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SPECIAL INTERVIEW: Elly Mustrianita Director of Corporate Communication PZ Cussons Indonesia

The issue of sustainability has become a significant concern internationally, including in Indonesia, in recent years. The most pressing issues include extreme climate change, risks of biodiversity extinction, social and gender disparities, and challenges in creating diversity and inclusiveness. This is a critical challenge for organizations, governments, and industries in Indonesia.

PZ Cussons, a multinational Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company with various leading brands in three core categories: Hygiene, Baby, and Beauty, is committed to implementing Sustainability as a foundation in all its activities. This begins with the awareness that sustainable growth must be accompanied by the power to create positive change. In close collaboration with a team of employees, communities, and all partners, PZ Cussons is committed to implementing Sustainability programs by applicable environmental standards.

Elly Mustrianita, Director of Corporate Communications, PZ Cussons Indonesia, who was present as one of the panelists for session 2 at the IABC Mid-Year Conference themed “Public Relations Campaign to Support Sustainability and Impact Initiatives” revealed, “PZ Cussons is headquartered in Manchester, UK, present at world for more than 130 years, and has been operating in Indonesia for more than 35 years by presenting lovely brands such as Cussons Baby, Cussons Kids, Imperial Leather, Original Source and Carex. PZ Cussons commitment to Sustainability and the well-being of consumers is implemented and pursued in a real way in running the business by PZ Cussons purpose “For Everyone, For Life, For Good”.

In her presentation, Elly said that Sustainability had become the DNA of PZ Cussons and explained the established sustainability framework.

“The sustainability framework from PZ Cussons is For Everyone, which is how we can make products that have positive impact to the employees, the community, and everyone who uses our products. For Life, where we promote activities that benefit the environment, and For Good, how we do business that continues to grow in the future. We are focused on managing, monitoring, and enhancing our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts to deliver better outcomes for everyone.” said Elly.

In implementing Sustainability, PZ Cussons focuses on 5 areas, these are water pollution, earth and oceans, deforestation, equality and fairness, and community impact. “PZ Cussons seeks to develop and provide maximum impact in these areas,” said Elly. The target of this effort is to achieve B Corp certification by 2026. “We are on our way to achieving B Corp Certified by 2026.” she added.

In community activities, PZ Cussons launched the “Call to Action” program, which involves collaborating with the community to take real action and positively impact the three main pillars, these are education, hygiene, and plastic waste.

Elly revealed, “Starting from upstream to downstream business processes, product innovation, especially by reducing the use of plastic, consumer services that ensure the safety and comfort of hygienic products for family, and inviting community involvement through education, outreach, and community assistance, we invite and participate in building clean and healthy living habits, as well as preserving the environment, including through reducing the use of plastic and managing waste segregation wisely.”

In education, PZ Cussons actively supports early childhood by providing support to ensure children can develop their creativity and supports government programs so that children can grow healthy and creative and maintain their hygiene. This is manifested in real action through the “Back to School” program, which aims to empower children regarding personal hygiene after the Covid-19 pandemic and education about plastic waste management.

“We partnering with the Education Authorities and Bank DKI to support 12,500 children and ensure they keep the body hygiene when back to school,” said Elly.

Another program implemented by PZ Cussons is “Cussons Bintang Kecil” which has been active for 11 consecutive years to support the growth and development of Indonesian children’s creativity. “As a corporate initiative, Cussons Bintang Kecil is committed to providing ongoing support to Indonesian children as a platform to develop their creative potential.” explained Elly. Elly continued, “This program involves various activities and initiatives aimed at facilitating children’s creative expression, is one of the activities with the biggest prizes from the similar brands.

Cussons Bintang Kecil has launched various activation, and other creative activity to encourage children’s participation and provide a platform to explore their talents and interests. In a supportive environment, children can develop their creativity, self-confidence and support their development growth.

Regarding hygiene, PZ Cussons prioritizes hand and body hygiene support. “We are committed to raising awareness about the importance of hand hygiene and providing the necessary resources to ensure good hand hygiene practices among the public.” said Elly.

“PZ Cussons is one of the partners from the Ministry of Health according to SK KPS STBM concerning public-private partnerships for community-based total sanitation and PZ Cussons is in charge of supply creation in regards to providing ideas in supporting hygiene in Indonesia.” Elly continued.

Through this initiative, PZ Cussons hopes to improve hygiene and prevent the spread of disease.

In addition, PZ Cussons has partnered to manage plastic waste for the community. “We work with the right partners to carry out plastic management.” said Elly.

For awareness of plastic waste, PZ Cussons seeks to make a positive impact in education, hygiene, and plastic waste management, to build a society that is more aware of sustainability issues and plays an active role in protecting the environment and health.

Achieving sustainability has certainly been a long journey for PZ Cussons. “As in our booth, we poured our Sustainability Journey Wall using an initiative called “Small Step, Big Impact, small step for a better future”. Even though the steps are small, they will produce good results in the future,” explained Elly.

Elly continued, “One of the highlights is the PZ Cussons program to support the Mului forest in rural of East Kalimantan, which takes up to 2 days to get there. This forest received Kalpataru Award in 2022 from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK).” because of its role in preserving the environment.

PZ Cussons efforts to carry out sustainability efforts have yielded results, one of which is the launched of Cussons Baby Wet Wipes Pure and Gentle, which is the first baby wet wipes product in Indonesia to receive an eco-label certificate from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

“Cussons Baby Wet Wipes Pure and Gentle is the first baby products to receive eco-label certification from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. This product is sustainable and can be decomposed naturally because it uses biodegradable technology, and is safe for use by babies and adults,” explained Elly.

By introducing this product, PZ Cussons provides an environmentally friendly solution for consumers with babies & kids. The ecolabel certificate from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry shows that Cussons Baby Wet Wipes products meet environmental standards regarding raw materials used, efficient use of energy, good waste management, and minimizing environmental impact.

“Hopefully, these efforts can convince stakeholders that Indonesia is committed to presenting sustainable products.” said Elly.

By presenting environmentally friendly baby products, PZ Cussons continues to show its dedication to creating products that are not only safe and of good quality for babies and families, but also pay attention to environmental sustainability.