Procter and Gamble (P&G) Beauty is a leading global beauty company with a rich history and a strong portfolio of well-known and beloved brands. They are passionate about helping people look and feel their best and are committed to providing products and experiences that make a difference in people’s lives. Their products are available in over 180 states worldwide, and millions of consumers trust them. They have a convincing portfolio of reputable brands, including Olay, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, and Aussie (Hughes 223). The company is constantly innovating ways to improve consumer products and experiences
P&G is currently dealing with several ethical difficulties affecting its production and marketing strategy alternatives. The problem of pollution in the environment is one of the ethical problems that need to be solved. The number of chemical species they emit can be extremely high. In addition, P&G’s products include many environmental hormones because the raw materials that make such products contain those hormones (Hughes 223). The company has been working towards solving this ethical challenge.
One of the solutions they propose to the issue of environmental contamination is using materials that are friendly to the environment. P&G is committed to developing ecologically responsible procedures for their production, supply chain, and logistical operations. For example, they use intelligent eco-design in the manufacturing process, more sustainable design to prevent waste during transportation, and a scorecard system they make for their suppliers to reduce environmental pollution in their supply chain.
This challenge affects the company’s public relations because if the issue of environmental pollution is not solved, this may cause customers to stop making their purchases from there. This issue affects both the customers and the public relation. Pollution and trash are two of the most significant environmental consequences that many companies and organizations are responsible for (NPR News). It is ethical to reduce pollution because doing so will conserve the environment, which is good for human beings and help improve a firm’s reputation, ultimately leading to significant increases in profitability. Polluting the environment will make it hard to make big profits and advertise the brand because the company’s reputation has been damaged. P&G, therefore, should try to lessen the amount of pollution caused by trash to preserve its reputation and continue leading in the market.
P&G company has caused pollution in several ways which are considered unfavorable by many. They have been accused of contaminating the air with their factories, causing water pollution from their manufacturing processes, and using harmful chemicals in their products. The company is responsible for a major pollution incident in Ohio, USA. In 1999, P&G discharged over 740,000 pounds of pollutants into the air and water near its West Chester, Ohio, plant. The company was fined $1.8 million for the incident but it has set goals to reduce environmental impacts by 20% (Jennings 143). The pollutants included cancer-causing chemicals and other dangerous substances.
The actions that led to pollution in P&G included allowed hazardous chemicals to be released into the environment and failure to control and monitor them properly. The firm did not take adequate steps to clean up the pollution once it occurred, and this ignorance led to the ethical challenge of pollination, which caused adverse effects. The ethical principle for the ethical challenge of pollution in P&G is the precautionary principle (NPR News). This principle states that when there is a potential for harm, companies should take steps to avoid or reduce it, even if it is not clear that the harm will occur. P&G should make it a responsibility to take care of the waste they release before it harms people or the environment. They can do this by reducing the amount of waste produced, recycling, or reusing as much as possible.
The precautionary principle is duty-based because it requires humans to take precautions to prevent harm. Furthermore, it is based on the principle of non-maleficence, which requires people to avoid hurting others (Vanity Fair). Therefore, the principal urges P&G to make it their responsibility to take precautionary measures to protect consumers from potential risks. This will help protect their reputation hence maintaining or boosting their sales and profits.
The annual financial report indicated a changing trend in net sales and other crucial fiscal values. Net sales for the fiscal year 2022 were $80.2 billion, up 5% from the previous year. Organic sales rose 7%, excluding currency, acquisitions, and divestitures. The growth was driven by 2% organic volume growth, 4% higher pricing, and a 1% favorable mix (10K 2020 income statement). Diluted net earnings per share were $5.81, up 6% from the prior year, which included an early debt extinguishment charge. Core diluted EPS rose 3% over the prior year (Jennings 143). Currency-neutral net EPS shifted 5% over Core EPS while the operating cash flow was $16.7 billion, with 93% free cash flow productivity (P&G Releases). The company responsiveness to pollution is a factor that can help enhance it its profitability.
P&G has had different key trends, such as shifting its focus from developed to emerging markets. The company has been investing heavily in these regions in recent years and now gets about 60% of its sales (Ramachandran et al.). It has been aiming to reduce its reliance on traditional mass-media advertising and instead focus on digital and social media marketing. This is in line with the trend of consumers increasingly getting their information and news online. P&G has also been working on simplifying its product portfolio and reducing the number of SKUs it offers. This is with regard to the growing trend of consumers wanting more specific products with fewer ingredients. To reduce pollution, they have opted to source from sustainable materials, reducing emissions and conserving water bodies.
Works Cited
“Citizenship and Esg: A Force for Good and a Force for Growth.” The US. Pg, Web.
“P&G Releases 2022 Annual Report.” The US. Pg, Web.
10K 2020 Income statements
Bedford‐Strohm, Heinrich. “The Ethical Challenges of the Digital Age: Between promises of salvation and prophecies of doom.” The Ecumenical Review, vol. 72, no. 2, 2020. pp: 167-182.
Hughes, Bee. The Shocking History of Procter & Gamble’s Rely Tampons: Vostral, SL. New York University Press, 2019.
Jennings, Marianne M., editor. Next-Generation Ethics: Engineering a Better Society, W. W. Norton, 2019.
NPR News “Netflix CEO embraces no rules, but work is anything but chill”
Ramachandran, Shalini, and Joe Flint. “At Netflix, radical transparency and blunt firings unsettle the ranks.” The Wall Street Journal 25 (2018).
Vanity Fair “Working at Netflix sounds absolutely terrifying”