc.; Hitachi Metals Ltd; HPV Engineering s.r.o.; JLL; Kang Na Hsiung Enterprise Co. Ltd; Lingaro; Model Kramp; Mondi; NIPPON SHOKUBAI Co. Ltd; Novozymes; One Asia Network; PwC; QPSI / RockTenn; Quality Associates, Inc.; Rialto Enterprises Pvt. Ltd; Saatchi & Saatchi X; Sasol Performance Chemicals; SCHNEIDER NATIONAL CARRIERS, Inc.; SelectNY; Shandong Tianli Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd; Starcom UK TV &

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Leading grooming brands

Some of the world’s biggest grooming brands are also part of the P&G family, including, of course, Braun and Gillette. Headquartered in Germany, Braun’s small electrical appliances have long been famous for their successful combination of superior engineering with elegant design. The Braun technical centre at Kronberg is also the group’s Global Centre of Excellence for Devices and cooperates on product development with Gillette.

A significant new product launch in the area of men’s grooming products is the new Gillette Fusion ProGlide featuring FlexBall technology. Gillette has pioneered shaving innovation for more than 100 years. With this new razor, whilst the blades will remain straight, thin and sharp, the handle itself moves and adjusts to fit the contours of a man’s face. According to P&G it will “change the face of shaving by allowing each cartridge to ride the facial contours for more constant contact.” This FlexBall technology builds on an innovation that Gillette first brought to shaving in 1977 with the first ever razor pivot.

Greener household products

As with the beauty and personal care products, Procter & Gamble’s fabric care, family care and household products include some of the most instantly recognisable global brands. From Ambi Pur, Ariel, Bounce, Downy, Daz, Fairy and Lenor to Pampers, Pepto-Bismol and Vicks, these brands reflect the diversity at play within the group’s portfolio.

But what all the P&G brands have in common, whatever their sector or target audience, is their focus on meeting and indeed exceeding sustainability standards when it comes to both manufacturing and the development of new products. Perhaps nowhere is this best exemplified than in its leading European Ariel brand portfolio, which has long been recognised for its dedication to water saving, sustainable production and social responsibility. Its Research & Development departments have created a global sustainability team to continually explore ways of delivering sustainability benefits through its products without compromising on cleaning results.

Ariel is a strong proponent of the principle that washing at low temperatures is the single most important thing we can do to lower our CO2 emissions while doing our laundry. Its cold-water washing campaigns such as ‘Turn to 30°C’ have helped reduce around 58,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions by educating consumers on how to save energy. Furthermore, the launch of Ariel Excel Gel has helped the company to significantly reduce the overall environmental impact of its products. The basic principle behind this is that a more concentrated product, such

as a gel, can reduce packaging per wash and also clean better at lower temperatures.

One of Ariel’s most recent product launches is its 3 in 1 pods. The Ariel POD is the first compartment laundry liquid tab product. Thanks to the POD’s super-imposed pouch, ingredients can be kept stable and separate until they reach the wash. It is a unique predosed super compacted liquid detergent that combines 3 actions in 1 product: cleaning, lifting stains and brightening.

Sweet dreams

Meanwhile, in the US market, P&G has been demonstrating its dedication to social responsibility with the launch of its newest fabric care regimen, the Sweet Dreams Collection, to support the US National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep Awareness Week 2014. The line of products is formulated with ingredients to clean, soften and freshen bedtime fabrics, from bed linens to nightwear, helping to create a relaxing sleeping environment.

The regimen, all of which are official products of the National Sleep Foundation, includes Tide plus A touch of Downy Sweet Dreams, Downy UNSTOPABLES Dreams, Downy Infusions Sweet Dreams and Bounce and Sweet Dreams.

This initiative is in line with the findings of a survey conducted by Healthcare Research and Analytics (HRA), in which 100 per cent of doctors agreed that an appropriate sleeping environment is critical to aiding a person’s ability to relax so they can fall asleep.

Revolutions in cognitive science for fabric care

Indeed, innovative fabric care products will continue to be a major focus for development at P&G, as was demonstrated at its recent Future Fabrics forum held in Berlin. This was primarily to showcase the latest advances from its Ariel and Lenor/Downy fabric care brands and brought together a number of fashion, fabric and human psychology experts to talk about how our unconscious decisions affect our perceptions of clothing.

John Turner, P&G’s Research & Development director, explained that the company’s fibre scientists are introducing new advances in the Ariel 3-step FibreSCIENCE approach – to Clean, Protect and Enhance – with a focus on prolonging and improving the multi-sensorial fabric properties (the look, the feel and the smell) that influence how people perceive their clothes.

He said: “Our closets are full of clothes, yet we only wear 20 per cent of them 80 per cent of the time, so why aren’t we wearing

the rest? P&G is looking at Fabric Care from a new angle to find out the answer. We’re breaking new ground by applying the latest research in the cognitive science of human perception to understand WHY we reject a garment and how or relationship with clothes changes over time. By applying this knowledge to our FibreSCIENCE expertise we are redefining what Fabric Care means for consumers and their clothes.”

Leaders in baby care

But of course, P&G’s Household Products division doesn’t only cover cleaning products. It is also one of the world’s leaders in babycare products, with its Pampers brand being one of the most obvious examples. This brand continues to lead the field and develop new and innovative solutions.

November 2014 saw the introduction of the new Pampers Premium Care Pants with allround elastic that can be pulled on like underwear. The soft belt fits the baby no matter how much he or she moves during the night and its stretchy, ultra-soft materials provide an all-round softness that is gentle on the skin. Its 1,000,000 breathable Micropores allow humid air to escape and let the skin breathe, which helps keep the skin dry and comfortable. These pants have been designed using the company’s proprietary technology, which includes the unique extra dry layer.

Global reputation for development

With such a vast array of brands, Global Innovation is a constant focus for Procter & Gamble. This dedication to delivering a strong innovation portfolio means that each year the companies in its stable are responsible for some of the world’s most talkedabout product launches.

The success of this approach was proven yet again this year when the group became the biggest winners of the 2013 New Product Pacesetters list, launching seven of the top 10 most successful non-food products of the year. P&G innovations that made the list were Tide Pods (# 1), ZzzGuil (#3), Vidal Sassoon Pro Series (#4); Downy Infusions (#6), Always/Tampax Radiant (#8), Secret Outlast (#9) and Puffs Basic (#10).

In fact, P&G was able to capture 73 per cent of the total sales of the top 10 Pacesetters in non-food categories. The year 2013 thus marked its best performance on the list in the 19 years it has been published. In this time, P&G has had 155 products make the top 25 Pacesetters list in non-food categories – more than its six largest competitors combined.

Innovations in beauty products

Whether it is for its beauty, grooming or household care divisions, the group’s Global Innovation activities result in a steady stream of new and exciting product launches. For example, the new Max Factor Masterpiece Transform Mascara has been designed to capture and volumise each lash, making them appear instantly fuller and thicker. It reverses the ‘bigger the mascara brush, the bigger the lashes’ concept with a small

mascara wand which is easier to control than the bulkier designs to create more precise make-up.

Furthermore, the shorter bristles of the unique Masterpiece Transform brush allow the lashes to get into direct contact with the mascara formula, coating them on the first stroke. Meanwhile rows of rotating bristles ensure that, as the lashes are brushed through, every one is captured and coated. Originally available in Germany, Russia and Sweden, this product will be sold in other markets from 2015.

Another new product making headlines in the beauty press is the COVERGIRL + Olay FaceLift Effect Firming Makeup, currently targeted at the US market. This breakthrough makeup was developed specifically for the ‘Boomer’ population, which is expected to grow by 35 per cent over the next 10 years. It combines flawless coverage with the hydrating effects of a night cream. The result, according to Olay, is ‘firmer-looking skin for an instant facelift effect’.

This new collaboration between COVERGIRL and Olay combines the latest and most innovative technologies to create products to meet women’s specific needs. Because it doesn’t contain a powder system, FaceLift Effect has a lightweight feel to provide natural coverage and improve tone without feeling heavy. The exclusive Olay FaceFirm technology is infused with a concentrated vitamin complex for all-day hydration to plump and lift the skin. The principle is that, as the foundation hydrates over time, the skin becomes more elastic or firm and lifted.

Another product introduced by Olay last year was the new Pro-X Mircodermabrasion and Advanced Cleansing System. This is meant to offer professional skin care results at home for a fraction of the price. It has been designed to help reduce the effects of UV exposure, pollution and other factors of daily life that contribute to dull, dry skin.

This device comes with three speeds: the first two allow for daily gentle cleansing or daily

deep cleansing. The rotating tool’s new third speed, Microdermabrasion Foam Head and Thermal Crystal Polisher exfoliate to remove discolouration and even up the skin tone. This system has been available wherever Olay products are sold since August 2013.

Advances in clothing care

In the area of fabric care, a recent product introduced for the US market is the revolutionary new SWASH clothing care system which reduces wrinkles, refreshes fabric, restores the fit lost after wear and preserves clothing with just the push of a button. This system was developed through a collaboration between P&G and Whirlpool Corporation.

SWASH uses an integrated tension system to gently hold clothes in place, while an advanced spray technology applies a unique designed solution to the clothing from the SWASH PODS cup. Following this, a rapid thermal drying function combines an express heat system with airflow recirculation to dry clothes quickly. It is highly convenient as it can be plugged directly into a standard wall outlet and requires no water, plumbing, pipes, vents or professional installation. It is also energy efficient, using 1300 watts which is less than most hairdryers.

With all of the above product launches and more, it is easy to see why Procter & Gamble remains one of the world’s consumer goods superpowers. Its product development teams are always ready to respond to the latest consumer demands as well as meeting global sustainability criteria. n