Unilever's sustainability strategy resonates with customers

Unilever is seeking to support sustainability through improvements in health and well-being (blue on the chart), reduced environmental impact (dark green), enhancing the livelihoods of communities (red) and making its businesses more transparent and sustainable (light green).

What does the multinational consider to be a material issue or opportunity? From 2010, when the sustainability initiative was implemented, Unilever applied four criteria:

• The degree to which an issue is aligned with our vision and purpose, brand portfolio and geography.
• The potential impact on our operations, or on our sourcing and consumers.
• The extent of Unilever’s influence on the issue.
• The importance of an issue to our key stakeholders.

Unilever now has evidence that progress on sustainability issues resonates with its customer base. Its brands most active in sustainability initiatives (Dove, Lifebuoy, Ben & Jerry's, Comfort) 'accounted for half the company's growth in 2014 and grew at twice the rate of the rest of the business' according to CEO Paul Polman.

In other words, a solid sustainability strategy can help save the planet, improve the quality of life for stakeholders and bring the company closer to growth goals.