Our vision

Unilever products touch the lives of over 2 billion people every day – whether that's
through feeling great because they've got shiny hair and a brilliant smile, keeping their
homes fresh and clean, or by enjoying a great cup of tea, satisfying meal or healthy
snack.

A clear direction
The four pillars of our vision set out the long term direction for the company – where we
want to go and how we are going to get there:

 We work to create a better future every day

 We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and
services that are good for them and good for others.
 We will inspire people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a big
difference for the world.
 We will develop new ways of doing business with the aim of doubling the size of
our company while reducing our environmental impact.
We've always believed in the power of our brands to improve the quality of people’s
lives and in doing the right thing. As our business grows, so do our responsibilities. We
recognise that global challenges such as climate change concern us all. Considering
the wider impact of our actions is embedded in our values and is a fundamental part of
who we are.

http://www.unilevervn.com/aboutus/ourmission/?WT.GNAV=Our_vision

Unilever unveils plan to decouple business growth from environmental impact

15/11/2010 : Global consumer goods company Unilever today announced plans to
decouple future growth from environmental impact.
Global firm announces plans to:

 halve the environmental footprint of its products

 help 1 billion people improve their health and wellbeing
 source 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably
At the launch of Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan, announced simultaneously in
London, Rotterdam, New Delhi and New York, CEO Paul Polman explained: “We have
ambitious plans to grow the company. But growth at any price is not viable. We have to
develop new ways of doing business which will ensure that our growth does not come at
the expense of the world’s diminishing natural resources.”
 He also announced plans to help over 1 billion people take action to improve their
health and wellbeing, mostly in developing countries, over the next 10 years.

The Sustainable Living Plan sets out over 50 social, economic and environmental
targets. It will see Unilever, whose global brands include Dove, Omo, Knorr and Lipton,
halve the greenhouse gas emissions, water and waste used not just by the company in
its direct operations, but also by its suppliers and consumers.

Over two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions and half the water used in Unilever
products’ lifecycle come from consumer use, so this is a major commitment on an
unprecedented scale.

“People tell us they want to reduce their environmental impact but find it hard to change
their behaviour and don’t know how they can make a difference,” explained Paul
Polman.

“By halving the total carbon, water and waste impact of our products, primarily through
innovation in the way we source, make and package them, we can help people make a
small difference every time they use them. As our products are used 2 billion times a
day in nearly every country in the world, our consumers’ small actions add up to make a
big difference.”

Other key goals Unilever plans to achieve by or before 2020 include:

 sourcing 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably including, by 2015,

100% sustainable palm oil;
 changing the hygiene habits of 1 billion people in Asia, Africa and Latin America
so that they wash their hands with Lifebuoy soap at key times during the day - helping
to reduce diarrhoeal disease, the world’s second biggest cause of infant mortality;
 making safe drinking water available to half a billion people by extending sales of
its low-cost in-home water purifier, Pureit, from India to other countries;
 improving livelihoods in developing countries by working with Oxfam, Rainforest
Alliance and others to link over 500,000 smallholder farmers and small-scale distributors
into its supply chain.
Commenting that Unilever wants to be sustainable ‘in every sense of the word’, Paul
Polman said:

“There are billions of people who want the improvements to their health and wellbeing
that everyday products like ours provide and who want to live sustainably. Our aim is to
help people in developing countries improve their quality of life without a big increase in
their environmental impacts, and to help those in developed markets maintain a good
standard of living while reducing theirs.”

Paul Polman sees no conflict between Unilever achieving its sustainability goals and
growing its business. “We are already finding that tackling sustainability challenges
provides new opportunities for sustainable growth: it creates preference for our brands,
builds business with our retail customers, drives our innovation, grows our markets and,
in many cases, generates cost savings.”
Polman emphasised that Unilever did not have all the answers and that the company
would need to work in partnership with customers, suppliers, governments and NGOs if
it was to achieve its goals

http://videos.unilever.com/mediacentre/pressreleases/2010/Unileverunveilsplantodecou
plebusinessgrowthfromenvironmentalimpact.aspx

THE PLAN
SMALL ACTIONS, BIG DIFFERENCE

We have ambitious plans to grow our company, creating jobs and income for all whose
livelihoods are linked to our success – employees, suppliers, customers, investors, and
thousands of farmers around the world. But growth at any cost is not viable. We want to
be a sustainable business in every sense of the word. So we have developed a plan –
the “Unilever Sustainable Living Plan” – that will enable billions of people to increase
their quality of life – without increasing their environmental impact.

The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan will result in three significant outcomes by 2020:
 Help more than a billion people improve their health and well-being
 Halve the environmental impact of our products
 Enhance the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in our supply chain
http://www.sustainable-living.unilever.com/the-plan/

Values
We aim to be a trusted corporate citizen wherever we operate in the world, respected
for the values and standards by which we behave.

Our shared values

We have a set of shared values. Our values guide the way in which we do business and
influence the way we think and act. It is by putting these shared values into everyday
working practice that we can operate successfully as a company.

Our values are expressed in our Corporate Purpose. Our Code of Business Principles
guides how we live them out on a day-to-day basis. Unilever’s Supplier code sets out
what we expect from our suppliers. Our Sustainable Agriculture Code sets out what we
expect from our suppliers of agricultural produce.
Corporate Purpose
We first articulated our Corporate Purpose in 1996. Articulating our Corporate Purpose
did not invent something new but made clear what we believe is the essence of our
company. It describes what Unilever aspires to be as well as expressing our values and
beliefs. Our Corporate Purpose describes the factors that we believe will contribute to
our long-term success. They also underpin our commitment to meet these needs in a
sustainable way.

Code of Business Principles

Our Corporate Purpose says that for us to succeed requires: "the highest standards of
corporate behaviour towards everyone we work with, the communities we touch and the
environment on which we have an impact".

Our Code of Business Principles sets the framework of standards within which we work.
The Code is supported by additional worldwide operational standards on issues such as
employee and product safety.

We regularly review the Code to ensure it meets the needs of today's business
environment. Our latest revision was in 2001 and the updated Code was rolled out
across our business in 2002. The Code is a short document, written in clear, simple
language, stating overall principles. It is designed to be easy to read and understand for
all our employees. This is because we believe the Code must have practical value in
our day-to-day business. We expect every Unilever employee to follow its principles in
spirit as well as to the letter.

Monitoring our code

A code is of no practical use unless it is part of an active process of compliance,
monitoring and reporting. The Board of Unilever is responsible for this process, with
day-to-day responsibility lying with our senior management around the world.

The Code is translated into nearly 50 languages and is communicated to all employees.
We have recently updated our internal management commentary document
accompanying the Code in the light of updates to our approach to human rights.
See Respecting rights for more information.
As part of our worldwide positive assurance process, each year our company chairmen
give a written assurance that their business is in compliance with the Code. The Board
of Unilever reviews these responses. Internal audit is used to provide reassurance that
the process is working satisfactorily.

Any breaches of the Code must be reported in accordance with procedures set by the
Group Secretary of Unilever. Our Board will not criticise management for any loss of
business resulting from adherence to our Code.

We expect and encourage employees to bring to our attention any breach of the Code
and no employee will suffer as a consequence of reporting a breach. Since 2004, all
employees worldwide have had access to a toll-free 24-hour ethics telephone hotline.
The hotline enables employees to raise any concerns in complete confidence, and
anonymously if they wish.

Our values & our business partners

We rely on a huge network of business partners around the world. We seek to establish
mutually beneficial relationships with them and expect our suppliers to work in a way
that is consistent with our own values and principles. Unilever’s Supplier Code draws on
our Code of Business Principles to set out eleven clear standards we expect our
suppliers to meet. Like our Code of Business Principles, Unilever’s Supplier Code is
accompanied by a positive assurance process. Increasingly, our suppliers of agricultural
produce are being assessed against our Sustainable Agriculture Code, which was
published in April 2010.

http://www.unilever.com/sustainability/strategy/values/

Vision & strategy

In November 2009 we launched a new vision to double the size of our business while
reducing our overall environmental impact across our entire value chain. In November
2010 we launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan.

A new vision
Our new vision recognises that the world is changing. Populations are growing. Rising
incomes around the world continue to fuel growth in demand for consumer products.
Products like ours rely on an increasingly constrained set of natural resources, whether
it is fuel or other raw materials. At the same time, climate change is not just a problem
for the planet, it represents a huge threat to economic and social stability.

We know that if we are to achieve our growth objectives we must reduce the total
environmental impacts of the business. Our commitment covers not just our factories
and offices but also the environmental impacts associated with sourcing our raw
materials, through to how consumers use and dispose of our products.
Our vision
We work to create a better future every day.

We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services
that are good for them and good for others.

We will inspire people to take small, everyday actions that can add up to a big
difference for the world.

We will develop new ways of doing business with the aim of doubling the size of our
company while reducing our environmental impact.

We fully recognise that we will need to develop a new model for business growth. We
are embarking on a long-term programme of work with our employees, suppliers,
customers and other partners to realise this goal.

With our portfolio of strong brands, presence in emerging markets and long-standing
commitment to shared value creation, we believe we are well placed to deliver on this
ambition.

Our sustainability journey

More than 100 years ago, our founders not only created some of the world's first
consumer brands, they also built a business with strong values. We have continued to
update our vision as the world has changed.

Our brand imprint process

In the 1990s we formally integrated sustainability factors into our strategy. Then, in
2005, we started to embed this agenda into our product brands using a process called
Brand Imprint. Since then, Brand Imprints have been completed across all our product
categories. Social and environmental considerations are now integrated into the
innovation and development plans of our major brands.
 At the same time, we are also evolving our approach to corporate branding. We are
starting to consider how we make Unilever's corporate commitments and activities more
visible and relevant to our consumers. With individual product brands taking a stronger
stance on social and environmental issues, consumers will look at the corporate brand
for its values and approach. Product brands can only communicate effectively and
credibly on these issues if they have a firm foundation in the company's overall
approach and commitment. This led to the development of our new vision.

Engaging consumers
Our research shows consumers not only want to be reassured that the products they
buy are ethically and sustainably produced; they also want to choose brands that are
good for them and good for others.

However, they also told us they feel powerless to make a difference: the scale of the
challenges is too great and their individual actions are too small.

We believe we are well placed to help people understand how their brand choices and
small actions, when added to those of others, can make a big difference across the
world.

For example, Unilever's detergent brands are used in 125 billion washes a year. That is
the equivalent of 14 million washes every hour. Every time a Unilever consumer does
the laundry at a lower temperature or with a full load, the reductions in energy, CO 2 and
water are cumulatively very large.
With consumer use accounting for around 70% of our greenhouse gas footprint,
engaging consumers through initiatives such as the Cleaner Planet Plan will be key to
achieving our vision.

Assessing impacts across the value chain

Our commitment to reduced environmental impact extends right across our value chain
– ie, from the sourcing of raw materials through our own production and distribution to
consumer use and eventual disposal of residual packaging.

In 2008 we developed a set of metrics for our four priority environmental impact areas
across this value chain:

 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

 water
 waste
 sustainable sourcing.
 These metrics are designed to measure the impacts of our products when used by
consumers, such as grams of greenhouse gas per single usage occasion. During 2009
around 1 500 products were assessed to allow us to understand their water, waste and
GHG impacts in 14 of our largest markets.

In 2009 we also started to develop a set of metrics covering social impacts. For those of
our brands with social missions, the metrics seek to measure the benefits they bring to
society. In 2010, Lifebuoy will be the first brand to pilot the new metrics, helping track
the impact of Lifebuoy programmes on handwashing behaviours over a five-year period.

The development of these metrics will allow us to track performance across our
portfolio, enabling us to show consumers how their small, individual actions can add up
to a big difference.

Working for others

Unilever does not have all the answers to the challenges and dilemmas that our
business faces today. Many sustainability issues can only be addressed through a
collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach. If we are to fulfil our vision, we must work in
partnership. Partners bring expertise on specific issues as well as the networks to
deliver practical initiatives on the ground. We complement this with our own experience,
marketing expertise and commercial muscle.

Some of our partnerships are formal, long-standing relationships with well-known global
organisations; others are informal alliances with others in industry, NGOs, governments
and UN agencies. One example is the work we are doing to promote sustainable palm
oil through a coalition of businesses and NGOs including Greenpeace, Oxfam and
WWF.

Our global partnerships

Our principal global partnerships are with:

 the UN World Food Programme: to feed hungry children and improve their
nutrition
 the World Heart Federation: to promote heart health
 the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition: to co-create new approaches in food
fortification to address malnutrition
 FDI World Dental Federation: to improve oral health
 the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap: to save
children's lives by promoting handwashing with soap.
 UN Global Compact
We are also signatories to the United Nations' Global Compact and are committed to
living out the Compact's ten principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-
corruption in our everyday business operations.

Our own Code of Business Principles has long reflected the Compact's goals. We
provide an annual update in our Global Compact Communication on Progress,
explaining how we are implementing the principles across our business.

See Related links for more.

External recognition
In May 2010, Unilever received the International Charter's 'Committed to the
Environment' award for its environmental management and performance. The award
recognises companies that are leading the way in understanding and reducing their
environmental impacts. By identifying best practice, it aims to encourage other
companies to do the same.

The annual award is based on publicly available information from company reports and
websites. While carbon emissions are a key factor, companies are assessed against a
range of environmental impacts. Particular focus is placed on strategy and policy,
performance against targets and future goals. 

The International Charter is dedicated to promoting best practice through a set of

international business standards and certification programmes. 

Progress on our commitments

Our commitments – and the progress we made against them in 2009 – are set out in the
table below.

A pdf of the table is also available to download.

We have made some new commitments in our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan,
launched in November 2010. See Related links for more information.

Issue Topic Our Progress

commitment in 2009

Health Nutrition Conduct Our food

and well- regular portfolio
being reviews of remains
our portfolio under
  of food regular
products via review.
 
our Nutrition 44% of our
  Enhancemen products
t Programme are in line
with
internationa
lly accepted
guidelines
for
saturated
and trans
fat, sugar
and salt

Guide 76% of our

consumers to portfolio
meet the already
World Health meets our
Organization’ 2010
s benchmark
recommende s to help
d daily intake consumers
of 5 g of salt reduce to 6
per day by g per day
reducing salt
levels in our  
products. Our
ambition is to
reach 6 g per
 day by 2010
and 5 g by
2015

Display Achieved
percentage of for over 90
Guideline % of
Daily eligible
Amounts products;
(GDA) for five implementa
key nutrients tion plans
on pack for are in place
products sold for the
in Europe as remainder
part of CIAA
voluntary  
initiative

Reach 100 Around 1.5

million people million
2009–2020 people took
through Heart the Heart
Age online Age test
tool

Deliver Delivered
school meals nearly 17
to 100 000 million
children in school
2009 via our meals to
partnership 80 000
with the UN children
World Food
Programme

Hygiene Change the Lifebuoy

and well- hygiene reached
being behaviour millions of
of one billion people in
people 2009– 23
 2015 through countries
Lifebuoy and via Global
its partner Handwashi
programmes ng Day
2009.
Extended
roll-out of
hygiene
education
programme
s in
Indonesia,
Pakistan,
Sri Lanka
and
Vietnam

Align Launched
partnership joint Brush
activities with Day and
FDI World Night
Dental campaign
Federation to with the
focus on day FDI World
and night Dental
brushing Federation
campaign

Reach five Reached
million young 1.3 million
people 2005– people with
2010 with educational
self-esteem programme
materials s, bringing
through the total to
Dove's Self- 4.8 million
Esteem Fund

Sustaina Business Reduce our Assessed

ble living growth overall the
  environmenta greenhouse
l impact while gas, water
  doubling the and waste
size of our impacts of
 
business 1 500
  products

Sustainabl Source all tea Around

e sourcing for Lipton and 80% of
PG tips tea Lipton
bags in Yellow
Western Label and
Europe from PG tips tea
Rainforest sold in
Alliance Western
Certified™ Europe
farms by comes from
2010. Rainforest
Purchase all Alliance
tea for our Certified™
Lipton tea farms.
bags from
certified  
sustainable
Globally,
sources by
around
2015
15% of our
tea is
sourced
from
Rainforest
Alliance
Certified™
farms

Purchase all Purchased

palm oil from 185 000
certified tonnes of
sustainable certified
 sources by sustainable
2015 palm oil via
GreenPalm
certificates,
accounting
for 15% of
our total
purchases

Source 100%   
cage-free
eggs for:
 West
 Hellma ern Europe
nn’s, Amora target
and Calvé achieved
products sold by end
in Western 2009,
Europe by ahead of
2012 schedule 
 Hellma Sour
nn’s Light cing started
mayonnaise in 2009 in
in North preparation
America for product
 Ben & roll-out in
Jerry’s ice 2010
cream in  Achi
Europe by eved target
2004 and the for Europe
US by 2010 in 2004. On
  track to
meet US
  target by
end of 2010
 

Assess In early
potential of 2010, Ben
Fairtrade & Jerry’s
sourcing for committed
 Ben & Jerry’s that, where
ice cream Fairtrade
ingredients options
exist, all
ingredients
will be
Fairtrade-
certified in
Europe by
end of 2011
and
worldwide
by 2013

Refrigeran Purchase Around 430

ts new point-of- 000 HC
sale ice refrigerant
cream cabinets
cabinets that purchased
use climate- since 2004
friendly HC
refrigerants,
wherever
technically
and legally
feasible

Climate Reduce Over 1995–

change CO2 from 2009,
energy in our achieved a
manufacturin 40%
g by 25% by reduction in
2012 CO2 from
(measured energy
per tonne of from
production manufacturi
against a ng. On
2004 track to
baseline) achieve
 2012 target

Water Continue to Over 1995–

reduce water 2009,
use in our achieved a
manufacturin 65%
g operations reduction in
per tonne of water use
production

Manufactu Continue to Over 1995–

ring waste reduce total 2009,
waste in our achieved a
manufacturin 73%
g operations reduction in
per tonne of total waste
production

Packaging Eliminate On track to

PVC from our achieve
packaging, 2010
where viable, target.
by 2010.
 
Identify
technologies Working
to allow with
elimination of suppliers to
all PVC by identify
end of 2012 novel
technology
  solutions

Economi Business Long-term Reached

c performan ambition to target of
impacts ce be in the top top third :
third of a 5thout of 21
  reference
   group of 21
consumer
  goods
companies
 
for total
shareholder
return on a 3-
year basis

Increase the Reached

penetration 49% of
and sales from
consumption these
of our markets
categories by
consumers at
all income
levels in
developing
and emerging
markets

Smallhold Explore  10 5

er farmers opportunities 00 farmers
to now
increase sour involved in
allanblackia
cing from
project in
smallholder Africa
farmers  38 0
to ensure 00
security of smallholder
supply farmers
achieved
Rainforest
Alliance
certification
in Kenya
over 2007-
2009
 
http://www.unilever.com/sustainability/strategy/vision/index.aspx