Brands Innovation Partnerships = Sustainability at Scale

I am not generally fond of large gatherings, but I look forward to the annual World Economic Forum in Davos because it is a great opportunity to meet with smart, committed people who are seeking solutions to major global challenges.

During my visit to Davos last week, I spent a good bit of time on a topic that is extremely important to me and to P&G – environmental sustainability. My colleagues and I shared ideas on ways to address environmental problems with sustainability experts, environmental activists and concerned leaders from business, government and academia.

We’re all united in the belief that the global problems of climate change, ocean plastic, water shortages and other serious environmental challenges can only be solved through collective action.

Last year, P&G declared its intention to be part of the solution with the launch of Ambition 2030, a series of far-reaching environmental goals that we intend to achieve by 2030.

In Davos, I outlined how we are turning intention into action with a new blueprint for sustainability at scale. P&G’s Ambition2030 goals include commitments to avoid waste, make all our packaging recyclable or reusable, and ensure no P&G packaging finds its way to the ocean.

P&G brands reach 5 billion consumers every day, making us uniquely positioned to mobilize people and make sustainability at scale a reality in millions of households around the world. When we encourage sustainability at scale, our impact is significant.

Solving the plastic waste issue requires unprecedented levels of investment, transformative partnerships and innovation that can be tested, qualified and scaled up. P&G teams and partners have been working for years on a range of sustainable product and packaging solutions, including: 

• Doubling our use of post-consumer recyclate (PCR) material, developing the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle made from up to 25% beach plastic through our Head & Shoulder brand, and launching the Fairy Ocean Plastic bottle made completely from PCR plastic and ocean plastic. We are also increasing the amount of PCR in our Fairy/Dawn dish care bottles, our Tide and Lenor laundry bottles, and our Pantene, Head & Shoulders and Aussie shampoo bottles.  

• Developing new AeroFlexx packaging for eCommerce that uses 50% less plastic and eliminates the need for bubble-wrap shipping materials. The technology uses compressed air to create flexible package that offers the protection of rigid packaging.
• Inventing a technology that can remove virtually all contaminants and colors from used polypropylene, a breakthrough that has the capacity to revolutionize the plastics recycling industry by making used polypropylene like new. We have licensed it to PureCycle Technologies and recently joined PureCycle in opening a plant in Ohio that will industrialize this technology. The plant’s anticipated production is already sold out for the next 20 years.

• Testing new product forms like DS3, which uses zero plastic and eliminates water from the final product. The technology reduces product weight by 80%, space by 70% and emissions by 75%, and one liquid-free swatch works just as well as heavy, water-based cleaning products.

I’m also excited about P&G’s partnerships on transformative solutions, like Loop and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.

Loop is the age-old concept of the “milkman” that is being rebooted, modernized, and applied to hundreds of products. Developed by international recycling leader TerraCycle, Loop will enable consumers to purchase some of our leading household brands, including Pantene, Cascade, Tide and Oral-B, online, and have the products delivered to their homes in reusable containers. Loop will pick up the empty containers at the consumers’ homes, clean them and return them for reuse. It’s a novel solution that will encourage sustainability and help reduce plastic waste.

We’ve already been testing different formats with consumers to study how they adopt the habit shift, ensuring we can deliver a practical solution that’s still delightful and convenient to use. The two Loop in-market learning experiments scheduled for later this year in New York and Paris will pilot this innovative circular solution in thousands of households.

In Davos, I also had the opportunity to talk with potential partners about the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. P&G and a group of nearly 30 companies from across the plastic value chain have pledged to invest over $1 billion over 5 years in critically needed solutions like plastic waste collection and recycling infrastructure that is desperately needed in some parts of the world. This funding will not only incubate ideas but also demonstrate a positive return on investment in order to attract the further capital needed for recycling infrastructure.

Let me be clear: there is no one solution that will solve the issue of plastic waste in the environment. We need collective action on a range of solutions. We can reduce the use of plastic with more innovations in package design and materials. We can do much more to reduce plastic with circular solutions like Loop and initiatives like the Alliance to End Plastic Waste to collect, recycle and reclaim the value of plastics. 

Partnerships – with other companies, as well as partnerships with governments, NGOs and civil society – are a crucial part of the future we need to invent, a future that will only be possible if we work together.

These positive developments and my conversations in Davos have reinforced my optimism about the future of our planet. There is a growing desire for change and a stronger focus on sustainability throughout society. P&G will continue to do its part by combining the positive power of our brands, our innovations and our partnerships to pursue our goal of sustainability at scale.