Procter & Gamble is one of the world’s top fast moving consumer goods (products that move quickly and at a low cost) companies and they currently target primary forests, like the Canadian boreal, to harvest palm oil for many of their products. So much so that The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) called out P&G for “flushing away our forests.” Similarly, Rainforest Action Network reports that P&G is complicit in destroying rainforests and the livelihoods of Indigenous communities by expanding palm oil plantations.

In response to this, in 2020 a shareholder proposal requested that Procter & Gamble evaluate how it can eliminate deforestation and primary forest degradation from its supply chains. A whopping 67% majority of the votes cast at P&G’s 2020 AGM were in favour of the proposal - the highest ever vote for a deforestation proposal, receiving twice as many shareholder votes as any previous resolution filed on the issue, per Green Century Funds. However, Procter & Gamble has failed to meaningfully investigate its role in driving deforestation and primary forest degradation.

As shareholders, we are part owners of the company, and so our concerns should be addressed. If the current board is not prepared to facilitate shareholder trust, then we need to look at the construct and determine where improvements can be made.

The Chairman is responsible for leading the Board and focusing it on strategic matters, overseeing the Group's business and setting high governance standards. Today that person is Jon Moeller who also happens to be the President and Chief Executive Officer at P&G. Prior to his current roles at P&G, Moeller spent eight years on the board of Monsanto – the former corporation responsible for producing environmentally harmful and potentially carcinogenic products – during which, Monsanto influenced and undermined scientific research to protect the company’s image and products, even at the expense of human health.

Moeller’s dual role as CEO and board chair amplifies his backsliding approach to environmental sustainability and innovation. Moreover, Moeller repeatedly refuses invitations to meet with NGOs and P&G family members to discuss environmental supply chain concerns, and instead opts to placate investors rather than meaningfully change corporate practices. In response, human rights activists and descendants from both of Procter & Gamble’s founding families protested the company’s failure to address unsustainable sourcing of materials from climate-critical forests in the Canadian boreal and Southeast Asia outside P&G’s headquarters during the 2022 AGM.

Overall, Procter & Gamble has failed to meaningfully address shareholders’ concerns, instead responding with greenwashing, misleading talking points, and cosmetic measures. Shareholders have lost confidence in the board’s ability to deliver on deforestation targets, and the company’s inaction will almost certainly lead to missed opportunities for capitalizing on marketplace shifts toward more sustainable products, in addition to furthering risks for the company.

Hence the need for an independent board chair to ensure corrective measures will be undertaken when P&G fails to meet its mandate or that of shareholders, and proactively adhere to changes in consumer and marketplace expectations.

Next AGM

We won’t know the exact date of P&G’s next AGM until the company releases its 2023 proxy statement, but based on this year’s dates we expect the 2023 AGM to be held sometime around 11th October 2023.