Being Open

click to enlarge In 1999, P&G held two Western European stakeholder conferences about the environmental performance of detergents in Brussels. The main topic of the first conference was how to communicate environmental performance of products to the public. A particular topic of concern in this was the role of eco-labelling.

The second conference focused specifically on the environmental performance of P&G detergents and resulted in publications of 4 peer-reviewed articles:

Laundry detergents: cleaner clothes and cleaner environment. Corporate Environmental Strategy.

The effects of compact formulations on the environmental profile of north European granular laundry detergents. Part I: Environmental Risk Assessment. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

The effects of compact formulations on the environmental profile of north European granular laundry detergents. Part II: Life Cycle Assessment. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

A Database for the Life-Cycle Assessment of Procter & Gamble Laundry Detergents. Life Cycle Assessment. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

Some forty delegates from NGOs, governmental organisations and business participated in the two events.

To prepare for the first conference P&G, together with consultant IMSA Amsterdam, had interviewed many of the participants and a few other stakeholders.

Take a more neutral stance on ecolabels by withdrawing from public opposition in Europe.

Be more open about activities regarding the environmental and social field in Europe. As a first step, P&G will organize a conference for Forum participants, in which it will give insight into the way the company works and thinks in this field. This will be the beginning of an ongoing dialogue through which stakeholders will get more insight into P&G's environmental activities and thus be better able to have a constructive influence on these. This conference was the second conference mentioned above;

Identify ways to package relevant information about P&G's activities, which satisfies the different needs of stakeholders. One of the idea was a website, which builds up from simple information at the first page to more detailed information there under;

Adopt an innovative strategy, i.e. involve stakeholders at a much earlier stage of product development. The challenge is to find ways to do this which combine the company's need for confidentiality with stakeholders' need for independence;

Continue to improve on the AISE Code in order to ensure that its goals evolve into a strong commitment. Maybe, the Code could be developed into a system in which third parties can check and recognise companies committed to progress rather than specific brands.

This website is a partial fulfilment of this pledge, in particular point number 3.