P&G Releases New Fiber Sourcing Goals for Tissue-Towel, Absorbent Hygiene Products

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The Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, this past week announced new fiber sourcing goals for pulp it purchases for its tissue-towel, baby care, and feminine hygiene brands. The new goals are part of P&G’s long-term environmental sustainability vision, which includes having all products and packaging made from 100% sustainably sourced renewable or recycled materials.

The new fiber sourcing goals, developed in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), are published in P&G’s 2012 Sustainability Report issued yesterday (November 12). The goals commit that by 2015:

• All of the pulp used in P&G’s tissue-towel, baby care, and feminine hygiene products will be third-party certified under one of the following five certification programs used in different parts of the world to promote responsible forestry: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which P&G will continue to preference; Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Systems (PEFC); Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI); Brazilian National Forestry Certification Scheme (CERFLOR); Canada’s National Standard for Sustainable Forest Management (CSA-SFM).
• At least 40% of the pulp used in P&G’s tissue-towel products will be Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.

"We believe that partnering is essential to deliver our long-term sustainability vision," said Len Sauers, VP of Global Sustainability at P&G. "World Wildlife Fund is an invaluable partner, as they have challenged us and collaborated to work through the complexities of achieving third party-certification for our pulp. We are very proud of this commitment, and we are confident we have the plans in place to deliver the goals by 2015."

In 2006, P&G began requiring certification from all suppliers managing forests. In 2008, it joined WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network program, which assists companies with sourcing more of their wood and paper products from responsibly managed forests. As part of this WWF collaboration, P&G has engaged more closely with suppliers to encourage FSC certification, and established a baseline from which to set these targets.

"We applaud P&G’s commitment to responsible forestry, and its decision to publicize these robust goals around FSC certification," said Linda Walker, WWF’s GFTN-NA Program Manager. "With increasing pressure on the world’s natural forest to meet the growing global demand for wood and agricultural products, P&G’s actions serve as an example that we would like to see from many more companies."

These goals also reflect P&G’s commitment as a member of the Consumer Goods Forum, a group of global companies that are committed to ensuring zero net deforestation by 2020.