Unilever hits new carbon saving milestone

Reporting only two weeks ago that its 'sustainable' brands like Dove are growing twice as fast as its 'regular' brands, Unilever has now revealed that it has reached a new milestone of 1m tonnes of CO2 savings since 2008 in its manufacturing network.

The FMCG giant says that energy consumption has been reduced by 20% - the same energy used to run 40 factories or the equivalent in carbon of over 800,000 acres of forest in one year and this has also resulted in significant cost savings of €244m.

Commenting, Unilever chief supply chain officer, Pier Luigi Sigismondi said: “Across our supply chain we are increasingly turning to energy provided by wind, solar and biomass, converting heat from our manufacturing processes into power for our factories. We are on track to reach our target of 40% renewable energy by 2020.

“Climate change is having a huge impact on the environment and on business. Ahead of Climate Week in Paris, we are continuing to show that sustainability is a driver for growth, and the only long-term option for business in a volatile world.”

Savings in CO2 have been delivered by a global strategy, including circular economy approaches. For example in South Africa, a bi-product of the seed oil from Flora, Stork, Rama and Rondo is used as a fuel in the boilers to deliver energy back into the factory.

Unilever has a target to reach 40% renewable energy by 2020 and has recently joined the RE100 campaign to accelerate the scale-up of renewable power to create a healthier and more sustainable environment. The goal of RE100 is for at least 100 of the world’s most influential businesses to join the campaign and commit to going 100% renewable for electricity.