In a virtual showdown, Procter & Gamble’s CEO Jon Moeller and the company’s environmental sustainability committee have emerged victorious, fending off a challenge from descendants of the company’s founders. The group had sought to oust Moeller and the committee members, citing their alleged failure to adequately address deforestation risks in the consumer goods giant’s supply chain.
The controversy centers around P&G’s sourcing of wood pulp, a critical component in popular products like Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels. Despite being one of the world’s largest buyers of wood pulp, the company has faced criticism for its handling of forest degradation and deforestation risks.
Last year, P&G quietly dropped a commitment to avoid purchasing pulp from degraded forests, sparking concerns among environmentalists and socially responsible investors. The company’s forest commodities policy has been deemed “woefully insufficient and unclear” by the descendants, who had sought to engage with management and the board to strengthen the policy.
The European Union’s Deforestation Regulation, which bans certain products linked to deforestation and forest degradation, has added to the pressure on P&G to revamp its sustainability practices. While the company has pledged to comply with the regulation, details on how it plans to do so remain scarce.
This is not the first time P&G has faced scrutiny over its environmental record. In 2020, a majority of shareholders passed a non-binding resolution urging the company to enhance its efforts to eliminate deforestation and forest degradation in its supply chain. Since then, investors and environmental groups have continued to press the company for greater transparency and accountability.
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