TRAILBLAZER
Helias is more than a champion of both business and sustainability - she is a pioneer of their marriage .
A sustainability pioneer Her future was set when she watched Al Gore ’ s documentary ‘ An Inconvenient Truth ’ in 2006 . In 2011 , Helias wrote her ideal job description : a role that would bridge the gap between corporate and environment . She flew to Cincinnati and pitched then-CEO Bob McDonald , telling The Grocer , “ I told the CEO there was a huge opportunity for P & G to make sustainability an integral part of our business practices , innovation , and brand-building culture . ‘ Here is a job description ,’ I said , ‘ and by the way I want the job ’.”
Bob gave it to her and Helias became Sustainability and Digital Director for household care in Europe , the first of four sustainability portfolios she would hold .
During her first years working on the department , Helias fought to turn P & G towards a greener future . In January 2017 , the company made a splash by launching a new Head & Shoulders bottle made from 25 % recycled beach plastic at the World Economic Forum in Davos .
A milestone in her public standing , especially at home , was marked by an interview with French financial daily Les Echos that year , in which she championed the concept of Social and Environmental Responsibility . A natural fit , then , for the soon-to-be Chief Sustainability Officer . In that interview , she also became a public face of P & G ’ s digging-in behind the
Paris Accords after then-US President Donald Trump pulled the United States out .
Inspiring leadership Helias has inspired others at P & G to take charge , with current CEO David Taylor taking over the chair of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste in 2019 - the same year she became CSO .
Since then , she has overseen P & G ’ s sign-up to Amazon and Global Optimism ’ s ‘ The Climate Pledge ’ in September last year , as well as publication of the multinational ’ s ‘ Climate Transition Action Plan ’ to hold itself to science-based reduction targets ( SBTi ) in 2030 and 2040 .
The target for 2040 ? Net-zero across P & G ’ s gigantic global supply chain . For 2030 ? Carbon neutral , a 50 % drop in GHG emissions and 100 % renewable energy for its manufacturing sites .
Helias is a bold leader and has marked herself out through determined statements and actions . She told Les Echos ( in French ) in 2017 that “ At P & G , we ’ ve never done ‘ greenwashing ’. We have a culture that is both factual and scientific : we would never have entered the topic of sustainable development if we did not have scientific arguments .”
“ I think there is a passionate side that emanates from my French character … Authenticity is a primary value for me . Above all , a societal and environmental value , well beyond the simple consumption of a product .”
18 February 2022