For P&G, sustainable development is a very simple idea. It is about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. Which is why P&G takes matters such as climate change and energy use very seriously. For example:

• P&G supports the goals of the US Business Round Table's Climate RESOLVE (Responsible Environmental Steps, Opportunities to Lead by Voluntary Efforts) programme and has incorporated sustainability into many areas of corporate policy.
• P&G has an environmental management system which has been in place for more than 30 years and all of its facilities around the world operate to the same environmental standards.
• P&G uses tools such as risk assessment to ensure the human and environmental safety of its products and processes.
• While P&G accepts sustainability as a responsibility, it also believes that it offers opportunities to build its business. P&G believes in sustainable innovation as a way of developing products and services that improve lives while reducing their environmental footprint.
• P&G has used eco-efficiency, delivering more from less, as a way to maximise the use of raw materials in its products, as well as to reduce emissions and control costs. More than 95 per cent of all materials that enter P&G plants leave as packed products and more than half of the remaining material is recycled.

P&G has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index since its creation and has been rated as market leader for seven consecutive years (1999-2006). However P&G realizes that there is still a long way to go on its journey to become an ever increasingly sustainable company.

To improve the sustainability profile of our detergents and cleaning products P&G is focusing on:

• More efficient use of energy, not just in production processes but also in terms of the consumption of energy associated with the use of P&G products.
• More efficient use of water, both in terms of improving the quality of waste water and reducing water consumption in the first place.
• More sustainable packaging, including cutting the energy needed to make and dispose of it, improving the level of recycled content, making it as renewable as possible and so on.
• Improving product compaction - in other words, increasing the washing efficiency of the product that fits into a package.
• Helping consumers use P&G products in a more sustainable way, for example by providing information on correct dosage levels, selection of energy- and water-saving cycles and so on.

For more information, download P&G's Environmental Quality Policy.

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