Our biggest
challenges
Poverty, malnutrition, climate change and water scarcity: these are some of the big challenges facing the world and our business today. Find out more about how we are addressing these and other sustainability issues.
Sustainable tea
As one of the world’s biggest buyers of black tea, we care about how it is grown.
In 2007, we committed to sourcing all our tea from sustainable sources by 2015. We are working with the Rainforest Alliance to ensure that all the farms we source from are certified.
Some performance highlights
Nutrition
22 000
Food and drink products were assessed via our Nutrition Enhancement Programme.
Hygiene & well-being
120m people
Reached through Lifebuoy's hygiene education programme in India since 2002.
Greenhouse gases
39%
Reduction in CO2 from energy by our factories since 1995.
Water
63%
Reduction in water use by our factories since 1995.
Community
€91m
Invested in local communities around the world.
Employee safety
Accident rate reduced from 0.26 in 2007 to 0.21 per 100,000 hours worked in 2008.
Our Sustainability reporting
11 May 2009 : Our online Sustainable Development Report 2008 is published today with final data and commentary. The summary Sustainable Development Overview 2008 is available to download.
Our people
Sylvia Rutatina Estate Manager, Unilever Tea Tanzania
Achieving Rainforest Alliance certification for Unilever's tea brands depends on people like Sylvia.
News
October 2009: Unilever's impact on biodiversity voted 'best in class'
Unilever has come out top in a recent study of more than 30 companies, measuring their impacts and dependency on the world’s ecosystems and biodiversity.
Our world in stories
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Europe
Unilever agronomists are working to make agriculture more sustainable in the UK.
View all case studies -
North America
Unilever Canada's Go Blue campaign is encouraging consumers to cut their water consumption by 50%.
View all case studies -
South America
We have teamed up with Wal-Mart to show Brazilian consumers how to live in an environmentally friendly way.
View all case studies -
Africa
We are one of 30 companies helping the Kenyan government tackle hunger in rural areas.
View all case studies -
Asia
Project Shakti has created a livelihood for 45 000 women entrepreneurs in rural India.
View all case studies
Our brands in society
By addressing social and sustainability issues, our brands can make a real difference and create growth opportunities for our business.
