Packaging Digest

P&G's environmental scorecard is available for free

The Procter & Gamble Co. has announced that its environmental sustainability scorecard analysis tool would be made freely available for use by any company. The Excel-based tool enables companies to measure and interpret key environmental sustainability metrics across their supply chains and identify progress as well as opportunities for improvement.

By providing this tool for free, P&G hopes to enable other companies to more purposefully focus on improving their environmental footprint without investing in the development of analysis software. The scorecard and analysis tool are available here. 

"We're taking every step we can to help others make their supply chain more sustainable," says Larry Loftus, director of purchases capability & strategy and lead designer of P&G's scorecard. "We believe we have a useful process and tools, and we want others to benefit from that." 

The Scorecard Analysis Tool is the latest publicly available component of P&G's Supply Chain Environmental Sustainability Scorecard (supplier scorecard), which was designed to improve the environmental footprint of P&G's supply chain, fuel innovation and encourage suppliers to make environmental improvements in their own supply chains.

The scorecard measures absolute or intensity improvements in nine key metrics including energy use, water use, waste disposal and greenhouse gas emissions on a year-to-year basis. It also assesses P&G's external business partners' sustainability innovation ideas and promotes collaboration. Its results affect a supplier's rating, which can impact future business with P&G. 

The scorecard is just one aspect of a robust, productivity-driving sustainability effort across P&G that the company estimates has led to nearly $1 billion in bottom-line operational savings from reductions in energy, water, waste and CO₂ at its own facilities over the past 10 years. P&G has encouraged others to adopt or adapt the scorecard for their needs since its launch in 2010. 

The scorecard has also resulted in improvements and increased innovation and collaboration within its supplier network. Some specific changes it has catalyzed P&G and its suppliers to make include deleting plastic windows on a brand's cartons, reducing manufacturing scrap waste, replacing petroleum-based materials with certified Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) material, and identifying opportunities to more efficiently transport products and reduce the quantity of trucks used. 

Last year's scorecard enabled the first year-on-year data analysis and identified the following trends: 

• The greatest improvements in the company's environmental footprint came with its logistics and chemicals suppliers. 

• Suppliers from developing markets such as China, India and Brazil tended to show the most improvement with U.S. suppliers not far behind. 

• Nearly half of the companies earning the highest rating came from Europe. 

• The two measurable areas with the greatest improvement across the board were Hazardous waste and Water Usage (Output / Discharge). Direct Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Scope 1) and Fuel Energy were tied for third. 

• Overall, when combining all suppliers and categories, there was an improvement in 55 percent of the measurable categories 

"Our scorecard is about collaboration and innovation, and it's working," says Rick Hughes, P&G's chief purchasing officer. "About 25 percent of our external business partners offered innovation ideas where they could work with P&G to further improve our environmental footprint, and we are working now to exploit those."

At the same time, the scorecard results clearly show that there are plenty of areas of opportunity. "We will continue to work with our external business partners on ways to reduce their environmental footprint and improve their score," says Hughes. "This is a journey, and we're just at the beginning." 

Other steps P&G is taking to help its business partners improve include: offering internal P&G operational/technical support and expertise, providing learning forums including the opportunity to learn from other P&G external business partners and, when requested, offering strategy and policy idea exchange sessions with senior level P&G sustainability leaders. 

The feedback from P&G's suppliers remains encouraging. Many have reported that they appreciate the commitment P&G has towards its environmental sustainability goals and the rigor the company puts behind them. The third iteration of the scorecard was unveiled two days ago to P&G's external business partners, with data due by June.