P&G Launches Initiative to Make Conservation of Natural Resources More User Friendly

CINCINNATI, March 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) today announced the U.S. expansion of Future Friendly, an environmental responsibility and consumer education platform it first introduced at the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative. The multi-brand initiative brings together the power of trusted brands like Tide, Pampers, PUR, Duracell and others for a simple mission: to help mainstream consumers save water, waste and energy at home. A full media platform, including an extensive social networking and consumer engagement component, will be deployed starting the week of March 29, 2010 to reach or exceed P&G's original pledge of providing conservation education to at least 50 million U.S. households by the end of 2010. More than 15,000 retail locations will participate in the initial phase of Future Friendly, P&G reported.

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The Future Friendly platform will show consumers how to use popular P&G products to achieve savings in water, waste and energy. For example, nearly 80% of the energy used in the typical load of laundry is in heating water at the consumer's home. By washing in cold water with a detergent formulated for that application – like Tide Coldwater – consumers can conserve this energy, and also help reduce their utility bills. Tide Coldwater products will carry a Future Friendly seal to indicate their energy-savings capabilities.

Future Friendly-labeled products will begin to appear on retailer shelves in early April. The U.S. launch of the initiative will be supported by a comprehensive marketing and public relations program. A television campaign will begin airing nationally the week of March 29, 2010. P&G's April edition of its popular brandSaver newspaper supplement, delivered to more than 50 million households, will feature information about and coupons for Future Friendly products. The campaign will be further supplemented by a full suite of digital and social media engagement initiatives, a P&G employee communications campaign, signature event sponsorships and other programs in partnership with recognized experts in conservation education.

"With Future Friendly, we're trying to educate 'mainstream' consumers on how to conserve natural resources in their homes," said Melanie Healey, P&G Group President, North America. "These consumers don't want any perceived trade-offs in performance and price. Instead, they want to purchase the brands they already know and trust and understand how using these products, and adopting other simple behavior changes within their homes, can help them lower their impact on the environment."

"Conserving natural resources for future generations is a shared responsibility and a critical component of our purpose-driven focus on touching and improving the lives of our consumers," Healey said. "Consumers use our products billions of times every day. Future Friendly will help us turn these moments into opportunities to save environmental resources; help consumers get even more value out of the same products they know and trust; and, open new doors for innovative products and solutions that improve their lives."

Lack of Information Preventing One in Three from Pursuing Environmentally-Friendly Lifestyles

As part of its national launch of Future Friendly, P&G released a new national poll on consumer consumption attitudes and behaviors. Findings from the Ipsos Public Affairs "Consumer Conservation Survey" show continued interest among most consumers to do more to preserve the environment, provided they can tap into the economic benefits of environmentally-friendly products. Results include:

• Nearly three in four (74 percent) report they would switch to another brand if it helped them conserve resources without having to pay more and a similar amount (69 percent) report they would recommend the product to others.
• More than a third (37 percent) cite the lack of enough information about what to do as the top reason preventing people from leading a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle.
• A majority (58 percent) would be at least very likely to change the way they do daily chores if it helped them reduce waste, save energy and save water in their homes.
• Saving money is the most frequently mentioned reason for why consumers would take measures to reduce waste, save energy and save water in their home (64 percent) followed closely by preserving resources for future generations (56 percent).

"We see a growing environmental consciousness among mainstream consumers," said Maurice Coffey, Marketing Director, Future Friendly. "Through this newly expanded brand platform we will help remove the confusion and show consumers how simple choices can lead to meaningful results."  

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted January 29 - January 31, 2010. For the survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,000 randomly-selected adults aged 18 and over residing in the U.S. was interviewed by telephone via Ipsos' U.S. Telephone Express omnibus. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within +/-3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of adults in the U.S. been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/gender composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For the full report of the survey, visit: http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=4691.

Future Friendly Builds on Legacy, Retailer Network for Scaled Launch Solutions

Future Friendly has operated as a multi-brand effort in the United Kingdom and Canada since 2007, where it is supported by third parties such as Global Cool, the Energy Saving Trust and Water Wise. It was first introduced to U.S. consumers during a pilot executed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that launched on Earth Day in April 2009. The results from the pilot as well as extensive consumer research and stakeholder input helped refine and build on the program's earlier successes in other markets.

The products included in the Future Friendly portfolio will be rolled out in two phases. Starting in April, there will be significant in-store signage and educational displays in major retailer channels, including more than 15,000 grocery and club store locations nationwide. This fall, a second wave of the program will expand its consumer and retailer reach.

Full details of upcoming Future Friendly launch programming and partnerships will be unveiled in the weeks leading up to the April 2010 celebration of Earth Day's 40th Anniversary.

With a structured corporate sustainability program in place for decades, P&G has reduced its energy, waste and water footprints by more than 40 percent since 2002 alone. As a result of these sustainability achievements, P&G has been a member of the FTSE4Good and Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) since their inception and has been recognized by the Financial Times and Just Means with the 2008/2009 Social Innovation Award. P&G has also been included in Corporate Knight's 2009 and 2010 "Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World" ranking. For more information on P&G's commitment to sustainability, visit: www.pg.com/sustainability.

About Future Friendly

Future Friendly is a program that empowers consumers to save energy, save water and reduce waste, using science, innovation and unique partnerships to help achieve meaningful environmental impacts. The Future Friendly program is a direct extension of P&G's long-term commitment and disciplined, science-based approach to environmental innovation. Through the program, P&G is better able to share these solutions with consumers so they can realize the same benefits in their own homes. By taking small steps together with its consumers, P&G believes it can help create big benefits for the planet and ultimately improve lives every day, now and for generations to come.

About Procter & Gamble

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community includes approximately 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About Ipsos Public Affairs

Ipsos Public Affairs is a non-partisan, objective, survey-based research practice made up of seasoned professionals. We conduct strategic research initiatives for a diverse number of American and international organizations, based not only on public opinion research, but elite stakeholder, corporate, and media opinion research. Ipsos has media partnerships with the most prestigious news organizations around the world. Ipsos Public Affairs is the polling agency of record for Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. Ipsos Public Affairs is also the agency of record for The McClatchy Company and the polling partner of Telemundo Communications Group. Ipsos Public Affairs is a member of the Ipsos Group, a leading global survey-based market research company. We provide boutique-style customer service and work closely with our clients, while also undertaking global research.

To learn more, visit www.ipsos-pa.com.  

SOURCE Procter & Gamble