Innovative
manufacturing solutions are cornerstone of P&G’s zero-waste vision
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), the
Company behind consumer brands including Pampers®, Ariel®,
Always® and Gillette® today announced that 45 of their
facilities have now achieved zero manufacturing waste to landfill, which marks
a major step towards the Company’s long-term vision of sending zero
manufacturing and c
onsumer waste to landfills. Over the past 5 years, P&G's
work to find worth in waste has created over $1 billion in value for the
company.
Bob McDonald, P&G President, CEO
and Chairman of the Board said, “We have a vision for the future, where plants
are powered by renewable energy, products are made from recycled and renewable
materials and resources are conserved, with no waste going to landfill.
Changing the way we see waste as a Company has brought us one step closer to
this goal at 45 sites worldwide, where all of our manufacturing waste is
recycled, repurposed or converted into energy.”
P&G announced its first zero
manufacturing waste to landfill site in Budapest in 2007. Since then, the
Company has shared a long-term Environmental Vision, pledging to work toward
zero consumer and manufacturing waste worldwide. Through quality assurance,
packaging reduction, compaction and recycling efforts, the company now ensures
that 99% of all materials entering P&G plants leaves as finished product or
is recycled, reused or converted to energy. Now, as the Company celebrates its
175th year, less than 1% of all materials entering P&G sites globally
leaves as waste.
To drive all sites toward zero, P&G
has searched for innovative ways to find value in what was once seen as waste.
In Mexico, paper sludge from a Charmin toilet tissue plant is turned into
low-cost roof tiles used to build homes in the local community. At a U.S.
Pampers site, scrap from the wipe manufacturing process is converted to
upholstery filling. And, in the U.K., waste created in the production of Gillette
shaving foam is composted then used to grow turf for commercial uses.
“There are well-defined systems for
recycling materials like paper, plastic and glass, but our product portfolio is
incredibly broad, resulting in a diverse set of waste streams to find
sustainable solutions for,” shared Dr. Forbes McDougall, who leads P&G’s
global zero manufacturing waste program. “We focused on finding solutions for
our toughest waste streams at our largest sites, and while initially we saw
progress in our overall corporate recycling, the increase in zero landfill
sites was slow. Today, we have found ways to divert most of our major waste
streams away from landfill, so we’re now seeing new sites achieve zero
manufacturing waste to landfill nearly every month.”
This announcement coincides with a Company-wide message to inspire
employees and consumers to think differently about the everyday things they do
and the surprisingly positive impact they can have on the environment.
Throughout April, P&G will share videos, infographics and insights through
social media at https://www.facebook.com/PGKenya and
inviting others to share their stories. On April 22nd, the Company
will host the “P&G Sustainability Session: Sharing a Vision and Zeroing in
on Waste,” featuring presentations from P&G Sustainability experts with
time for discussion and Q&A. To register, visit http://www.cvent.com/d/qcqr7d
