Procter & Gamble announces new Climate Transition Action Plan
On 14 September 2021, consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced a comprehensive plan to accelerate its climate action. The plan includes a new ambition to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its entire operations and supply chain, from raw material to retailer, by 2040; as well as interim 2030 goals.
P&G is one of a growing number of large multinational companies that have recently announced accelerated climate action plans. For many, the impetus has come from the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change which makes it clear that decisive action must be taken at a much faster pace in order for society to avoid the most significant impacts.
P&G’s new commitments build on existing climate goals, announced last year, which include achieving carbon neutrality for the current decade. P&G also introduced new 2030 targets to reduce emissions across its operations by 50%, and across its supply chain by 40%. The new 2030 goals have been submitted to The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). P&G also announced that it has joined climate-focused initiatives, including the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign and the UNFCCC Race to Zero.
S. Taylor, Chairman, P&G President and Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We are fully committed to use P&G’s innovation and ingenuity to unlock new solutions to address climate change. The task ahead of us is urgent, difficult and much bigger than any single company or country. P&G is tackling these challenges head-on by reducing our footprint and leveraging our scale to foster unprecedented collaboration across our value chain.”
Virginie Helias, P&G Chief Sustainability Officer, said:
“While no one has all of the answers on how to bring a net zero future into focus, we will not let uncertainty hold us back. To achieve these goals, we will leverage existing solutions and seek transformative new ones that are not available in the marketplace today. This will require partnership across the private, non-profit, and public sectors and involve every aspect of our business, from the very beginning of our products’ lifecycle to the very end.”
P&G’s press release can be found here and the latest IPCC report here.
Published 14 September, 2021