Protecting Our Water Future

Water is the world's most precious resource. At P&G, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to do our part in the conservation and restoration of this precious resource so we can protect it for people and nature. Water is essential for the use and production of our products. Over the past decade, our water stewardship program has evolved alongside our growing understanding of the complex issues facing the world’s water resources and where we can have the greatest impact. In honor of World Water Day on March 22, we're highlighting how we’ve expanded our ambitions from responsibly managing our footprint and facilities to accelerating systems-level change as we work to be a force for good.

Restoring Water in Water-Stressed Priority Basins
Water stress is increasing across many regions of the world and we are committed to protecting water in 18 priority basins across seven countries where our consumers, suppliers and facilities are most exposed to current and future water risks. That’s why Cascade joined Bonneville Environmental Foundation's Change the Course initiative to support two projects in the Sacramento River basin. These projects will help restore millions of gallons of freshwater to river systems in water-stressed regions and accelerate our goal of protecting water for people and nature.

P&G has also signed on to the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) System Conservation Project to help promote long-term water solutions for communities across California, Nevada and Arizona. By restoring water in priority basins, we can continue making a positive impact on people and nature in these areas.

Helping People Become More Water Efficient at Home
Our brands continue to look for new ways to reduce in-home water use and communicate with consumers about the ways they can help. Cascade was one of the first P&G brands to address the issue of water scarcity through its “Do It Every Night” ad campaign. By busting a popular myth and encouraging families to forgo handwashing for the dishwasher, Cascade is enabling customers to save up to 100 gallons of water a week – and the energy needed to heat it.

Dawn and Swiffer also use innovative ingredients and design to increase water efficiency. Dawn Powerwash Dish Spray creates suds without water and cleans dishes without soaking – the faucet does not need to be turned on until the final rinse. In addition, households using Swiffer Wet Jet can save more than 70 gallons of water per year compared to the standard mop and bucket. By innovating our products to enable greater water efficiency, we aim to make responsible consumption irresistible for people everywhere.

Conserving Water During Manufacturing
We are working to make our manufacturing operations more sustainable by driving further water efficiency and using water from circular sources. Thanks to the hard work of our employees around the world, we have reduced our manufacturing water usage by 27% since 2010. In Brazil, our Baby Care plant has developed innovative solutions to reduce freshwater use by installing special equipment to treat and reuse manufacturing process water effluent. Last year, the plant recycled more than 34 million liters of water–the equivalent annual water usage of 860 Brazilian households! By carefully stewarding our water resources across our manufacturing facilities, we are making significant progress towards our goal of delivering a 35% increase in water efficiency by 2030. As a member of the Alliance for Water Stewardship, all of our facilities exposed to high water risks have developed site-specific water stewardship management plans to expand their water focus to include how they can do their part to protect water for people and nature in their local basins.

Providing Clean Drinking Water to Communities in Need
Nearly a billion people around the world do not have access to clean water. At P&G, we are on a mission to change that. Our Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) initiative uses P&G-invented technology – the P&G Purifier of Water packets – to transform 10 liters of dirty, contaminated water into clean, drinkable water in only 30 minutes. By partnering with more than 150 public, private, and non-profit organizations, we are providing clean water to communities in need. The delivery of clean, safe drinking water has not only helped to improve health but has also increased access to education and better economic opportunities. To date, we have delivered more than 20 billion liters of water, and by 2025, we aim to provide 25 billion liters to those in need.

For more information about our water stewardship program and other efforts to protect the planet, visit https://us.pg.com/environmental-sustainability/.