Alberto Di-Leo

Managing Director

Unilever Hungary

Unilever’s Sustainability Plan has three major missions, supported by nine commitments and is fully extended to our social, environmental and economic performances throughout the value chain. We will continue to collaborate with our partners to focus on areas, where we can make the biggest changes, thereby supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Sustainable Living Plan

Industry: FMCG

Date: since 2010 continuously

Water


Solutions of the macro-sustainability challenges

Improving the efficiency of water distribution and usage

Further targets:

What´s the solution?

The Sustainable Living Plan, also known as Unilever’s Sustainability Plan, is an effort to achieve a change within the company. The company believes, that business growth cannot go at the expense of of people and the planet. The plan was launched at the international level in 2010 and strives for sustainable development through conscious brands. The company assesses the water footprint linked with the total production and consumption. According to their calculations, 99% of the associated water in 2010 came from the consumption of products. By the optimization and the collaboration with suppliers and farmers, they minimize the use of water, while incorporating this approach into production processes and product innovation processes.

It is planned, that their water usage will be reduced by half until 2020, and that their water consumption will be maintained at or below 2008 levels despite significantly higher volumes of production.

Business connection

With the help of this program, business costs and risks have been reduced and the trust with partners has been enhanced.

It seeks to increase the positive impact on society, while not increasing the environmental burden along with growth. On the one hand, the program paying attention to improving health and living conditions and reducing negative impacts on the environment. In the light of the latter, we should highlight the goal set for 2030, which is reducing the negative environmental impacts of the production and the usage by half, while still expanding the business. This way also Unilever’s adaptability and long-term performance can be ensured.

Results

Unilever understands that this program contributes to the growth of the business, as they see that their consumers specifically choose their brands, such as Dove, Hellmann’s or even Ben & Jerry’s. During the washing processes, they were able to reduce the water consumption of their consumers. During the production, a 44% reduction per tonne was achieved in water consumption, and by 2010 they had already achieved a 2% reduction in the average consumer’s water consumption. They are now developing products that do not require water at all, such as Love Home, Planet and Day2 dry washing powders, which can be used with 0.02% of water consumed during a normal laundry use.