P&G’s citizenship efforts also include ethics and corporate responsibility as well as diversity and inclusions initiatives.
In his statement opening the Citizenship Report, David Taylor, president and CEO of the company remarks, “we are, and want to be known as, a company that is governed responsibly and behaves ethically, that is open and transparent in its business dealings, that supports good causes and protects the environment, and that provides an appealing place to work where our employees are treated well and are given the opportunity to be all they can be.”
The company’s beauty and grooming brands feature most in the sections on diversity and sustainability.
Diversity
The section on diversity and inclusion points out that “a diverse team with diverse vantage points can better tackle a challenge than a homogeneous team, every time.”
P&G goes on to highlight two pieces of the company’s business in a report subsection about stepping up: “We continue to celebrate the successes of our African Ancestry (AA) employees in North America while addressing opportunities that are unique to this community …Our commitment continues through our brands. Our decade old My Black is Beautiful program and new Pantene Gold Series embrace the diverse and collective beauty of black women.”
The diversity portion of the report also covers gender, military veterans, and the LGBT community.
Sustainability
The next time beauty brands get mentioned in the report summary is in the section on environmental sustainability. P&G takes care to point out that “we use a by-product of palm oil called palm kernel oil in some of our Fabric and Home Care and Beauty brands. To ensure it is sourced responsibly, we are delivering our no deforestation commitments and goals in our supply chain by 2020 with a three pillar approach —supplier management, small farmers and industry standard influencing — based on collaboration with partners and communication of our programs.”
However, P&G didn’t fare so well in Amnesty International’s latest report. That group identified P&G as one of several consumer goods companies sourcing palm oil unethically.
Also in the sustainability section, the company reports that 90% of the waste generated by the beauty brands and 98% generated by the P&G grooming brands is recycled or reused.
Possibility
The company went public with its citizenship agenda in August of this year and is looking ahead to what more P&G can do—with its brands, products, employees, partners, etc.
“Over my career, I have come to realize the much broader impact a company like P&G can have on the world,” writes Taylor in his statement. “Everything we touch, we can help make better. We, along with our partners, can be a positive force for good.”