Unilever is a multinational consumer goods company that is based in the UK. The company’s product range includes nutrition, personal care and hygiene products across brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Knorr, through significant emission reduction. It wants to focus on delivering impact by making sustainable progress integral to its business performance and sustainability goals.
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Unilever’s environmental goals
Unilever has many ambitious goals with respect to its environmental footprint. The company is committed to achieving net-zero emissions for all its products by 2039.
Unilever is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across both its operations and supply chain. For its own operations (Scope 1 and 2), it aims to cut emissions completely by 2030, based on 2015 levels. This goal is approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). By 2023, the company had already reduced these emissions by 70%, ahead of its 2025 target.
In its wider value chain (Scope 3), the company plans to reduce emissions by 42% by 2030, compared to 2021. These emissions come from sourcing ingredients and packaging, transporting goods, energy use, and the disposal of its products. It is also working to cut emissions from forest, land, and agriculture activities (FLAG), particularly those related to ingredient sourcing, by 30.3% by 2030, using 2021 as a baseline.
Unilever is on a mission to reduce its environmental impact and create a shift in its practices to prioritise the environment. The company is one to watch out for, as it is contributing to carbon labelling, which will be a new way for consumers to truly understand the environmental impact of their purchasing options.
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Strength through partnerships
In 2021, Unilever ran a pilot with a small group of diverse suppliers demonstrating a range of climate capabilities. It tested hands-on guidance and access to tools and resources and acted on the suppliers’ feedback to scale its Supplier Climate Programme, building suppliers’ capacity to measure, share, and reduce their Product Carbon Footprint (PCF).
By the end of 2024, Unilever aims to have on boarded around 300 suppliers, who account for approximately 44% of its Scope 3 GHG emissions that are related to raw materials, ingredients, and packaging. These suppliers include third-party manufacturers who produce finished goods for Unilever.
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Unilever has partnered with several organisations (implementation partners) to carry out its Supplier Climate Programme and to help accelerate action across the private sector.
Unilever defines supplier climate leadership as partners who:
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Set a Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)-aligned target
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Publicly report progress towards meeting this target
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Share product-level GHG emissions footprint data with Unilever
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Decarbonisation effort
Unilever is also aiming to reduce its carbon footprint in its operations. The company has sourced 100% renewable grid energy across all of its operations globally since the start of 2020. Unilever was also a founding signatory of the RE100 global campaign. RE100 is an initiative that brings together businesses that are committed to using 100% renewable energy. Unilever’s facilities also use solar energy and have on-site solar installations in over 20 countries.
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