Proctor and Gamble receives EPA Children’s Environmental Health Excellence Award

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently honored Proctor & Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio, for its outstanding leadership in protecting children from environmental risks.

The company accepted a 2007 Children’s Environmental Health Excellence Award at a ceremony in conjunction with the Children’s Environmental Health Workshop in Washington D.C. last week. P&G’s award is for its international work to ensure clean drinking water for children by providing PUR water purifiers to help families treat contaminated drinking water.

Developed in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the product treats drinking water so that it meets World Health Organization standards. More than 70 million PUR packets have been provided to more than 30 countries under the P&G program called “Live, Learn and Thrive.” That equals 700 million liters of safe drinking water that prevented an estimated 29 million days of diarrhea and saved more than 3,800 lives.

P&G is one of 10 Children’s Health Excellence Award winners selected through an annual competition. The company plans to step up its program in the next five years.

EPA plays a major role in protecting infants and children, who are more susceptible than adults to some environmental hazards because their nervous, immune, digestive and other systems are still developing.

The Children’s Environmental Health Awards are designed to recognize ongoing and sustainable dedication to and notable leadership in, protecting children from environmental health risks at the local, regional, national and international level. There were 10 winners in 2007, seven in the health care provider category, one for schools, one for corporate leadership, and one for research.