Unilever Sustainable Living Plan

Growing sustainably is the biggest challenge

In November 2010, we set out the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, committing to a ten year journey towards sustainable growth. What makes our Plan different is that it applies right across the value chain. We are taking responsibility not just for our own direct operations but for our suppliers, distributors and - crucially - for how our consumers use our brands. Underpinning the Plan are over 50 targets and in 2012 we continued to make good progress delivering the Plan’s commitments.

1 Health & hygiene

2 Improving nutrition

3 Greenhouse gases

4 Water

5 Waste

6 Sustainable sourcing

7 Better livelihoods

Improving health and well-being

We estimate that we helped 224 million people take action to improve their health and well-being.

Key

achieved
on-plan
off-plan
%of target achieved

(M) our most material targets

224 million people reached by end 2012

119 million people with Lifebuoy; 45 million with safe drinking water from Pureit; 49 million with our toothpaste brands; and 11 million through Dove Self-Esteem programmes.

Key

achieved
on-plan
off-plan
%of target achieved

(M) our most material targets

18% of our portfolio by volume met the criteria for highest nutritional standards in 2012

In 2012 the majority of our products met, or were better than, benchmarks based on national nutritional recommendations. Our commitment goes further: 18% of our portfolio by volume met the highest nutritional standards, based on globally recognised dietary guidelines.

Reduce salt levels (M)

Saturated fat:

Note: Progress on targets for highest nutritional standards; salt; saturated fats; trans fat; and kilocalories is measured January-September 2012. Progress on sugar target is measured January 2011-September 2012. In 2012 we moved to full volume-based (tonnes sold) reporting for highest nutritional standards and salt.

Reducing environmental impact

Our greenhouse gas and waste impacts per consumer use have reduced and our water impact per consumer use has remained broadly unchanged.*

Key

achieved
on-plan
off-plan
%of target achieved

(M) our most material targets

Our greenhouse gas impact per consumer use has reduced by around 6% since 2010*

Our greenhouse gas impact per consumer use has reduced.*

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from skin cleansing and hair washing (M)

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from washing clothes:

Reduce GHG from manufacturing:

Key

achieved
on-plan
off-plan
%of target achieved

(M) our most material targets

Our water impact per consumer use has remained broadly unchanged since 2010*

Our water impact per consumer use has remained broadly unchanged.*

Reduce water use in the laundry process:

Reduce water use in skin cleansing and hair washing (M)

Reducing water use in agriculture

Reduce water use in manufacturing process:

Key

achieved
on-plan
off-plan
%of target achieved

(M) our most material targets

Our waste impact per consumer use has reduced by around 7% since 2010*

Our waste impact per consumer use has reduced.*

Reduce packaging (M)

Recycle packaging:

Reduce waste from manufacturing:

99Eliminate PVC

Reducing office waste:

*Our environmental targets are expressed against a baseline of 2008 and on a 'per consumer use' basis. This means a single use, portion or serving of a product. As of April 2013, our new automated system only allows us to compare our footprint to 2010 rather than to our original 2008 baseline.

Enhancing livelihoods

We have trained around 450,000 smallholder farmers.

Key

achieved
on-plan
off-plan
%of target achieved

(M) our most material targets

36% of agricultural raw materials sustainably sourced by the end of 2012

By 2020 we will source 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably: 10% by 2010; 30% by 2012; 50% by 2015; 100% by 2020.

Palm oil:

Key

achieved
on-plan
off-plan
%of target achieved

(M) our most material targets

450,000 smallholder farmers trained; smallholders’ metric in development; 48,000 small–scale Shakti distributors by the end 2012

We have increased the number of tea farmers trained in sustainable practices to around 450,000. The next step is to develop a methodology to assess improvement in smallholder livelihoods. We have consolidated our small-scale distributors programme, reaching 48,000 entrepreneurs.