Conservation & Process Improvement
P&G has a strong history of reducing the environmental footprints and costs from our operations. Our production-adjusted footprints have been dramatically reduced since 2002, with such sustainability-driven reductions also resulting in significant cost savings.
To deliver these results, operating site personnel and staff resources from across our business have worked under a common Product Supply Sustainability approach. By combining efforts in a single approach, we are able to reapply our successful operations more systematically.
At the facility level, Site Sustainability Leaders identify opportunities to reduce P&G’s impact across four environmental footprints: waste, water, energy, and CO2. These Site Sustainability Leaders recruit a steering team from within their site with representatives from the various businesses at the site as well as Jones Lange Lasalle, our property management partner, and Site Safety.
Once objectives for footprint reductions are deployed, the steering team develops an action plan with prioritized ideas to meet those objectives, then facilitates the execution of plans. The steering team meets, generally monthly, and teams of “Champions” volunteer on site to work toward achieving the objectives. The steering team is responsible for communicating results back to the site.
The following are examples of results achieved by these teams.
Reducing Waste, Water, Energy and CO2
Waste
While our Beauty Care plant in Bangkok, Thailand, had excellent results across all four footprints, their results in reducing waste were particularly significant. The facility decreased waste disposal by 86% by implementing a process to dewater plant by-product, or to reduce the weight and volume of the material by removing the water before disposal.
Water
Projects at sites across Western Europe have realized substantial water savings. For example: At our Baby Care plant in Mequinenza, Spain, an analysis was conducted to understand where we were losing water. Making changes based on the findings resulted in water savings worth 28m3 per unit of production. A new chiller at P&G’s pharmaceutical site in Weiterstadt, Germany, enabled water savings of 24.1m3 per unit of production.
Energy and CO2
Our Household Care plant in Brockville, Canada, decreased its total site energy use by 20% through a series of improvements. The site optimized HVAC systems, improved compressor and chiller management, improved boiler efficiency, shut down equipment automatically when not in use, added timers to lights, and implemented site-wide steam trap inspection and replacement. These efforts are now being replicated across many P&G sites globally.
Touching lives, improving life. P&G™