P&G touches millions with philanthropy

Firm’s social initiatives focus on education, health and impact of business decisions.

KARACHI: Proctor and Gamble, one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world, claims that well over 22 million Pakistanis have benefited from its corporate social responsibility initiatives over the course of the two decades the firm has had a presence in Pakistan.

In an interview with The Express Tribune, Yassin Omer Al Attas, External Relations Director for Middle East & Pakistan at Procter & Gamble said the firm takes great pride in its engagement initiatives with the communities it has a presence in, pointing out that the firm donated close to $2 million towards the flood relief efforts last year.

Most of the programmes seem to be dedicated towards health and hygiene, with the Sehat-o-Safai programme – an initiative to teach personal hygiene to school children – having impacted 7.5 million schoolchildren, according to company officials.

Proctor and Gamble has also been involved in partnerships with several non-governmental organisations to build and finance schools in underprivileged parts of the country.

Yet P&G’s engagement seems to go beyond just its CSR initiatives and affects its business strategy as well. For instance, for the past six years, the company has been producing “Pur” – a water treatment chemical that renders most water potable – exclusively at its manufacturing facilities in Hub, Balochistan, from which it is exported around the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2011.