4/5/2023
Meet the Innovators Behind P&G’s Sustainability Efforts
Our teams of designers, material scientists, plant managers and innovators work together to design and create products, packaging solutions and manufacturing processes that help reduce plastic, reduce transportation emission and reuse materials, while providing an incredible usage experience.
Brian Giovanni, R&D Director for North America Home Care
After beginning his career at P&G with two internships, Brian Giovanni has been with the company for 25 years. Now, as R&D Director for North America Home Care, Giovanni drives business superiority with his special innovation team.
Throughout his years at P&G, Giovanni has been a champion for circular solutions and packaging innovation for products like Dawn and Cascade. In collaboration with his team and the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, Giovanni has been able to ensure that some of P&G’s most popular product packaging is recyclable or reusable.
Giovanni finds his inspiration through navigating challenges — both at work and home.
For instance, when challenged to find a way to reduce waste in both product and packaging, Giovanni and his team worked to increase packaging recyclability and reduce virgin plastic use by:
- Creating the Dawn Powerwash trigger, which is both recyclable and reusable
- Ensuring the Dawn EZ-Squeeze bottle is refillable
- Making sure Cascade Complete, Original and Free & Clear tubs are widely recyclable
In his personal life, he often challenges himself with running. Since his first race as part of a P&G relay team, he has sought increasingly harder challenges: half-marathons, marathons, Boston Marathons, ultra-marathons and international major marathons.
This work-life balance helps Brian continue to develop superior products that are better for consumers and the environment.
Vicki Jung, Director Surface Care Packaging Team
Vicki Jung has dedicated 15 years to innovation at P&G.
As Director of the Surface Care Packaging team, Jung builds packaging innovation plans for Swiffer, Mr. Clean and Microban. She enjoys seeing the products she’s worked on hit the shelves and hearing consumers’ reactions. When first launching Mr. Clean’s Clean Freak, Vicki read a consumer review about how easy it is to clean a big surface without having to spray multiple times.
“That really made me proud that consumers get the product and package benefits that I’ve worked on.”
Vicki’s dedication to packaging redesign not only helps consumers, it also helps the planet. She and her team helped change Swiffer’s duster product designs to eliminate plastic packaging, reducing Swiffer’s plastic use by 173 tons per year. This kind of innovative work led her to be recognized as one of Waste 360’s 40 under 40!
At home, Vicki practices sustainability by using cold water when she does laundry and using her dishwasher instead of handwashing dishes to save water.
“If making a small change now can help the future, I would like to be a part of it to improve the quality of life for current and future generations,” says Vicki.
John Layman, Senior Director, Corporate R&D, Sustainable Materials
John Layman’s commitment to sustainability goes far beyond his role at P&G as Senior Director, Corporate R&D, Sustainable Materials.
“For me, sustainability is about leaving the world a better place for the next generation, and the work we are doing at P&G will make this a reality,” says John.
He has gone above and beyond to minimize his family’s environmental impact at home. From installing solar panels that power 100% of his family’s home to composting kitchen scraps and yard waste, John recognizes the importance of minimizing his environmental footprint.
At P&G, John develops superior products that are more environmentally responsible to enable customers and consumers to achieve their sustainability goals.
John’s greatest source of pride is building the teams at P&G that help make sustainability possible.
“I feel that my greatest accomplishment is hiring and developing amazing scientists and engineers,” he says. “Sustainability presents many challenging technical and technoeconomic problems, and no single person or company can solve these alone. However, we have assembled a talented group of people who are delivering innovation and products to solve these problems.”
Angélique Terrien, Vice President, Product Supply Chain Sustainability
Angélique Terrien is Vice President of Product Supply Chain Sustainability at P&G and leader of the Kronberg Product Supply Innovation Center. In her role, Angélique develops innovative solutions that can be scaled to help the company advance toward its net zero greenhouse gas emissions goals.
Angélique finds the manufacturing process inspiring. She is amazed by the product supply world where humans are at the center of the technology that delivers irresistible products.
One of Angélique’s greatest accomplishments at P&G is building the Supply Chain Innovation Center, where she brought more than 70 engineers, PhDs and researchers together to solve the world’s greatest challenges.
“It’s a vibrant place,” she says. “My team is made of extremely competent and passionate professionals from all disciplines, educational backgrounds, nationalities and genders, embedded in a rich ecosystem.”
In her 23 years at P&G, Angélique has often been inspired by her personal hobbies. She loves art and music and believes that the combination of an artistic and technical mindset can be the key to thinking outside of the box and breaking barriers to come up with innovative solutions.
Clara Ng Pak Leung, Product Research R&D, Fabric Care SUD Europe
When Clara Ng Pak Leung was a kid, she wanted to be an inventor. At P&G, Clara is fulfilling her dream.
As a Fabric Care R&D Scientist on the SECURECLIC® team, Clara helped create an innovative packaging solution that saves up to 6,500 tons of plastic waste in Europe a single year. SECURECLIC® is a fully-recyclable, cardboard alternative to Ariel’s plastic boxes, and each container is made of recycled and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified cardboard fibers.
“This project is a bit like my baby,” she says. “It felt great to work on a team where everyone who was involved gave their full selves because we knew this would make a huge difference for our consumers, the environment, and also for P&G.”
The opportunity to make a positive impact on the planet and consumers through products people use every day was something that drew Clara to P&G. She’s proud to see how many consumers love the new pack. Some consumers — specifically ones with arthritis — have even written to congratulate and thank the team.
“A richly deserved THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Finally, a laundry tabs box that can be opened by elderly people with arthritic fingers,” wrote one user.
Another user shared, “I would like to say how fantastic the new packing is. I have arthritis and really struggled opening the plastic box. This new cardboard box is wonderful and better for the environment. Well done.”
Todd Cline, Senior Director of Sustainability, Fabric Care North America
Todd Cline is passionate about sustainability and has dedicated 30 years to innovation at P&G. As Senior Director of Sustainability for Fabric Care in North America, Todd works across the commercial and technical community to bring together superiority, category growth and sustainability efforts.
“It has been incredibly rewarding to be part of bringing those three areas together in our NA Fabric Care business to both commit to such large impacts and see us make fast progress against our commitments for net zero and cold water washing,” says Todd.
His team set the Tide ambition to achieve 75% of laundry loads being washed using cold water by 2030 and has already avoided 2+ million tons of CO2 on their way toward the 2030 target.
Todd’s personal passion for outdoor adventure has driven his commitment to sustainability.
“I know many people are dealing with much larger life impacts from climate change than affecting their hobbies, but this is honestly what led me to start engaging much more on sustainability in my work,” said Todd. “To have a big impact we really need commitment to solving problems, scaling large and innovation — all areas where P&G excels.”
Todd is excited to be a part of the journey, getting consumers lukewarm about cold water washing to take the plunge to save energy and to help P&G advance toward its Net Zero ambition.
Stefan Bruenner, Walldrün/Kronberg Plant Manager
With 30 years of working at P&G, Stefan Bruenner is passionate about innovation, manufacturing and sustainability. As the Walldrün/Kronberg Plant Manager, Stefan takes pride in delivering products centered around superior quality, sustainability and craftsmanship with his team in Germany.
“It is a huge challenge and a lot of fun to explore the variety of change and innovation a manufacturing plant can drive,” he says.
Stefan’s team manufactures around 55% of the products for P&G brand Braun. In his role, Stefan ensures the timely delivery service of Braun electric razors and epilators to the correct channels of P&G’s supply chain.
Outside of work, Stefan invests in housing technology projects that aim for sustaining a neutral carbon footprint and enjoys technical sports. He has executed projects such as heat pump optimization and photovoltaic electricity generation, and he has helped bring two new tennis tournaments to life.
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