The 'uncommon collaboration' mindsets of Procter & Gamble and International Paper
The best of live interviews from GreenBiz events. This episode: Heads of sustainability departments Andy Butler and Tom Cleves on how to create actionable change, individually and together. Read More

International Paper and Procter & Gamble have had a close supplier-customer relationship for close to a century, but the corporations have gotten even closer in the last few years.
Both have strong corporate sustainability divisions that are dedicated to more than just environmental issues — for Procter & Gamble, labeled “supplier citizenship programs” and for International Paper, “global citizenship.” So when Andy Butler (P&G) and Tom Cleves (IP) met up in 2017, they realized how aligned their goals already were.
But for the two, it isn’t just about intangible ideas; it’s about action. “Uncommon collaboration is a mindset,” Butler said, but “the idea of action-oriented transparency is how we activate this mindset to drive results.” Out of their meeting, the two found the “mindset” that is needed for uncommon collaboration but also committed to developing agendas, workshops and platforms to get more suppliers to the table in order to drive real-world results in their value chains.
Watch a video of the entire discussion from GreenBiz 18 in Phoenix here.
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