The new set of goals includes efforts to keep all P&G packaging out of the oceans as well as improving recycling solutions for absorbent hygiene products.
Ocean plastics, and those plastics captured from the environment before they reach the water, are a trending topic for both society and the plastics industry. Citizens and companies are putting a greater focus on the problems and possible solutions.
"We will find solutions so no P&G packaging will find its way into the ocean," the company pledged.
With underdeveloped waste management a key issue in some countries, trash is simply dumped at shorelines as residents allow high tide to take the material away. Littering and inadequate materials collection farther inland also lead to plastics and other trash finding its way into tributaries that feed into oceans.
Last year, P&G created a limited-edition Head & Shoulders shampoo bottle made partially from recycled plastic collected at beaches. Efforts like that will help push demand, something recycling industry leaders say is key in finding success.
The company also indicated its 20 leadership brands "will enable and inspire responsible consumption through packaging that is 100 percent recyclable or reusable, launching more sustainable innovations and building trust through transparency and sharing our safety science."
Along with plans for packaging, P&G said the company's 2030 goals will include efforts to improve efforts to recycle absorbent hygiene products such as diapers and those used for feminine hygiene and incontinence. Those products often contain a plastic in their design.
"Building on our progress to date, our 2030 goals seek to address two of the world's most pressing environmental challenges: finite resources and growing consumption," Virginie Helias, vice president of global sustainability for P&G, said in a statement. "We know P&G alone does not have all the answers. It will take partnerships and collaboration to make meaningful progress and our brands will develop innovations to take responsible consumption to the next level."
While the company is rolling out 2030 goals, P&G also said it has achieved its 2020 environmental goals regarding reduced energy use, reduced truck transportation and use of virgin wood fiber certification.
The company continues to work on greenhouse gas emissions reductions and increased use of renewable energy, and it has reduced packaging by approximately 13 percent toward its goal of a 20-percent reduction per consumer use.
P&G also is diverting 72 percent of its manufacturing waste from landfills and wants that number to reach 100 percent by 2020.
A goal of ensuring that 90 percent of product packaging is either recyclable or that programs are in place to recycle that material is at 86 percent and the company said it has a "strong, ongoing effort to further increase recyclability."
Regarding the goal of doubling the use of recycled resin in plastic packaging, P&G indicated it is 32 percent of its way toward its 2020 goal.
