SUSTAINABILITY
NOT MANY BUSINESSPEOPLE wish redundancy upon themselves . For the Global Sustainability Director at Proctor and Gamble ( P & G ) however , this is the endgame .
“ My vision is for my role to be eliminated ,” asserts Virginie Helias , who has spent 28 successful years at the global powerhouse helping to build some of the worlds most renowned brands .
“ Sustainability will be embedded in everything we do , it will be second nature . Innovation and communication will not be conceived without sustainable groundings . That will be job done , retirement .”
P & G is one of the world ’ s most prolific brand makers . Across its 10 product categories , ranging from fabric and home care to beauty and health , the company owns 21 brands with annual sales of more than $ 1 billion . Pampers , Fairy , Ariel , Febreze , Olay , Pantene , Braun and Gillette are just some of the household names in P & G ’ s portfolio . one to ask how sustainability can possibly be embedded effectively from the top . Being responsible for so many brands is the toughest part of the job for Helias , who took the role in 2011 after recognising the potential of sustainable development when marketing Aerial ’ s cold wash capabilities .
“ Sustainability is different from one brand to another ,” she explains . “ If you take shampoos , 96 percent of the carbon footprint is in the hot shower , whereas with diapers it is all about the materials used in the manufacturing .”
Helias started with the top , educating the leadership of P & G .
The challenge Such a diverse and wide-ranging array of manufacturing , marketing and sales processes naturally leads
12 September 2016