Unilever GlobalChange location
Strong corporate governance is a critical part of our approach to sustainability and an enabler of accelerated progress against our goals.
We have been integrating sustainability into our business and strategy for well over a decade. As we look to the future, we are now focusing our efforts on accelerated delivery, with greater impact, by making sustainability progress integral to business performance. In practice, this means we will be:
Our refocused sustainability agenda encompasses four key priorities: climate, nature, plastics and livelihoods – with 15 near and medium-term sustainability goals and time-bound roadmaps to guide our actions. The goals are very stretching, but they are also intentionally and, unashamedly, realistic. We have robust governance mechanisms at all levels of the business to ensure accountability for the delivery of our goals.
Beyond our four sustainability priorities, we remain fully committed to the fundamental tenets of operating as a responsible business: respecting human rights, advancing equity, diversity and inclusion, doing business with integrity and ensuring the safety of people. These are all deeply embedded across our business with ongoing Board and senior leadership oversight.
The Unilever Board has overall accountability for the management and guidance of Unilever’s risks and opportunities, including those most closely aligned to our sustainability strategy. They are supported by a number of Board Committees including the Corporate Responsibility Committee, Audit Committee and Compensation Committee.
Our CEO and Executive Board member, Fernando Fernandez, is ultimately responsible for Unilever’s sustainability agenda, guided by the Board and supported by individual Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE) members.
The ULE is responsible for driving our strategy and the Growth Action Plan, working in tandem with our Board to promote the success of the business. Sustainabilty is performance managed by the ULE in the same way as other aspects of the Growth Action Plan, using ‘Objectives and Key Results’ (OKRs) which are reviewed every quarter, alongside a quarterly review of all 15 sustainability goals. The ULE also review progress against our sustainability advocacy priorities.
They are supported by the Unilever Leadership Council – a newly formed governance group of senior leaders with global remits – who review progress against our sustainability goals and provide guidance on resource allocation.
Unilever’s Global Sustainability Team, led by our Chief Sustainability Officer, set the strategic direction of our sustainability strategy and manage sustainability matters with the Board and ULE. They are also responsible for Unilever’s sustainability advocacy and partnerships strategy, working with key stakeholders across the business to deliver this.
Sustainability experts across our business are responsible for the delivery and implementation across our four sustainability priorities – including dedicated sustainability teams in Finance, R&D, Customer Operations, Supply Chain and Business Operations who support on delivery. For more on how we are embedding sustainability see news and features which regularly showcases the people behind our sustainability priorities.
The last decade has been marked by extraordinary events – a global pandemic, a once-in-a-generation inflationary shock, wars and geopolitical divides – the impacts of which continue to be felt across households, economies and political systems. At the same time, the environmental and social challenges that endanger our planet and societies have only become more acute, and more urgent.
Our Board and ULE engage with stakeholders (PDF 14.76 MB) and use stakeholder insights to help make sense of the complex landscape of risks and opportunities. They also seek the views of independent external sustainability experts to guide our strategy, via the Unilever Sustainability Advisory Council. We are currently refreshing the focus and remit of the Council to align with our refocused sustainability priorities.
Our Unilever Sustainability Advisory Council comprises independent external specialists in social and environmental sustainability who guide the implementation and evolution of our sustainability strategy. Please see the members of our council below:
Alison is a Professor at NYU Stern School of Business and thought leader in corporate responsibility and business ethics. Her research focuses on the organisational dimension of corporate responsibility, exploring how businesses can effectively integrate ethical practices.
Bernice is a Distinguished Fellow and Senior Advisor at Chatham House, a prominent international affairs think tank based in London.
Arunabha is the founding CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), one of the world's leading climate think tanks. He is an internationally recognised public policy expert, author, columnist, and institution builder.
Marcus is a sustainability leader with over 30 years’ experience working with businesses and policy makers to create systemic change. He was previously the CEO of WRAP and Director of The Minderoo Foundation’s Plastics Initiative.
Iqbal is the Global Executive Director of J-PAL, the anti-poverty centre at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He leads the development of J-PAL’s strategic vision and worldwide operations in research, policy outreach, and training in over a dozen countries.
Marco is the convener of the Nature Positive Initiative. He was the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International Director General and Special Envoy. Before joining WWF, he was Global Director of Network and Programme and CEO of BirdLife International.
Ricken is a public entrepreneur, and founding CEO of Avaaz where he built the world’s largest civic activist movement, which has 70 million members. He has been named HuffPost’s Ultimate Gamechanger, Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Thinker & a Davos Young Global Leader.