Changing dishwashing habits can help save more than 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 in Europe

June 05, 2023 at 06:30 AM EDT

Fairy innovation plan sets out to help reduce people’s dishwashing carbon footprint through improved performance in cooler water & shorter cycles.

Fairy releases its new LCA findings with innovations designed to help consumers reduce their carbon footprint whilst dishwashing.
Vision is supported by pan-European campaigns encouraging consumers to ‘Wash Cooler’ at the sink and ‘Switch to Short’ from normal dishwashing cycles to help save energy and reduce dishwashing’s carbon footprint by up to 60% and 33%**, respectively.
Study reveals that changing dishwashing habits in just some European markets could already help to save more than 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year***

Long known as a brand that offers value to families, Fairy’s innovation will enable the brand to evolve this incentive to find greater value in the dish-care category: saving energy, reducing the cost of energy bills in the homes of families across Europe, and, importantly, helping consumers reduce their carbon footprint whilst dishwashing. A vision with the potential to cut dishwashing’s carbon footprint by up to 60% (when washing-up) and 33%** a year (using a dishwasher).

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230605005049/en/

Fairy’s product innovation and continued sustainability focus sits alongside the latest findings of the products’ LCA results (Graphic: Business Wire)

Fairy’s product innovation and continued sustainability focus sits alongside the latest findings of the products’ LCA results. Research verified by independent parties to establish the environmental impact of Fairy’s hand and dishwasher products across their lifecycle.

Results found the majority of the carbon footprint of dishwashing - both by hand and in a machine - is related to heating of the water and additional energy needed to run an automatic dishwasher cycle in the consumer’s kitchen. On average, these processes can cause up to 93% of hand dishwashing’s carbon footprint and 72% of the carbon footprint when using a machine**.

In line with these findings, Fairy encourages consumers to wash cooler and switch from normal to short cycles. The latest Fairy formulas are designed with a Fast Activating Cleaning System for faster action in short cycles and to work quickly even in cooler water temperatures at the sink. Hence, cutting the carbon footprint of dishwashing by reducing the energy used to heat water. With Fairy specially designed to offer a brilliant clean even in these more challenging cleaning conditions, these campaigns set to demonstrate the sustained cleaning power of Fairy to inspire a switch to more sustainable dishwashing habits that can also help users save.

Oya Ongor, Senior Vice President, Procter & Gamble Home Care brands, Europe, comments: “As staple products in homes across Europe, we know we have a responsibility to help families. Our research continues to find that families need a product they can trust - if it doesn’t work in sustainable conditions, they’ll stick to the behaviors they know will get the job done, and they’ve too often been let down by poor performance. That’s why we design products that are made to help consumer save energy, with products delivering impeccable cleaning results in challenging energy efficient conditions.

Our sustainability journey doesn’t stop there, of course. We also continue to innovate across our packaging, manufacturing, production and supply chains, as part of our efforts to evaluate and improve our overall LCA, contributing to P&G’s 2030 sustainability targets. At Fairy, we are proud to work with external expert partners to support our vision, for example, our partnership with Energy Saving Trust to verify UK energy saving potential through changing dishwashing habits”.

About Fairy LCA

**based on Simplified breakdown of ISO certified LCA, of 10 selected European countries, 2023. Reduction of the carbon footprint when moving to 23C. Simplified breakdown pending ISO certified LCA, 10 European & Middle Eastern Countries, 2023. Excluding pre-rinse. Short cycle defined as ≤ 55min. Reduction of the carbon footprint when moving from auto/ normal to short cycle.

***Simplified breakdown of ISO certified LCA based on 6 selected European countries, 2023. Excluding pre-rinse.

About Energy Saving Trust

Energy Saving Trust is an independent organisation – working to address the climate emergency. A respected and trusted voice on energy efficiency and clean energy solutions, it is working towards a smart, decarbonised, decentralised energy system. www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at https://www.pg.com/news.