about unilever
TRANSCRIPT
ABOUT UniLeVER
History
Unilever is an Anglo–Dutch multinational consumer goods company headquartered in
London, England. Its products include food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care
products. It is the world's third-largest consumer goods company as measured by 2012
revenue, after Procter & Gamble and Nestlé. One of the oldest multinational companies,
its products are available in 190 countries worldwide. Unilever owns over 400 brands, but
focuses on 14 brands with sales of over 1 billion euros. The top 14 brands are Axe/Lynx,
Dove, Omo, Becel/Flora, Heartbrand ice creams, Hellmann's, Knorr, Lipton, Lux,
Magnum, Rama, Rexona, Sunsilk and Surf. It is a dual-listed company consisting of
Unilever N.V., based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Unilever PLC, based in London,
United Kingdom. Both companies have the same directors and they operate as a single
business. Unilever is organized into four main divisions - Foods, Refreshment (beverages
and ice cream), Home Care, and Personal Care. It has research and development facilities
in the United Kingdom (2), the Netherlands, China, India and the United States.
Purpose and Principles
Always working with integrity
Conducting our operations with integrity and with respect for the many people,
organizations and environments our business touches has always been at the heart of our
corporate responsibility.
Positive impact
We aim to make a positive impact in many ways: through our brands, our commercial
operations and relationships, through voluntary contributions, and through the various
other ways in which we engage with society.
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Continuous commitment
We're also committed to continuously improving the way we manage our environmental
impacts and are working towards our longer-term goal of developing a sustainable
business.
Setting out our aspirations
Our Corporate Purpose sets out our aspirations in running our business. It's underpinned
by our Code of Business Principles which describes the operational standards that
everyone at Unilever follows, wherever they are in the world. The Code also supports our
approach to governance and corporate responsibility.
Working with others
We want to work with suppliers who have values similar to our own and work to the
same standards we do. Our Supplier Code, aligned to our own Code of Business
Principles, comprises eleven principles covering business integrity and responsibilities
relating to employees, consumers and the environment.
Our Business Strategy
Our business model is designed to deliver sustainable growth. For us, sustainability is
integral to how we do business. In a world where temperatures are rising, water is scarce,
energy is expensive, sanitation is poor in many areas and food supplies are uncertain and
expensive, we have both a duty and an opportunity to address these issues in the way we
do business.
The inputs to the model, like those of all major packaged goods manufacturers, are
threefold: brands; people; and operations. These map directly on to our Compass
‘Winning with’ pillars – both continuous improvement and the market place pillars
support the operations strand of the model.
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The differentiator in our business model is our USLP and the goal of sustainable living.
The outputs of the model are threefold: sustained growth; lower environmental impact;
and positive social impact. These align directly with our vision statement.
The diagram below represents our virtuous circle of growth. It summarises, simply, how
we derive profit from the application of our business model.
Our brands
Strong brands and innovation are central to our ambition to double in size. We are
investing in brand equity, finding and strengthening the connections between consumers
and the products they buy. Where equity is strong, we are leveraging it – creating
efficiencies by focusing on fewer, bigger projects that enhance margins. And we are
seeking superior products which consumers will prefer, driving profitable growth.
Our operations
On any given day 2 billion consumers use our products and we want to reach many more,
by developing innovative products that address different consumer needs at different
price points. To do this we use our global scale to help deliver sustainable, profitable
growth by seeking to add value at every step in the value chain by enhancing product
quality and customer service, and rolling out innovations faster across all markets.
Our people
Sustainable, profitable growth can only be achieved with the right people working in an
organization that is fit to win, with a culture in which performance is aligned with values.
We are increasingly an agile and diverse business with people motivated by doing good
while doing well. We are building capability and leadership among our people and
attracting some of the best talent in the market place.
Sustainable living
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For us, sustainable, equitable growth is the only acceptable business model. Business
needs to be a regenerative force in the system that gives it life. For example, by reducing
waste, we create efficiencies and reduce costs, helping to improve margins while
reducing risk. Meanwhile, looking at more sustainable ways of developing products,
sourcing and manufacturing opens up opportunities for innovation while improving the
livelihoods of our suppliers.
Profitable volume growth
Profitable volume growth is the basis of the virtuous circle of growth. Stronger brands
and innovation are the key drivers behind it. Consistently strong volume growth builds
brand equity as we reach more consumers, more often.
Cost leverage + efficiency
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Profitable volume growth allows us to optimise the utilisation of our infrastructure and
spread fixed costs over a larger number of units produced, reducing the average cost per
unit. It improves our profitability and allows us to invest in the business.
Innovation + marketing investment
Lower costs and improved efficiency enable us to strengthen our business further. New
and improved products are the result of investment in R&D and, together with effective
marketing, strengthen our brand equity. This results in profitable volume growth, self-
perpetuating the virtuous circle of growth.
External recognition
In 2013 Unilever retained its top ranking in the latest Sustainability Leaders survey from
GlobeScan/SustainAbility for the third consecutive year.
The World Environment Center awarded Unilever its 2013 Gold Medal for International
Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development. We were recognised for our
commitment to advancing environmental sustainability through the Unilever Sustainable
Living Plan.
Unilever won the first FTSE4Good Sir Mervyn Pedelty Award in 2012 which recognises
companies that integrate environmental and social performance into business strategy.
We were commended for our long-term sustainability vision and progress towards our
targets.
In 2012, Unilever and our CEO Paul Polman received the C K Prahalad Award from the
Corporate Economic Forum (CEF) for matching a bold vision of long term capitalism
with impressive action on sustainability through our Sustainable Living Plan.
Unilever remained the top-scoring company in the Food Producers sector of the 2012
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) for the 14th consecutive year and was named
the Food and Beverage super-sector leader.
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