P&G Beauty Convenes Expert Partners to Discuss Responsible Growth in Beauty, Announces P&G Responsible Beauty Systems-Thinking Framework

This week, P&G Beauty convened a virtual meeting with leading global NGOs to discuss the role of the beauty industry in accelerating progress towards a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future.

Until now, the industry has responded to consumer concerns over safety, quality, origin and sustainability with an array of claims – such as natural, organic or clean – many of which lack clear definitions and standards and are sometimes at odds with one another. The group made up of experts from various NGOs and Alex Keith, CEO, P&G Beauty, recognized that it is more vital than ever to look at these challenges as interconnected rather than individually. For the industry to become future-fit and to build business resilience, the group concluded that it must address systemic challenges through collective action, leveraging the best of science and protecting nature by purposefully bringing the two together.

P&G Beauty is addressing this through its P&G Responsible Beauty platform, a systems-thinking approach rooted in the connections and interdependence of five guiding principles: Quality & Performance; Safety; Sustainability; Transparency, and Equality & Inclusion. As part of the event, P&G Beauty shared the P&G Responsible Beauty 2030 goals (link). One of the goals of P&G Responsible Beauty is openly sharing technologies, programs or processes that can help the beauty industry have a bigger, positive impact on the world. As a tangible first action to bring this goal to life the Company is making publicly available a comprehensive guide for the safe use of botanicals in beauty products (link). The guide, incorporating learnings from over a decade of published research, provides formulators from small to large size beauty brands, with a robust safety approach to assess botanical ingredients and ensure their safe use in products.

The event, co-hosted by Women’s Wear Daily, was attended by media representatives from around the world, and featured P&G Beauty CEO Alex Keith and the P&G Responsible Beauty Advisory Council, an advisory group created more than a year ago to ensure P&G Beauty priorities are well informed by the most innovative, leading-edge thinking and experience. The Council is made up of representatives from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (a world leading authority on plant science); World Wildlife Fund (WWF); Rainforest Alliance; Skin Health Alliance; and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials.

“Making meaningful progress via responsible growth – growth rooted in systems thinking - requires partnership and collaboration,” said Alex Keith, CEO of P&G Beauty, “The P&G Responsible Beauty Advisory Council helps to ensure we are bringing external insights and experience into our decision-making, and applying systems thinking to our plans to ensure we consider the interdependencies of one choice on other critical areas.”

The panel discussion during the event covered a range of topics underscoring the extent to which human health and economic prosperity depend on a healthy, natural world, as well as how systems thinking can help the beauty industry navigate and understand today’s disruptions and provide solutions to build back better in a post-COVID world via a focus on responsible growth.

“Building business resilience in a way that supports a sustainable world, improves quality of life, respects human rights and protects the environment is possible,” said P&G Beauty’s Keith. "For beauty, this means going beyond environmental practices to address the interdependence of all aspects of product development and corporate behavior — all activities that affect the beauty consumer and the world in which we live.”

About the P&G Responsible Beauty Advisory Council Members:

Rainforest Alliance // Rainforest-alliance.org
The Rainforest Alliance works at the intersection of business, agriculture and forests to make “responsible business” the new normal, protecting forests and improving the lives of farmers and forest communities.

Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterial // Rsb.org
The Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) guides the responsible development and production of biomass, biofuels, and biomaterials through sustainability solutions, certification, and collaborative partnerships.

World Wildlife Fund // worldwildlife.org
For almost 60 years, the WWF has been protecting the future of nature. One of the world’s leading conservation organizations, WWF develops solutions to help communities and wildlife thrive.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew // kew.org
The global resource for plant and fungal research, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew uses their unparalleled expertise, botanical collections, and global partnerships to tackle the critical challenges facing humanity.

Skin Health Alliance // skinhealthalliance.org
The Skin Health Alliance collaborates with dermatologists, researchers and skin scientists to provide independent, scientifically based verification of the safety of beauty products, clinics, treatments, and services.

About P&G:

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.