P&G Shareholders Deliver Overwhelming Vote for Better Forest Sourcing
CINCINNATI, OH -- Investors at Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) annual shareholder meeting today sent a clear directive to the company that it needs to address its forest sourcing, with 67% of shareholders voting for a resolution that calls on the company to eliminate deforestation and intact forest degradation from its supply chain – the highest vote for a shareholder resolution on deforestation in history. P&G is the largest purchaser of boreal pulp for tissue in the U.S.
Following is reaction from Shelley Vinyard, Boreal Corporate Campaign Manager with NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“Investors sent the message that they expect P&G to do much more than the status quo to protect the world's remaining intact forests. This vote makes clear that shareholders agree that P&G is not doing enough.
“This is also a wakeup call to all companies sourcing from Canada’s boreal forest and the Canadian logging industry that the time is long past to reduce its impact on intact forests that are essential for Indigenous Peoples, our climate, and biodiversity. And it is an issue that’s as critical to the climate as it is for equity. As the largest purchaser of boreal pulp for tissue in the U.S., P&G could have a huge impact by enacting stronger corporate sourcing policies to protect Canada’s boreal forest. Investors clearly care that the boreal is not only a vital carbon storehouse and the largest remaining intact forest on the planet, it is also home for more than 600 Indigenous communities and their ways of life.
"The choice now for P&G is whether they will work with us to establish a more sustainable supply chain, or face even greater pressure from concerned citizens and their investors moving forward.”
The second version of NRDC’s Issue With Tissue report includes more information on P&G’s practices, and a recent investor brief released by NRDC and others outlines the financial risks posed by P&G’s current sourcing.
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NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at NRDC.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.