Johnson & Johnson - Index

Johnson & Johnson - report - Index

PROFILES IN COMMITMENT
Advancing
Product Stewardship
As the science grows stronger, the implications of Earth’s growing population
are becoming more clear. Natural resources are diminishing and social
systems and cultures are stressed. There is growing consumer awareness
and interest in sustainability and corporate responsibility. New laws are
being proposed and enacted around the world that are putting a
focus on raw material sourcing, product ingredients, packaging and other aspects of
our business that are well beyond the manufacturing process alone. We sat down
with Frank Konings, Vice President, Global Markets R&D for our Consumer Products
business segment to discuss the increasingly important role of product stewardship.
Q:
Frank, what does product stewardship mean
for a consumer products business?
KONINGS: Product stewardship means taking a product-centered
approach to product safety, environmental protection and
social responsibility. As a manufacturer, we have a long history
of protecting the environment during production by reducing
waste and controlling emissions — activities “within our
fenceline”. Product stewardship means we acknowledge our
expanded responsibility to reduce the environmental impacts
of our products “outside the fenceline” such as the carbon
footprint of transporting the product and the energy that is
consumed by making the ingredients at our suppliers. It also
means we are considering the social impacts of producing and
selling our products, such as labor conditions where we source
our raw materials and how society is impacted by our products.
Q:
Consumers are one of your obvious stakeholders.
Are there others you engage with?
KONINGS: All of our products are designed with the consumer
in mind. Ultimately, the consumer makes the choice between
competing products. Unlike the patient with a prescription for
a particular drug, the people who buy freely available products
like baby lotions and adhesive bandages have a wide range of
choices and the option, at any time, to choose a product from
a company they might perceive as more ethical or responsible.
We operate customer care centers to receive consumer
feedback and we also use focus groups and panels to listen
to this primary stakeholder.
The Consumer Group of Companies also engages with
retailers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). As two
of our large retailers, Wal-Mart and Tesco, have adopted their
Frank Konings
Vice President
Global Markets R&D
Consumer Products
own sustainability goals, we have in effect become partners
with them to improve the environmental profile of our
products. On the NGO front, there have been a number of
movements, including those expressing concerns about the
use of laboratory animals, the sourcing of paper products
and the risks of some preservatives. We engage with these
groups and industry peers to understand the concerns,
participate in the scientific debate behind the concerns and
if need be, weigh in on emerging regulations.
It seems consumer products are less regulated
Q: than pharmaceuticals and medical devices,
yet more sensitive to the opinion of your customers.
Do you agree? What do you do to manage that?
KONINGS: I do agree. If there is public sensitivity about our
ingredients for example, stores could refuse to stock and sell
our products, which could mean lost revenue, even if the
14 JOHNSON & JOHNSON 2007 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT