Water
Unilever's brands rely on water at every stage of their lifecycle. Our aim is to reduce water use wherever possible and continue to improve the efficiency of our manufacturing.
Our impacts
In our food, home and personal care products, our use of water resources is both direct and indirect. Water is used by our suppliers of agricultural raw materials for the growing of crops, in our factories as part of the manufacturing process and finally by our consumers when they use our products through activities such as washing, laundry and cooking.
Understanding the impacts of this water use is central to our approach as water stress is already a significant factor in many of our markets. Consumer habits and government action are a crucial part of the solution yet we can make the most impact through the design and innovation of products which need less water to use.
Our water footprint
Our approach
Our approach is to:
reduce water use in our manufacturing operations
work with suppliers, especially farmers, to reduce the amount of water used in crop irrigation
design products which require less water during consumer use
participate in external partnerships that help address water scarcity.
Our new vitality metric aims to measure a product's water impact, taking into account the water we add to our products and consumer use. During 2007 and 2008 we piloted the metric with our home and personal care products, enabling us to identify opportunities for improvements across the product portfolio.
Water use in manufacturing
Since 1995 we have reduced the amount of water used per tonne of production by 63% by minimising water use and maximising water recycling. During 2008 we achieved a 3% reduction in water use compared to 2007 – from 3.05 m3 to 2.97 m3 per tonne of production.
This reduction has been achieved through many initiatives. For example, our factories collect reusable water which would otherwise be wasted, such as water evaporated from fruit and vegetables during the drying process. We saved more than 1 m3 per tonne of production (from 5.27 to 4.23 m3/tonne) between 2003 and 2007 in our food manufacturing.
Water harvesting in India
Our Indian business harvests rainwater at a quarter of its factories, and plans to extend this practice to all sites. By collecting rainwater from roofs and surrounding areas, water can be returned to groundwater systems or used for non-manufacturing processes. Two-thirds of our Indian sites recycle all their processing water, once appropriately treated, for reuse in manufacturing or for on-site irrigation.
Hindustan Unilever has also been looking further than its own operations through water conservation and harvesting projects that impact on areas around their sites and aid adjacent villages. Through a series of technology innovations and new processing methods, the company has reduced groundwater consumption by over 50%, and introduced technologies that recycle effluent water after treatment.
At Hindustan Unilever's Khamgaon soap factory in Maharastra, a water catchment system channels rainwater through ditches and low earthen banks, meaning all the rainwater falling on the Khamgaon factory now accumulates in ponds on site. This helps renew groundwater reserves, which are running at critically low levels in the region.
Adjacent villages have also been helped to implement new models of watershed development, to prevent rainwater from washing away top soil, and assist with soil conservation.
These kinds of process improvement are shared through our global network.
Water savings in agriculture
Our Sustainable Agriculture Programme includes water use as one of its sustainability indicators. We are working with farmers to implement water reduction schemes such as drip irrigation.
These schemes are demonstrating real success. Growers are delivering higher yields using the same amount of water. This has been achieved through water-collection techniques such as trenches to store rainwater for later use and irrigation systems which minimise over-watering.
In Tanzania we have been conducting research with academic partners and the Tea Research Institute of Tanzania for many years to understand how yield and crop quality are influenced by the amount of water supplied to the crop and the irrigation methods used. This has enabled an irrigation system to be built and managed so that it achieves very high fuel- and water-use efficiency. The latest trials have concentrated on understanding the advantages and disadvantages of drip irrigation, a method that can achieve very high water use efficiency but at high capital cost. Trials completed in 2007 showed a 10% water saving compared to current irrigation techniques, with no loss of yield. This is equivalent to saving 70 litres of water for every kilo of black tea produced. When fully implemented on a 3 000 hectare farm, for example, it is anticipated that 700 million litres of water would be saved. Apart from conserving water and saving on energy, the system also provides an opportunity for more effective application of fertilisers.
All the water used for irrigation on our tea estates in Tanzania is harvested from within the farms during the rainy season and then stored on the farms in reservoirs and lakes for use during the dry season. Conserving the high proportion of rainforest within the Tanzanian estates (over 50% of the land area) is also vital to ensure that the catchment characteristics and local weather patterns are maintained.
We are also working to ensure that agricultural water use does not deprive local communities of water supplies.
In 2008 Unilever participated in an event hosted by Wal-Mart on water stewardship, sharing our expertise on reducing water use at all steps of a product lifecycle, with a special focus on reducing water use in farming.
In June 2009, Unilever's Sustainable Agriculture Team published a booklet describing their approach to sustainable water management in the production of agricultural raw materials. The publication covers water use and scarcity, implications for the business and how we work with growers and suppliers to use less water and protect water quality (see Downloads in the right hand column).
Water use by consumers
Our approach increasingly focuses on consumer use. Here our laundry brands are taking the lead. The most direct impact we can have is through designing products that use less water.
Innovations include Surf Excel Quick Wash in India which aims to save two buckets of water per wash. Based on assumptions about laundry habits, we estimate potential savings in the region of 14 billion litres of water a year. The brand has seen a 20% increase in sales during 2008.
Our One Rinse Comfort fabric conditioner also requires less water per wash, by eliminating the need to rinse clothes before applying the conditioner. Consumers use our products in different ways from country to country but we estimate that in Brazil, for example, this formulation helps save up to 100 litres per wash. In Vietnam, One Rinse Comfort reduces the water needed by two-thirds and sales rose by nearly 30% in 2008.
Our Sunlight concentrated hand dishwashing liquid contains half the water of the standard format and its smaller, lighter bottle means fewer packaging and transport impacts. Concentrated liquids had disappointed consumers and customers in the past, so there were concerns about relaunching this formulation. However in recent years the consumer and customer landscape has changed significantly and environmental issues are rising up the agenda. In addition to the environmental benefits we were able to offer new innovations to further differentiate our product. For example, Sunlight concentrated liquid turns into a gel on contact with water, staying on the sponge longer to deliver better degreasing.
Affordability
In developing countries, water scarcity is a growing concern. As a result, it is often costly for consumers to purchase water, which has an impact on the affordability of using our products. Our design efforts will increasingly take these broader costs into account.
Consumer communication
We can also have a powerful influence through our communication with consumers. Unilever Canada launched a public education campaign – Go Blue – that has reached millions of people through television and print advertisements as well as displays in Wal-Mart stores. The campaign raises awareness of water conservation and encourages people to reduce water use by 50% in their homes and gardens.
Stakeholder view: "Go Blue's focus on practical water saving encourages the public to contribute to better water stewardship. The campaign has been of huge value to water stewardship groups as Unilever's outstanding marketing and communications expertise has enabled them to convey their message to a very broad audience." Bob Sandford Chair, Canadian Partnership Initiative United Nations Water for Life Decade |
Water quality
Our commitment to water sustainability extends to the quality of water once products have been used and disposed of by consumers. This is reviewed by our Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre in line with our policies on ingredients and materials in products.
Understanding how consumers use water
We have been working with the Royal Society of Chemistry to understand the barriers and triggers to sustainable water use in South Africa. Called Project Splash, the study has been investigating the use of water in and around a South African township. The aim is to provide insights into consumer lives and behaviour that can help us direct our research and development resources.
Working with others
In 2007, we joined the CEO Water Mandate, which brings together companies, leading campaigning organisations, governments and the United Nations. During 2008, a reporting framework was agreed, following detailed stakeholder engagement. The framework asks companies to disclose their water sustainability approach, including water use in the supply chain, in manufacturing, in consumer use and watershed management.
In December 2008 Unilever helped to establish the Water Footprint Network, a multi-stakeholder group which aims to create more awareness about water sustainability and share best practice. The initiative brings together NGOs such as the WWF, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the World Bank with companies such as Nestlé and Coca-Cola.
External opinion
Unilever was named industry leader from a group of 15 major food and beverage companies in a recent analysis of companies' approach to water consumption. The study was carried out by the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility, a membership organisation representing Christian faith groups, ethical investors and NGOs. The analysis was based on companies' policies on reducing water consumption, mechanisms in place to implement their policies, actual performance and public reporting. Unilever achieved the highest score based on our performance in all these areas.
