Procter & Gamble

Our Sustainability efforts extend beyond our products and processes—Sustainability also informs the way we design our facilities. Before building a new site, we combine industry knowledge with a proprietary process that evaluates key Sustainability elements.

We use the 77 Point Plan, a process developed by our Global Facilities Engineering group in partnership with Arup International and validated by world-renowned architectural firm William McDonough + Partners. The plan rates a facility’s potential impact on several areas, including the five shown here: CO₂, energy, waste, water, and environmental quality.

Site
In choosing a facility’s location, we investigate commuting options, local ecosystems, and ways to use energy efficiently.

Water
We make as few manmade changes as possible to a site’s hydrological cycle, often building ponds that collect storm water and lessen discharge flow to local streams.

Materials
We select building materials that minimize environmental impact while maximizing workplace comfort and health. Whenever possible, debris from construction is recycled rather than sent to landfill.

Systems
Our facilities incorporate passive systems when feasible, helping maximize natural elements for ventilation and temperature control. When active systems are required, we favor high-efficiency equipment.

Lighting
Along with designing our facilities to make use of natural light, we use low-consumption lighting equipment whenever possible.

Beyond new construction efforts, the 77 Point Plan also examines facilities’ ongoing operations after they are built. The results of these exercises are used to raise the design standard for P&G facilities throughout the world.

Here are a few examples of the 77 Point Plan resulting in significant improvements at newly constructed P&G facilities.

Urlati, Romania: Beauty Care Plant

Before designing the Sustainability plan for this facility, the design team studied wind, solar, and humidity patterns, rainfall and the solar path of the proposed site location. Large windows throughout the building bring in natural light and connect employees with the outdoors. By using high-efficiency glass, the windows also reduce energy use. External sunshades reduce sunshine where and when necessary.

The facility is capable of recovering heat created in the manufacturing process, then reusing it to heat the building and water. The roof of its administration building faces due south, maximizing the possible future use of solar panels.

Euskirchen, Germany: DACH Customization Center

A 10,000-square-meter facility in Euskirchen, Germany, was built using sustainable materials and will save roughly 7,300 metric tons of CO₂ over the building’s 40-year lifetime. The center incorporates high-efficiency lighting, rainwater recycling, water-efficient sanitary appliances, and a solar hot water system.

It is also the world’s first P&G building to deliver an operating solar photovoltaic system. The system is capable of generating 324 Gigajoules of electricity per year, with an equivalent CO₂ reduction equal to nearly 35,400 truck kilometers.