Unilever Aims For Sustainability

UK giant Unilever, the second biggest consumer goods producer in the world, has announced it intends to halve it's impact on the environment by 2020, whilst doubling it's sales.

The company, who produce such familiar brands as Persil, Walls, Ben & Jerry's, Knorr, Liptons tea, and Hellmanns, announced a number of targets:

• cut by 50% the environmental impact of its products in terms of water, waste and greenhouse gases.

• source 100% of its agricultural supplies from sustainable sources.

• improve the health and well-being of one billion people across the world.

• double its use of renewables to 40% of total energy use.

• reduce water consumption by 65%  and waste by 70% on 1995 levels. 

They will publish annual reports to show their progress towards these targets.

Their chief exec explained that they see their new approach as "the only way to do business long term", and their plan spells out their reasons quite clearly.

Let's hope they're just the first of many to take this route.

More detail here.