The FINANCIAL -- The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) on March 15 announced the U.S. expansion of Future Friendly, an environmental responsibility and consumer education platform it first introduced at the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative.

The multi-brand initiative brings together the power of trusted brands like Tide, Pampers, PUR, Duracell and others for a simple mission: to help mainstream consumers save water, waste and energy at home. A full media platform, including an extensive social networking and consumer engagement component, will be deployed starting the week of March 29, 2010 to reach or exceed P&G's original pledge of providing conservation education to at least 50 million U.S. households by the end of 2010. More than 15,000 retail locations will participate in the initial phase of Future Friendly, P&G reported.

The Future Friendly platform will show consumers how to use popular P&G products to achieve savings in water, waste and energy. For example, nearly 80% of the energy used in the typical load of laundry is in heating water at the consumer's home. By washing in cold water with a detergent formulated for that application - like Tide Coldwater - consumers can conserve this energy, and also help reduce their utility bills. Tide Coldwater products will carry a Future Friendly seal to indicate their energy-savings capabilities.

Future Friendly-labeled products will begin to appear on retailer shelves in early April. The U.S. launch of the initiative will be supported by a comprehensive marketing and public relations program. A television campaign will begin airing nationally the week of March 29, 2010. P&G's April edition of its popular brandSaver newspaper supplement, delivered to more than 50 million households, will feature information about and coupons for Future Friendly products. The campaign will be further supplemented by a full suite of digital and social media engagement initiatives, a P&G employee communications campaign, signature event sponsorships and other programs in partnership with recognized experts in conservation education.

"With Future Friendly, we're trying to educate 'mainstream' consumers on how to conserve natural resources in their homes," said Melanie Healey, P&G Group President, North America. "These consumers don't want any perceived trade-offs in performance and price. Instead, they want to purchase the brands they already know and trust and understand how using these products, and adopting other simple behavior changes within their homes, can help them lower their impact on the environment."

"Conserving natural resources for future generations is a shared responsibility and a critical component of our purpose-driven focus on touching and improving the lives of our consumers," Healey said. "Consumers use our products billions of times every day. Future Friendly will help us turn these moments into opportunities to save environmental resources; help consumers get even more value out of the same products they know and trust; and, open new doors for innovative products and solutions that improve their lives."

Lack of Information Preventing One in Three from Pursuing Environmentally-Friendly Lifestyles

As part of its national launch of Future Friendly, P&G released a new national poll on consumer consumption attitudes and behaviors. Findings from the Ipsos Public Affairs "Consumer Conservation Survey" show continued interest among most consumers to do more to preserve the environment, provided they can tap into the economic benefits of environmentally-friendly products. Results include:

Nearly three in four (74 percent) report they would switch to another brand if it helped them conserve resources without having to pay more and a similar amount (69 percent) report they would recommend the product to others.

More than a third (37 percent) cite the lack of enough information about what to do as the top reason preventing people from leading a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

A majority (58 percent) would be at least very likely to change the way they do daily chores if it helped them reduce waste, save energy and save water in their homes.

Saving money is the most frequently mentioned reason for why consumers would take measures to reduce waste, save energy and save water in their home (64 percent) followed closely by preserving resources for future generations (56 percent).

"We see a growing environmental consciousness among mainstream consumers," said Maurice Coffey, Marketing Director, Future Friendly. "Through this newly expanded brand platform we will help remove the confusion and show consumers how simple choices can lead to meaningful results."

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