Keeping sustainability at the heart of Unilever

We believe Unilever can only continue to thrive if we conduct our business in a sustainable manner.

Integrating social, economic and environmental considerations therefore sits at the heart of many of our brand strategies. A great demonstration of this was the decision to source all of our tea from sustainable, ethical sources. To support this significant change, we asked the Rainforest Alliance to start auditing our tea suppliers with immediate effect. The aim is to have all Lipton Yellow Label and PG Tips tea bags sold in Western Europe certified by 2010 and all Lipton tea bags sold globally by 2015.

We also set the ambitious target of a further 25% reduction in the business’s CO₂ emissions from energy sources used in production by 2012. And we continued to develop our partnerships with key retail customers, sharing our sustainability expertise to support them in achieving their goals. Wal-Mart responded by naming us 2007 Supplier of the Year for Sustainable Engagement.

Read the rest of my review - The year ahead

Shakti

Reaching the world’s newest consumers

One in eight people on the planet live in an Indian village. Hindustan Unilever’s Shakti Entrepreneur Programme helps women in rural India set up small businesses as direct-to-consumer retailers. The scheme equips women with business skills and a way out of poverty as well as creating a crucial new distribution channel for Unilever products in the large and fast-growing global market of low-spending consumers. By 2010 the Shakti network aims to have reached 600 million consumers.

Keeping sustainability at the heart of Unilever

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Shakti

Reaching the world’s newest consumers