[Sponsored Report] P&G contributes to society in myriad ways

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[Sponsored Report] P&G contributes to society in myriad ways

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Elementary school students learn proper toothbrushing habits at Oral-B’s toothbrush recycling program and oral care education. [P&G Korea]

Procter & Gamble (P&G), a consumer goods company that sells everyday products, such as fabric softeners, fiber deodorizers and toothbrushes, is focusing on environmental sustainability management to provide a better life to consumers, the community and the world. In particular, various brands of P&G are working on increasing public awareness of environmental issues. They are developing various social contribution activities that involve consumers and are trying to establish opportunities for consumers to become main agents of environmental protection.

According to the 2018 Citizenship Report released by P&G last month, P&G reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 21 percent by 2010. Eighty-five percent of P&G production plants produce zero landfill waste. In order to reduce the unnecessary waste of resources, P&G reduced product packaging by 13.5 percent and replaced 86 percent of packaging with reusable material.

In addition, based on its past experience and accomplishments, in April this year, P&G announced Vision 2030, a broader and more ambitious blueprint for sustainable management. The main challenges that P&G is seeking to meet by 2030 are: 100 percent recyclability of the company’s 20 major branded products, use of reusable packaging containers, resource recycling measures throughout manufacturing and distribution, and minimizing landfill waste.

In Korea, the amount of plastic used per person every year is 98 kilograms (216 pounds), the highest in the world. Among the many products made of plastic, toothbrushes are necessities that are used multiple times a day. Since toothbrushes are made of composite materials such as plastic, rubber, nylon and metal, it is hard to separate the different materials and toothbrushes are usually incinerated as general garbage. Since oral experts usually recommend replacing toothbrushes every three months, solutions for environmental pollution caused by toothbrushes have been discussed.

To contribute to solving this problem, P&G’s brand Oral-B started the first “Healthy smile, Toothbrush Recycling” campaign. As part of the campaign, Oral-B worked with TerraCycle, a global environmental company, to improve environmental awareness and teach proper oral care to 15,353 students at a total of 60 elementary schools since January this year.

From January to August, 363 kilograms of discarded toothbrushes were collected from 36 elementary schools across the country. They were rebuilt as flower pots through an upcycling process. In addition, P&G donated its profits from selling flower pots to support oral examinations and treatment for 100 children. As a popular household odor eliminator, Febreze strives to contribute to a better life for consumers by collecting empty bottles and circulating resources with the mission of “promising freshness to the earth.”

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Febreze collects discarded spray bottles from apartment complexes as part of its Bottle Recycling Campaign. [P&G Korea]

The Febreze spray bottle is considered a difficult disposal item to recycle. Since last January, the company started a Bottle Recycling Campaign that collects spray bottles from apartment complexes in Seoul and Gyeonggi and upcycles bottles into playgrounds or walls. By installing a collection box in the apartment complex, residents’ accessibility and convenience were enhanced, leading to more active participation. As a result, 252 kilograms of spray bottles were collected from 29,962 households by November this year. Next year, P&G plans to continue the campaign by increasing the number of participating companies and apartment complexes.

Through environmental sustainability management and social contribution, P&G intends to contribute to a sustainable society in the future by achieving its Vision 2030 over the next ten years.

By Kim Ha-eun [kim.haeun@joongang.co.kr]
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