SUSTAINABILITY
earlier , and the answer is that it takes time to develop . Anyone can release an eco-friendly detergent but it is no good if it doesn ’ t clean properly .” These are just some of the environmental schemes running across the P & G portfolio , working alongside various social initiatives to form a comprehensive sustainable programme . Social sustainability plays an equally important role , no better demonstrated than by the Children ’ s Safe Drinking Water campaign , which has so far delivered more than 8.9 billion litres of clean water in over 75 countries .
Challenge from the outside Being open to scrutiny and target setting from external influencers has kept Helias and her team on their toes . Working alongside WWF has certainly heightened the ambition of P & G ’ s sustainability programme .
“ They are an amazing partner ,” Helias says . “ In 2010 we decided to form a really ambitious vision and we reached out to them to help us make our 2020 goals . We had a conference with our CEO and the head of the WWF , and since then they have helped us a lot in particular environmental areas , especially in palm oil and our commitment to a zero deforestation target .
“ WWF is challenging us to go further and making sure we set higher goals . We set up an external advisory board made up of WWF and people from other industries to advise our leadership on sustainability and share best practices .”
By instilling the motivation to operate more sustainably and convincing P & G ’ s brand bosses of the business case for environmental innovation , Helias could well see her job dissolve in the coming years .
But what was her motivation ? “ It ’ s not because I have a green background . It was a business accident almost . My work is humanised . How can you show people that sustainability can transform their work ?
“ When you do it the right way the feeling is amazing . I have people come up to me and say my work is up to here , but I want to do this sustainable project too . It is working beyond increasing market share . It is beyond me , my ego and my business inclinations .”
16 September 2016