cts and researching methods of environmental efficiency and protection. The company's research budget amounts to about $2 billion annually. This commitment to innovation wins the company about 3000 new patents every year. In doing so, the company employs more Ph.D. scientists than Harvard, Stanford, and MIT combined. In its company web page, P&G notes that it plans to "meet and exceed the requirements of all environmental laws and regulations" and in addition to "continually assess...environmental technology and programs and monitor progress toward environmental goals." This premise is beneficial to the company, as by employing more environmentally-friendly strategies, the company is not only following regulations and preserving the environment, but it is also saving some costs.
Procter and Gamble's Environmental Sciences Department uses a multidisciplinary approach in problem solving. Scientists from backgrounds as diverse as atmospheric sciences to engineering work together to find solutions to environmental problems. Procter and Gamble has focused its resources on research in the following categories, some of which are summarized in Table 1 and below:
· Minimizing transport of waste by river systems.
· Reducing company-generated waste.
· Reducing packaging of products.
· Reducing energy and water consumption.
· Using raw material from recycled sources.
· Lowering contribution to the greenhouse effect.
Table 1: Manufacturing and Waste Cost Summary (Source: 2000 Sustainability Report)
Units are in thousands of metric tons
PRODUCTION 1999/2000 1998/1999 1997/1998
Packaged Products shipped 15,229 14,644 14,436
Raw Materials From Recycled Sources 476 380 400
Packaging Used From Recycled Sources 444 490 455
Solid Waste (Non-Hazardous) 317 271 324
Effluents (Excluding Water) 39 31 37
The company is active in reducing the uncer...