Leadership Stories

P&G

P&G committed to Net Zero for its operations and supply chain by 2040, from raw material to retailer. This ambition is including P&G’s Inbound and Outbound Transportation Footprint of ∼3.9 MM tonnes CO2e/year. Including the intermediate goal to improve transportation intensity 50% by 2030, versus a 2020 baseline.

Report and set targets

• In 2010, P&G set a public goal to improve Truck Transportation kilometres per unit of production by 20% by 2020. P&G well exceeded this goal, delivering and maintaining more than 25% efficiency improvement already by 2016. This by improving vehicle fill rate, optimizing distribution routes and driving increased use of multi-modal transportation. Clearly, this goal was a strong start but did not directly link to emissions.
• In 2016, the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) developed the first global emissions framework called the GLEC Framework (version 2 in 2019). This framework prescribes a globally recognized methodology for harmonized calculation and reporting of the logistics GHG footprint across the multi-modal supply chain, in alignment with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the UN-led Global Green Freight Action Plan and CDP reporting.
• P&G is committed to continue its sustainability journey, by adopting the GLEC reporting framework for transportation emissions and 2030/2040 target setting: P&G will improve its global upstream finished product freight emissions efficiency by 50% by 2030 versus 2020 baseline, and become Net Zero by 2040. To calculate its emissions, P&G is partnering with EcoTransIT World, who is offering a GLEC accredited software for automatic calculations of worldwide energy consumption, carbon emissions, air pollutants, and external costs.
• The science-based target transportation tool is reconfirming that this ambitious 2030 P&G target is supporting a “well-below 2 degrees C” climate scenario, in line with the Paris Climate agreement.

Reduce

To address the footprint, we created a P&G Transportation Roadmap focused on the following 10 strategies, inspired by the ALICE “Roadmap Towards Zero Emissions Logistics 2050”:

P&G acknowledges we alone do not have all the answers. It will take innovative partnerships and collaboration with carriers, retailers and the broader transportation industry to find unique ways to deliver our products with fewer and friendlier miles.

See below some recent P&G examples, bringing above strategies alive.

• Increase Fill Rate: SMARTBox. Before products such as toothbrushes, razors and deodorants reach the retail shelves, they are repackaged several times in different transport boxes/containers on their way to the consumer. This is a significant source of waste. Next, the difference in dimensions of these boxes/containers do not allow optimized stackability, resulting in a less-than-optimal truck fill upon transportation. P&G is partnering with GS1 Germany, industry, and trade to develop and test the reusable GS1 SMARTBox, an isomodular, exchangeable box that represents a sustainable solution for all parties involved. The GS1 SMARTBox offers many advantages: the exchange and cleaning of the boxes is done by a pool partner, industry and trade share the costs, the trucks are optimally loaded and utilized, trade saves time and work and unnecessary packaging material is reduced.
• Increase Fill Rate: SAFER HAULING & INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION. Another way to reduce the number of trips needed to transport products is by increasing the maximum allowed payload. P&G joint the “Safer Hauling & Infrastructure Protection” coalition, which aim is to increase the maximum truck weight on the US Interstate Highways from 80,000 lbs to 91,000 lbs. This by a 6-axle truck (same truck dimension), reducing fuel consumption, CO2, NOX, and congestion costs. Furthermore, the Minnesota Department of Transportation found that the addition of a sixth axle created a 37% reduction in road wear.
• SUPPLY NETWORK DESIGN OPTIMIZATION, delivering Pampers products out of Targowek Manufacturing Plant (Poland) directly to Finland retailers. This without stopping any longer in the P&G Klippan Distribution Center (Sweden), cutting out half of the transportation distance, and emissions accordingly.

Collaborate

• Collaborate with sustainable carriers: 2020 SMARTWAY EXCELLENCE AWARD. P&G was recognized with a 2020 EPA SmartWay Excellence Award as one of the TOP 10 large shippers in the US. Through the SmartWay Excellence Award program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recognizes leading shippers, logistics companies and freight carriers that are optimizing the environmental performance and efficiency of their freight operations, while serving as role models for other businesses to follow. P&G was awarded because over 99% of their carriers are SmartWay partners, and over 70% of them are in the top 2 efficiency classifications within SmartWay (out of 5).
• Partner with start-ups: 4FOLD. Around 20% of trucks on the road are driving with an empty container, which is a pure loss ecologically and economically. P&G is working together with start-up 4FOLD to pilot an innovative foldable container. This foldable container allows 1 truck to carry 4 empty folded containers, versus the need for 4 empty trucks today. As such, saving a lot of needless truck on the road and emissions.
• Partner with Key Retailers: CARREFOUR MEGATRUCKS. P&G partners with Carrefour in Spain, installing 2 megatrucks (51 pallets capacity) between Mataro and Madrid. Apart from the more efficient payload, P&G and Carrefour designed a roundtrip supply chain, significantly reducing the empty mileage, improving greenhouse gas efficiency by 16%.

About P&G

P&G is an American multinational consumer goods company, headquartered in Cincinnati, specialized in personal care and hygiene products sold in approximately 180 countries. Find more on us.pg.com

References

PG_citizenship_report_2020_environmental_sustainability

S.H.I.P. coalition