CHAMPIONING HEALTH,
NUTRITION AND SUSTAINABILITY
Unilever is a global market leader in food, hygiene and personal care products as well as in most other FMCG sectors. Philip Yorke looks at the company’s exemplary commitment to sustainability and its dedication to helping to improve the quality of life for those in the world’s poorer nations.
U
nilever is one of the world’s longest established, premier blue-chip companies with more than 400 brands focused on health and well being. To put things in perspective, every day over two billion people use Unilever products to help them look good, feel good and get the most out of life. The company was founded in the early 1890s and today its product portfolio ranges from nutritionally balanced foods to ice creams, soaps, organic shampoos and everyday household care products. Among its many world-leading brands are Dove, Blue Band, Walls, Hellmann’s, Knorr, Lipton and local brands such as Pureit and Suave. In 2010 Unilever launched its own ‘Sustainable Living Plan’, which set out a range of targets designed to help the company deliver its key objective of growing its business whilst minimising its impact on the environment. The plan commits the com-
pany to a ten-year journey towards sustainable growth. What makes this plan different from others is that it applies right across the value chain. This means that it not only takes responsibility for its own direct operations but also for those of its suppliers. Thus in order to embed and instil sustainability into every stage of the lifecycle of its products, Unilever is working closely with its suppliers to support responsible approaches to agriculture as well as to all its other aspects of production and manufacturing. Furthermore, Unilever believes that innovation is the key to achieving its goals, and through cutting-edge science it is constantly enhancing its brands’ appeal by improving their nutritional properties, their taste, fragrance and functionality. Currently Unilever invests more than €1 billion every year in research and development and has established laboratories around the world,
where its scientists explore new thinking and production techniques and then apply this new expertise to Unilever products. To underscore Unilever’s success and leadership in this area, the company recently came top once again in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index which evaluates how companies perform against a wide range of sustainability-led criteria. This year Unilever led the Food Producers sector with an overall score of 81 per cent, substantially ahead of the average sector score of just 45 per cent.
Constantly improving the value chain Unilever is one of the world’s true global giants, with over 200,000 employees and facilities in more than 80 countries. In the UK alone it has annual sales of over €2.5 billion. The volume of sales in this one European marketplace alone is remarkable. For example, over 35 million cups
