2Sustain

Months ago, when I wrote about Procter & Gamble’s 2008 sustainability report, I was impressed with the company’s commitment to a wide range of CSR initiatives. Now, P&G is making news, again, with an announcement last week that it is raising the bar even higher, significantly increasing targets for its 2012 sustainability goals.

With these revised goals, P&G plans to:

• Develop and market at least $50 billion in cumulative sales of “sustainable innovation products”(SIP) –products with a significantly reduced (>10%) environmental footprint versus previous or alternative products. Originally, P&G had set a target of $20 billion in cumulative SIP sales.

• Deliver a 20% reduction (per unit of production) in CO2 emissions, energy consumption, water usage and disposed waste from P&G plants, leading to a total reduction over the decade of at least 50%. P&G originally targeted a 10% reduction in each of its operational categories.

• Expand its Live, Learn and ThriveTM (LLT) to 300 million children and deliver three billion liters of clean water through P&G’s Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) program. P&G had set an original target of reaching 250 million children through Live, Learn and ThriveTM (LLT) and delivering two billion liters of clean water through its Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) program.

A.G. Lafley, P&G chairman of the board and chief executive officer, describes these goals as “strategic.” He’s right. They represent opportunities for innovation, cost savings, supply chain risk management, and competitive advantage.

“P&G’s commitment to sustainability is strategic. It is how our company conducts business,” Lafley says. “By increasing sustainability goals, we demonstrate our ongoing commitment to innovate continuously to improve results.”