Advisory: Activists to rally at Procter & Gamble headquarters during annual meeting

12-1 p.m. ET, Tuesday, October 12: Caribou dance, tree stump stunt, poetry draw attention to company’s supply chain concerns 

CINCINNATI, OHIO — Activists with environmental advocacy organizations Stand.earth and Rainforest Action Network will rally outside Procter & Gamble’s headquarters from 12-1 p.m. on Tuesday, October 12, 2021, in Cincinnati, Ohio, during the annual meeting of the world’s largest consumer goods company, which is being held virtually this year.

The rally comes two weeks after a bombshell CBS News report on how dozens of Procter & Gamble heirs are calling out the company for its climate impact, and pushing it to change how some of its products are made. The rally will include activists dressed in caribou costumes performing a dance and die-in, a stunt with tree stumps, as well as a mobile billboard, banners, speakers, poetry, and music.

The rally will also draw attention to the recent campaign calling on shareholders to vote against key board member Angela Braly at the annual meeting, for her role in failing to address the company’s forest degradation and human rights issues in its supply chains. Braly’s effectiveness in her role as chair of P&G’s committee on social responsibility issues is in question in large part due to her dual role on climate denier ExxonMobil’s board.

WHO: Activists with environmental advocacy organizations Stand.earth and Rainforest Action Network. Spokespeople will be available onsite to speak about the rally, and offsite to speak about the campaign calling on shareholders to vote against P&G board member Angela Braly. Spokespeople include:

• Onsite: Jen Mendoza, Forest Campaigner, Stand.earth, and Maggie Martin, Senior Forest Campaigner, Rainforest Action Network
• Offsite: Tyson Miller, Forest Program Director, Stand.earth, and Shelley Vinyard, Boreal Corporate Campaign Manager, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

WHEN: 12-1 p.m. ET Tuesday, October 12, 2021

WHERE: Procter & Gamble headquarters, 1 Procter & Gamble Plaza, Cincinnati, Ohio

WHAT: Environmental activists have several activities planned, including:

• Activists dressed in caribou costumes performing a dance and die-in to showcase how Procter & Gamble’s wood pulp sourcing practices are responsible for destroying endangered caribou (reindeer) habitat in Canada
• A stunt with tree stumps to symbolize Procter & Gamble’s role in the clearcutting of primary forests in Canada, which are important in the fight against climate change
• A mobile billboard traveling around downtown Cincinnati
• Banners, speakers, poetry, music, and more

PHOTOS & VIDEO: Photos and video of the activities will be posted throughout the day on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1y9Hw9-y3w4qUjcDpMhoCIgKl48FwIS–?usp=sharing. In addition, a livestream from the event will be posted on Stand.earth’s Facebook page.

WHY: Environmental advocacy groups including Stand.earth, Environment America, Rainforest Action Network, Friends of the Earth, and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) have been campaigning for more than two years against Procter & Gamble over its poor pulp and palm oil sourcing practices to make products like Charmin toilet paper and Head & Shoulders shampoo.

In October 2020, P&G faced an investor rebellion at its annual meeting when two-thirds of shareholders passed a proposal on the company’s forest sourcing and impacts — the first time in the company’s history. In March 2021, P&G outlined its plans to investors to address issues in its supply chains for palm oil and pulp, but that announcement was met with disappointment by advocacy groups for failing to adequately address the financial threats of deforestation and forest degradation in its supply chains.

Over the past two years, advocacy groups have released several scorecards, including the Issue with Tissue and Keep Forests Standing scorecard flunking Charmin and other P&G brands; revealed how actions by P&G’s pulp suppliers in Canada do not meet their sustainability claims; issued an investor risk alert warning investors against the company; published an investigative report showing how the company is tied to human rights abuses and forest destruction; revealed how P&G is sourcing wood from suppliers degrading Canada’s forests; created a “blind wipe” video spoofing Charmin over its softness claims; held a protest outside Procter & Gamble’s shareholder meetingfeaturing a chainsaw-wielding bear; got Santa arrested for delivering coal to Procter & Gamble’s headquarters; and more. 

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Media contact: Virginia Cleaveland, Communications Manager, media@stand.earth, +1 510 858 9902 (Pacific Time)