P&G's Sustainability Efforts Across the Supply Chain Save Nearly $1B; FREE Scorecard and Analysis Tool Now Available

P&G recently announced that it would be making its environmental sustainability scorecard analysis tool freely available for use by any company. An Excel-based tool, this supplier scorecard was developed to allow companies to measure and interpret key environmental sustainability metrics across their supply chains and identify progress as well as opportunities for improvement.

As reported in a recent article on the subject, The Scorecard Analysis Tool is the latest publicly available component of P&G’s Supply Chain Environmental Sustainability 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, according to the company.

For those organizations that are interested in exploring ways to cut costs, drive innovation and reduce environmental footprint, the tool is worth taking a look at. After all, it’s free and if P&G’s results are any indication, the sustainability efforts that it helps to promote could lead to significant cost savings and other benefits.

In particular, P&G reports realizing nearly $1B in bottom-line savings in 2011 as a result of sustainability efforts supported across the supply chain. The company also reported that its 2011 supplier 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 US 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% of the measurable categories

The bottom line is that sustainability efforts at P&G, both within the company and across its supply chain, are paying off. And that’s a story that we expect to be hearing from more and more organizations moving forward, as they begin to put key sustainability metrics in place.

To learn more, see:

P&G Shares Data, Results and Analysis Tool from Supplier Scorecard

How Sustainability Promises to Address the Needs of Manufacturers and Suppliers in our “Material World”

… and how sustainability-driven innovation is already powering China’s automotive industry

For many companies, the path to sustainability starts with the use of sustainable materials. Autodesk partner Granta Design offers some guidance in this area, as it is the primary force behind the Autodesk/Granta design jointly-developed tool, Eco-Materials Advisor. But another company, Materials Connexion, is also very involved in helping companies to make sustainable materials choices. And it has, apparently, been very successful behind the scenes in this effort, supporting both the development and use of sustainable materials in products at companies like BMW, Procter & Gamble, Nissan, Nokia and Samsug – just to name a few.

That’s encouraging, but it’s only a start. As noted in a recent article on the subject–a truly sustainable approach to product design and development should adhere to the “Cradle to Cradle” CertificationCM guidelines developed by renowned design firm McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, or in other words, should:

- take into account not only the safety of materials, but the ability to reuse or recycle these materials and achieve “zero waste” goals;

- use less energy (and/or use energy from more renewable sources) in both the creation and use of these products;

- conserve water and other natural resources in the creation and use of products, and

- support socially-responsible manufacturing, production, and use

In short, sustainability isn’t just a materials issue – it also takes into account the environmental impacts (both positive and negative) of design and manufacturing processes; involves efficient use of natural resources, in general; and seeks to protect human health and safety, including adoption of “fair” labor practices – just for starters.

It’s perhaps worth noting here that even without any specific mention of “carbon footprint,” the concept of sustainability becomes clear in this context. It’s really about designing products in such a way that there is less waste and less energy used throughout the product’s lifecycle; and about using materials and processes in the creation of these products that are safer and less toxic. It’s about designing products that can be more easily disassembled for recycling or designing products that are made of more recycled content. It’s about durability, green chemistry, and less packaging. A key aspect of sustainability is protecting people and the environment. But it’s important to emphasize that sustainability is also about the bottom line. The good news is that research has confirmed that taking a sustainable approach to product design and development can yield significant business benefits, as well. 

The reality is that sustainability is a journey – ideally, with each new generation of a particular product, that product will become more sustainable – it will have less of a negative impact (and more of a positive one) on the environment as it improves over time, and in so doing - it will - use less energy, fewer “scarce” materials or resources, and ultimately, will actually generate the equivalent of environmental, social and economic “credits” rather than debits.

In this sense, China may be well ahead of its Western cousins. Already looking ahead to a future in which its rapidly expanding urban populations will require a significant shift in personal mobility capacity – the development of a more sustainable, more eco-friendly form of transport is already well-underway. For example, in 2010 when the Chinese car firm, SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.) unveiled its green YeZ concept car, a vehicle that was designed to not simply reduce carbon emissions, but to actually yield a negative carbon footprint (by using a photosynthesis-like process to “inhale” CO2 and release oxygen as a beneficial by-product), it appears that China has already taken a big step towards truly sustainable transport.

Interestingly, the Toyota Prius failed to meet the demanding environmental restrictions that the Chinese government had set for its automakers in its quest for the ideal “green car.” So the Prius didn’t even make the cut, much less experience the eco-friendly leadership status that it has achieved in the West, according to observers.

So, what does sustainability look like moving forward? It’s far more than more eco-friendly packaging or the use of more sustainable materials. Looking ahead, sustainability is destined to pave the way for some truly radical re-thinking of how we will use energy, how we will travel, live, and work, in general; and how we will manage our resources so that there will, in effect, “be enough to go around.” But mostly, sustainability – and all the improved efficiency, cost-savings, innovation and revenue growth that comes with it –will be good for business. And that’s what will, ultimately, allow it to flourish – and to deliver the environmental and societal benefits that visionaries have always hoped for.

See also:

You’re Not as Green as You Think

Materials Connexion – “Who We’ve Helped”

Why SAIC's Yez Concept Car is a landmark automobile
Shanghai Motor Corporation