Step inside the P&G packaging design process and you will find yourself surrounded by some of the most advanced technologies available today.
P&G has a highly dedicated research and development organisation that relies on a whole universe of acronym-laden tools: Bottle Optimal Weight System (BOWS), Computer Aided Design, Finite Element Analysis, Least Energy Analysis and Virtual Packing Line modelling.
These are applied to everything from creating lighter detergents to coming up with new processes for bottle making.
In one example of the latter, P&G is working on a process called Injection Stretch Blow Moulding, using polypropylene instead of traditional high density polyethylene plastic, which is expected to increase material efficiency - and reduce weight - by 20 per cent.
A life-cycle analysis of the process shows it will require fewer materials and less energy, thereby creating fewer emissions.
In another bottle-related example, our BOWS software system has helped shave seven per cent off the weight of some of our most widely-used packages, saving 400 tonnes of raw materials a year across Western Europe.
Elsewhere, P&G uses virtual reality environments to research and modify packages, speeding up the process of finding new and better ways of packaging. Virtual Package Development allows easy modification of trial designs within days, not weeks.
Meanwhile another system, Virtual Customer Engagement, allows the design team to create unique in-store propositions for consumers. Both services use a virtual studio called The Cave, the main feature of which is a mega-screen of three metres high by 12 metres wide.
Both services mean that time-consuming physical mock ups will one day become a thing of the past. This technology has changed the way P&G does business. Just a couple of years ago it was taking three weeks to do what P&G can now do in just a couple of days.
This has a significant impact on P&G's ability to quickly update its packaging whenever it finds an opportunity to improve its performance or its environmental profile.
The virtual technology is close enough to reality to enable better decisions, faster and cheaper, and P&G uses this to develop environmentally-improved packages.