Hindustan Unilever - Sustainable Living

Sustainable Living

Unilever launched Sustainable Living Plan in on November 15, 2010 at London, Rotterdam, New York and New Delhi simultaneously.

The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan has three major goals, which Unilever aims to achieve by 2020:

• Help more than one billion people improve their health and well-being
• Halve the environmental impact of their products
• Source 100% of their agricultural raw materials sustainably

The plan also sets out over 50 social, economic and environmental targets.

In 2012 Hindustan Unilever featured in BSE's Greenex - India's first environmental friendly equity index the first environmental friendly equity index, which will enable investors take more informed decisions in the green theme of India.

Water

The company has reduced water usage in manufacturing operations by 10.1% when compared with 2010 and by 21.5% compared to 2008 baseline. Rainwater harvesting has been implemented in more than 50% of units. More than 75% of the company’s manufacturing sites are zero discharge.

HUL has also been working for more than a decade in the area of water conservation in locations which face acute water shortage. By 2015, the Company expects hundred billion litres of water to be harvested through the projects they have undertaken. One million people in 180 villages across India will benefit. Most projects are expected to see a 50% rise in crop production.

India Water Body

In May 2011, the company launched the India Water Body, an initiative aimed to address the challenge of water scarcity in India. HUL has been working in the area of water conversation for more than a decade and has initiated projects in several states across India with the aim to create capacity towards conserving more than 50 billion litres of water in the next four years (by 2015).Water conservation has been a focus area for the company across its value chain. The company has not only reduced water consumption in its operations but also developed product innovations such as Surf Excel quick-wash that helps consumers use less water while washing clothes.

Plastic Recycling Project

In July 2011, HUL and Bharti Retail started a three month campaign called “Go Recycle” to promote plastic recycling among consumers in the National Capital Region (NCR) in 2011. Consumers were encouraged to bring empty plastic bottles and pouches, for which they were given discount coupons in return.

Creating financial inclusion

The company joined forces with the State Bank of India (SBI) to introduce banking services to people from low-income groups in rural areas. The project was piloted in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

HUL also renders services to the community, focusing on health & hygiene education, empowerment of women, and water management. It is also involved in education and rehabilitation of underprivileged children, care for the destitute and HIV-positive, and rural development. HUL has also responded to national calamities, for instance with relief and rehabilitation after the 2004 tsunami caused devastation in South India.

Health and Hygiene

Lifebuoy took handwashing messages to remote areas, reaching out to 30million people directly in 2010–11 through HUL's rural outreach programme,Khushiyon Ki Doli’ (Caravan of Happiness). The Company entered into a partnership with UNICEF and Department of Rural Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh, to implement hygiene awareness programmes in over 5,000schools in 2012. This will further strengthen the Lifebuoy handwash programme in India and contribute to the global target of reaching one billion consumers by 2015 across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

As many as 30 million people in India have gained access to safe drinking water from Pureit, in-home purifier which provides water ‘as safe as boiled water’, without needing electricity, or running water. Pureit is affordable – with an upfront cost starting at Rs. 900, and an ongoing cost that provides approximately four litres of safe drinking water for about one rupee. Globally, Unilever aims to reach 500 million people through Pureit by 2020.

Nutrition

The company’s food and beverage brand labels carry information on energy, protein carbohydrate, sugars, fat, and where relevant, on saturated fat, fibre and sodium. HUL also participates in ‘The Choices Programme.’ It is a front-of-pack labelling programme aimed to help consumers make a healthier choice. Around 60% of our major food and beverage brands comply with the guidelines as against the global target of 100% by 2015.

Greenhouse Gases

The Company is on track to meet the global 2012 target, which is to reformulate the products to reduce GHG emissions by 15%. The process of reformulating products started in 2009. A significant reduction has been achieved with the reduction in detergent powders of Sodium Tri Poly Phosphate, an ingredient that neutralises the impact of water hardness.

In 2011, the Company reduced C02 emissions per tonne of production in India by 9.9% compared to 2010 and by 14.7% compared to the 2008 baseline. This was achieved due to the installation of biomass boilers to reduce CO2 emissions at Chiplun, Puducherry, Goa, Nasik and Mysore factories. The biggest challenge was to deliver reduction in CO2 emissions from transport despite significant volume increase. In 2011, the Company delivered 17.8% improvement in CO2 efficiency in logistics over 2010.

Sustainable Sourcing

In 2011, 60% of tomatoes used in Kissan Ketchup in India were from sustainable sources. The Company is working with a select group of tomato farmers to help reduce water usage through drip irrigation and at the same time reduce the use of fertilizer and pesticides while improving yields.

More than 16% of the tea sourced from India for Unilever’s brands was from sustainable sources in 2011 About 800 smallholder farmers in India are growing gherkins for Unilever’s Amora and Maille brands using drip irrigation. Trials have produced average water saving of 40%. Unilever now aims to help up to 1,000 gherkin farmers transition to drip irrigation by 2015.Unilever also focuses on helping farmers use composting to cut water use. By 2020, we will source 100% of the raw materials sustainably.

Enhancing Livelihoods

Project Shakti, a unique initiative by the Company to build and support a network of women entrepreneurs in small villages was strengthened in 2010-11 with the Shaktimaan initiative, under which men from Shakti households were given a bicycle to cover a cluster of villages in their vicinity. There are now 30,000 Shaktimaans across India.

The company’s Kwality Wall’s mobile vending operations provide entrepreneurship opportunities to over 6,500 migrant labourers across India.