P&G has long acknowledged the need to minimise the impact of detergent on the water quality in surface waters and has been working intensely on water-related matters since the late 50s.
It was around then that a number of concerns on the human and environmental safety of detergents and cleaning products began to appear.
These concerns have been the basis of the very high importance that the detergent industry has since given to the human and environmental safety of its products.
A well-known environmental example from the 1960s was the foaming of surface waters as a result of the growing use of poorly biodegradable detergent surfactants, in a period when there was no broad-scale sewage treatment infrastructure.
Modern detergents are designed to be safe and easily removed during sewage treatment, so they have a minimal impact on the environment.
In addition to ensuring there is a negligible impact on water quality, in recent years P&G has also focussed on the issue of water consumption.
Part of this has involved working with dishwashers and laundry machine manufacturers to ensure detergents can achieve optimal results with the minimum amount of water. The amount of water needed per laundry wash has dropped from around 200 litres in 1970 to less than 50 now.
The other strand of P&G's work has been around developing campaigns to help save water. Just one example of these was a campaign called 'Every Drop Counts' that was launched in Spain, a country particularly affected by water shortages.
The campaign had a simple premise: add two extra items to your average wash and thus cut down the overall number of washes - and amount of water - used per year. The campaign had the backing of Ana Torán, a TV expert on household matters.
Approximately 55,000 consumers signed up to it, helping to save around five million litres a year in Spain, as well as making the public much more aware of the need for water conservation.