MDGs index
We are committed to working with governments to help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Our contribution to the Millennium Development Goals
In 2000, the United Nations (UN) set out the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight global targets for governments to achieve by 2015, ranging from halving world poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS.
While primary responsibility for delivering these goals lies with governments, business also has an important part to play.
The principal way in which we can make a contribution to the MDGs is through the products we sell and the wealth and jobs our business operations create. Unilever is one of the world’s largest food and home and personal care companies with operations in around 100 countries, and products sold in about 50 more. We make products that meet people’s needs for nutrition and hygiene and we employ around 174 000 people worldwide. Through our business activities, the most important contributions that we make are to those MDGs that address poverty and hunger alleviation, health and environmental sustainability.
We can also make a difference through our international partnerships and our local community investment programmes around the world. We believe that these contribute to all eight of the MDGs. In 2008, we contributed €91 million to community programmes focused on health, nutrition, environmental sustainability, economic development and education. Examples of these initiatives can be found in the case studies section of our site.
In the related links we provide an overview of our contribution to each of the MDGs.
