Unilever rides consumer welfare to make money

By STANDARD REPORTER

Consumer goods manufacturer Unilever is banking on the success of an internal sustainable programme to double its business.

A progress report for Unilever East and Southern Africa shows major gains three years since it started rolling out the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), a blueprint for a new way of doing business that balances between profit and consumer welfare and environmental impact.

Managing Director Yaw Nsarkoh said USLP, which focuses on the three areas of health and wellbeing, environment and enhanced livelihoods, had been assimilated in the company’s business strategy.

easing pressure

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He said this is Unilever’s way of playing a part in easing pressure on the world’s resources. “We believe that business must be part of the solution,” he said. “It will have to recognise that the needs of citizens and communities carry the same weight as the demands of shareholders.”

Health and well-being is the starting point because these are the benefits which many of Unilever brands provide, he said.

“By delivering good nutrition and improved hygiene our products have a positive impact on two of the world’s biggest health challenges – cardiovascular disease and the incidence of diarrhoea,” he said.

Many Unilever brands offer hygiene mostly through toilet soaps. He said every year, 30,000 children under five years die from diarrhoeal and upper respiratory infections in Kenya. “Studies show that washing hands with soap can significantly reduce the incidence of these diseases,” said Nsarkoh.

“In Kenya, Unilever has pioneered a cost effective and scalable model for rolling out handwashing education programmes in schools through a partnership between Lifebuoy, the Kenyan Government and NGOs, in which over 400,000 school children in 567 urban and peri-urban schools have learnt how and when to wash their hands properly.”

Nsarkoh said globally, Unilever purchases more than two million tonnes of packaging a year, making it a major contributor to waste. He said focus on sustainable agricultural sourcing is premised on the fact that half the company’s raw materials come from agriculture and forestry. USLP has made huge strides in sustainable agricultural sourcing and increased use of renewable energy in its factories.

Mr Nsarkoh said the USLP programme has helped 250,000 farmers to undertake training to improve farming practices, with a target of doubling the number by 2020. This is meant to enable them to supply into global markets at competitive prices.  Unilever Tea Kenya, for its part, is preparing outgrower farmers for the Rain Forest Alliance audit to allow for marketing of their produce along with that of UTK.