P&G plans solar panels in German beauty plant

By Katie Bird

- Last updated on GMT

Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) will be installing solar panels into a beauty and grooming plant in Germany, moving towards its target for 100 per cent renewable energy.

The company plans to start installing the panels in its plant in Cologne, Germany during the spring of 2011 and they are expected to start producing electricity in the summer.

According to the company, an estimated 796 megawattt hours of energy per year will be produced by this initial installation. This is enough to power 200 households in Germany and contribute to a reduction of 544 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, P&G claims.

The company has also integrated a wind turbine into its pet care plant in Coevorden , Netherlands, which it says will supply about 17 per cent of the facility’s energy consumption.

In addition, future plans include installing more solar panels into other plants in the Cologne region.

100 per cent renewable energy target

According to P&G these moves take it further towards its ultimate goal of using 100 per cent renewable energy, and its short term goal of 30 percent renewable energy before 2020.

“These investments are another example of P&G’s commitment to sustainability and our continuous drive to operate more sustainably while simultaneously reducing energy costs,”​ said Keith Harrison, P&G global product supply officer.

Harrison also said that the investments in diverse renewable energy sources also help decrease the company’s reliance on petroleum.

P&G’s targets for the use of renewable energy are part of a wider company strategy to operate more sustainably.

In a previous interview with CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com, global sustainability leader for beauty and grooming Jenny Rushmore explained that the company also has a number of reduction goals relating to energy, carbon, waste and water.

The objective is to reduce carbon dioxide, energy, water and waste by 20 percent between 2007 and 2012, she explained, which will amount to a cumulative reduction of 50 percent between 2002 and 2012, per product produced.

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