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Unilever plc CDP Forests Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
F6.10a
(F6.10a) Indicate the criteria you consider when prioritizing landscapes and
jurisdictions for engagement in collaborative approaches to sustainable land use and
provide an explanation.
Criteria for prioritizing
Please explain
landscapes/jurisdictions for
engagement
Row
Company has operational
Unilever has been adopting a strategic approach to
1
presence in area
investment in landscapes and jurisdictional approaches since
High commodity sourcing
2018. We have selected landscapes based on our footprint
footprint from area
and operational presence which helps us with influence and
connectivity. For example, we have invested with
High levels of production by
Conservation International in the Coalition for Sustainable
independent smallholders
Livelihoods in Tapanuli Seletan in North Sumatra which is in
Opportunity for smallholder
close proximity to our strategic palm oil processing facility in
inclusion
Sai Mengkei.
Opportunity to protect natural
ecosystems
Importantly our strategy includes empowering smallholders
Opportunity to restore natural
in our supply chain and we seek to do that through direct
ecosystems
approaches as well as in landscapes. For example, we have
Risk of deforestation/conversion
invested in the Kotawaringa Bahrat landscape with Inobu,
Risk of land conflict
together we have engaged over 3000 smallholder farmers on
Risk of labor rights issues
RSPO certification.
Working in landscapes offers us the opportunity to scale
responsible production with plantations and smallholders, the
protection and restoration of critical natural ecosystems, and
the capability to engage the jurisdiction and public sector on
the risks for environment and social factors like land and
labour.
F6.10b
(F6.10b) Provide details of your engagement with landscape/jurisdictional approaches
to sustainable land use during the reporting year.
Country/Area
Indonesia
Name of jurisdiction or landscape area
Central Kalimantan - Kotawaringin and Seruyan Districts
Is the landscape defined by administrative boundaries of sub-national
governments and does the approach have active government involvement?
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Yes, the landscape is defined by administrative boundaries and the approach has active
government involvement
Brief description of landscape/ jurisdictional approach
A holistic approach to responsible and sustainable commodity production, forest and
ecosystem protection and social inclusion specifically in conserving districts of Seruyan
and Kotawaringin Barat. The Mosaik Initiative supports the provincial government of
Central Kalimantan and the district governments of Kotawaringin Barat and Seruyan.
This landscape is home to endangered and critically endangered species like the
orangutan. Through the “production and protection” model, our goal is to prevent
encroachment into natural forests and to enable sustainable economic development for
communities and businesses
Forest risk commodities relevant to this landscape/jurisdictional approach
Palm oil
Type of engagement
Funder: Provides full or partial financial support
Description of engagement
Multi-stakeholder collaboration between local government, public and private sector
along with oil palm growers and farmers groups aims to improve yields, livelihoods and
to promote sustainable practices through direct support in independent smallholder
farmers to gain RSPO certification. The partnership also supports the development of a
jurisdictional human rights assessment, registration of social and human right conflicts
as well as mapping village boundaries. Furthermore, the initiative includes restoration of
degraded peatland, riparian, and dry lowland areas.
In 2021, we mapped 536 independent smallholder farmers, trained 135 farms on good
agriculture practices and 126 farmers on regenerative agriculture practices. Together
with Inobu and local communities, we planted 13,937 trees in the landscape.
Goals supported by engagement
Local government policy development aligned with landscape goals
Increased commodity traceability in landscape/jurisdiction
Reliable landscape monitoring/data collection system
Smallholders mapped in landscape/jurisdiction
Landscape conservation
Landscape restoration
Implementation of livelihood activities/practices that reduce pressure on forests
Greater smallholder inclusion
Improved capacity for community engagement in multi-stakeholder processes
Increased adoption of sustainable production practices
Increased uptake of certification
Increased adoption of sustainable production practices
Company actions supporting approach
Build community capacity and incentivize engagement in multi-stakeholder processes
Financially support multi-stakeholder entity leading the initiative
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Support landscape restoration and long-term protection
Support uptake of certification
Support producers, producer groups, and primary processors to Improve agricultural
practices and technologies
Collaborate on commodity traceability
Implementation partner(s)
Unilever and Yayasan Inobu
Engagement start year
2,016
Engagement end year
Please specify
2023
Total investment over the project period (currency)
1,158,572
Details of your investment
Unilever supports 4 workstreams under this project; namely focusing on (1)
Conservation and restoration: restoration areas at village level; community capacity
building; conduct, monitor and evaluate progress; research and awareness
(2)prevention of social conflicts in commodity production: mapping, registration and
resolving conflicts, documenting reports and communication tools (3)smallholder
empowerment: train and certify smallholder farmers on RSPO & ISPO, develop training
materials and creating Standard Operating Procedures for guidance (4) governance
through issuance of regulations and policies.
Type of assessment framework
Commodities Jurisdictions Approach
Is progress monitored and publicly reported on?
Yes, progress is monitored but not publicly reported on
State the achievements of your engagement so far, and how progress is
monitored
Since 2017, we have RSPO certified over 1,000 farmers. In this next phase of the
partnership, we aim to certify an additional 2,500 farmers on more than 5,000 hectares.
We are also supporting the development of a comprehensive jurisdictional human rights
assessment in both districts, registration of social and human rights conflicts in at least
20 villages, and the mapping of customary village boundaries in collaboration with the
local office of Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN).
In 2021, we mapped 536 independent smallholder farmers, trained 135 farms on good
agriculture practices and 126 farmers on regenerative agriculture practices. Together
with Inobu and local communities, we planted 13,937 trees in the landscape.
Achievements are monitored through quantitative evaluations and regular field visits to
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ensure the implementation of programs. The progress of the activities is monitored on a
monthly basis. Activity reports are submitted to Unilever four times a year and a financial
report is provided two times a year.
Country/Area
Indonesia
Name of jurisdiction or landscape area
Aceh Tamiang and Aceh Timur Districts
Is the landscape defined by administrative boundaries of sub-national
governments and does the approach have active government involvement?
Yes, the landscape is defined by administrative boundaries and the approach has active
government involvement
Brief description of landscape/ jurisdictional approach
A holistic approach to responsible agriculture production, forest protection and social
inclusion specifically in conserving the Leuser Ecosystem and lowland forests in
neighbouring districts of Aceh Timur. The project contributes to targets set by the Aceh
Tamiang’s Production Protection Inclusion (PPI). Unilever and the IDH Sustainable
Trade Initiative are supporting the Aceh Tamiang and Aceh Timur district governments
in Indonesia along with other industry players to accelerate efforts to achieve a
successful production-protection-inclusion model surrounding the fragile forests of the
Leuser Ecosystem.
Forest risk commodities relevant to this landscape/jurisdictional approach
Palm oil
Type of engagement
Funder: Provides full or partial financial support
Description of engagement
Collaborating with various local partners, such as Forum Konservasi Leuser (FKL), the
project includes the development of a deforestation monitoring tool for the local
government and stakeholders, construction of an indicative High Conservation Value
(HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) assessment at a landscape level, construction of a
database of land and labor conflict due to agriculture development, training programs for
1,500 independent smallholder farmers, in which 500 of them would be targeted for
RSPO and ISPO certification, support for 2 mills and associated estates to be RSPO
and ISPO certified, and 500 hectares of forest rehabilitated through an agroforestry-
based livelihood model by the end of 2023.
Goals supported by engagement
Local government policy development aligned with landscape goals
Increased commodity traceability in landscape/jurisdiction
Reliable landscape monitoring/data collection system
Smallholders mapped in landscape/jurisdiction
Land tenure rights for indigenous peoples and local communities secured
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Landscape conservation
Landscape restoration
Implementation of livelihood activities/practices that reduce pressure on forests
Greater smallholder inclusion
Improved capacity for community engagement in multi-stakeholder processes
Increased adoption of sustainable production practices
Increased uptake of certification
Increased adoption of sustainable production practices
Company actions supporting approach
Build community capacity and incentivize engagement in multi-stakeholder processes
Financially support multi-stakeholder entity leading the initiative
Support landscape restoration and long-term protection
Support uptake of certification
Support producers, producer groups, and primary processors to Improve agricultural
practices and technologies
Support smallholders to clarify and secure land tenure rights
Collaborate on commodity traceability
Implementation partner(s)
Unilever and the wider coalition including: IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative, Aceh
Tamiang and Aceh Timur district government and other industry players.
Engagement start year
2,020
Engagement end year
Please specify
2023
Total investment over the project period (currency)
1,158,572
Details of your investment
Unilever supports 4 workstreams under this project; namely focusing on (1) Protecting
forest and the leuser Ecosystem in the jurisdiction of Aceh Taiang (2) Restoration pilot
through an agroforestry model (3)improving sustainable agriculture production of oil
palm growers including independent smallholder farmers through training and
certification (4) improving land tenure by obtaining legal documents for smallholder
farmers and supporting a pilot conflict resolution model for land disputes due to large
scale agriculture development.
Type of assessment framework
Commodities Jurisdictions Approach
Is progress monitored and publicly reported on?
Yes, progress is monitored but not publicly reported on
State the achievements of your engagement so far, and how progress is
monitored
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In 2021, Unilever has supported the planting of 7,523 trees, mapped out and trained
2,200 smallholders on Good Agriculture Practices (GAP). Progress for monitoring
engagements are through various methods such as conducting land survey (for
restoration), data base through a collaboration with Meridia Land to execute the
smallholder mapping and training good agriculture practices, management practices and
ISPO,RSPO certification systems.
Country/Area
Indonesia
Name of jurisdiction or landscape area
North Sumatra
Is the landscape defined by administrative boundaries of sub-national
governments and does the approach have active government involvement?
Yes, the landscape is defined by administrative boundaries and the approach has active
government involvement
Brief description of landscape/ jurisdictional approach
The Coalition for Sustainable Livelihoods is a multistakeholder group working
collectively to achieve positive outcomes for smallholders, sustainable agricultural
production and conservation in North Sumatra and Aceh. The objectives are shared by
government, civil society and private sector to integrate sustainable landscapes
approach to implement programs and priorities set out by the government, e.g. National
Action Plan for Sustainable Palm Oil.
Forest risk commodities relevant to this landscape/jurisdictional approach
Palm oil
Type of engagement
Partner: Shared responsibility in the implementation of multiple goals
Supporter: Implement activities to support at least one goal
Funder: Provides full or partial financial support
Description of engagement
Unilever, Conservation International, and Tapanuli Selatan District Government are
partnering to support our ambition in making sustainable palm oil commonplace. Since
2019, we have teamed up to strengthen a multi-stakeholder initiative known as the
Coalition for Sustainable Livelihoods (CSL). Unilever’s more specific engagement is
taken at the landscape level, supporting the local government in Tapanuli Selatan in the
province of North Sumatera to help create district-level green growth development
plans, strengthen forest governance of Forest Management Units (FMU), as well as to
map out and pilot forest restoration of 100 hectares in the region by the end of 2022.
At the same time, the partnership together with PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) III is
building the capacity of at least 1,000 independent oil palm smallholders, to play a key
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role in conservation, sustainable development, and sustainable commodity production.
At least 800 of these farmers will be supported to obtain RSPO certification.
Goals supported by engagement
Forest fires monitored and prevented
Local government policy development aligned with landscape goals
Increased commodity traceability in landscape/jurisdiction
Reliable landscape monitoring/data collection system
Smallholders mapped in landscape/jurisdiction
Landscape conservation
Landscape restoration
Implementation of livelihood activities/practices that reduce pressure on forests
Greater smallholder inclusion
Increased adoption of sustainable production practices
Increased uptake of certification
Uptake of regenerative agriculture practices
Company actions supporting approach
Support land use planning in the landscape/jurisdiction
Financially support multi-stakeholder entity leading the initiative
Support landscape restoration and long-term protection
Support uptake of certification
Support producers, producer groups, and primary processors to Improve agricultural
practices and technologies
Collaborate on commodity traceability
Implementation partner(s)
Unilever, Conservation International, and Tapanuli Selatan District Government
Engagement start year
2,019
Engagement end year
Please specify
2022
Total investment over the project period (currency)
1,500,000
Details of your investment
The collaboration between Unilever and Conservation International focuses on (1)
Provincial and broader Coalition level to strengthen development as an initiative in North
Sumatra and to define growth plans beyond the landscape pilot (2) landscape level to
implement TapSel pilot project. Both are to strengthen the linkages to Indonesia’s
National Action Plan for Sustainable Palm oil whilst driving compliance towards NDPE
commitments.
Type of assessment framework
Commodities Jurisdictions Approach
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Is progress monitored and publicly reported on?
Yes, progress is monitored but not publicly reported on
State the achievements of your engagement so far, and how progress is
monitored
In 2021, 725 independent oil palm smallholder farmers were trained for RSPO
certification process in the landscape. We have planted 1,600 trees through an
agroforestry model within a proposed social forestry scheme of 150 hectares. Together
with Conservation International, we support the protection of 127,000 hectares through
various training for forest rangers and monitoring of forests with the local Forest
Management Units.
F6.11
(F6.11) Do you participate in any other external activities and/or initiatives to promote
the implementation of your forests-related policies and commitments?
Forest risk commodity
Timber products
Do you participate in activities/initiatives?
Yes
Activities
Involved in multi-partnership or stakeholder initiatives
Country/Area
Not applicable
Subnational area
Not applicable
Initiatives
UN Global Compact
Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 (TFA)
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)
Other, please specify
HCS Approach Group, Forests Dialogue,Lowering Emissions by Accelerating
Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B)
Please explain
Unilever is involved in multi-stakeholder partnership or initiatives, engaging with
policymakers or governments and industry platforms in order to halt deforestation.
These partnerships and initiatives are not normally positioned around a single country or
sub national agenda and are global in scope. This is aligned with our People & Nature
Policy Principle 4 to drive industry-wide change through partnerships. We also actively
participate in The Forest Dialogue (TFD) and the HCS Approach Group, .
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Unilever is an active supporter of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). We have benchmarked
these standards against our own sustainable agriculture code and integrated these
standards in our sustainable sourcing approach and strategy. Our policy and
environmental strategy as a business requires that we and our suppliers work towards
strong standards. Working with the FSC and PEFC is one way that we enable our
environmental strategy through deploying strong standards.
We integrate the ten UN Global Compact (UNGC) Principles in our business activities
and are signatories to UNGC initiatives LEAD and Business for Peace, reporting these
activities annually in our Global Compact Communication on Progress. Through our
participation in LEAF Coalition, we ensure that ambitious tropical and subtropical forest
jurisdictions have access to large scale, predictable performance-based finance,
enabling them to further invest in reduced deforestation and sustainable rural
development
Forest risk commodity
Timber products
Do you participate in activities/initiatives?
Yes
Activities
Involved in industry platforms
Country/Area
Not applicable
Subnational area
Not applicable
Initiatives
Please explain
Unilever is involved in multi-stakeholder partnership or initiatives, engaging with
policymakers or governments and industry platforms in order to halt deforestation.
These partnerships and initiatives are not normally positioned around a single country or
sub national agenda and are global in scope. We are members of the Sustainable
Forestry Initiative (SFI), the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) and the Consumer Goods
Forum (CGF).
Unilever together with other CGF members committed to mobilize resources within our
respective businesses to help achieve zero net deforestation associated with four
commodities: palm oil, soy, paper and board, and beef by 2020. This has developed into
CGF Forest Positive Coalition, supported by TFA and Proforest, an industry platform
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that focuses on forest positive business models by removing deforestation, forest
degradation and conversion from key commodity supply chains, positively impacting the
world’s forests. We regularly attend teleconferences with other packaging buyers as part
of the pulp and paper working group within CGF and also have representatives present
at many CGF meetings to represent the views of our packaging procurement
sustainability teams. We are currently co-chair of the CGF sustainability steering
committee, and an active member of the CGF pulp and paper working group.
This activity enables our own environmental strategy by driving consensus on KPI’s and
ambition in the industry and is aligned with our People & Nature Policy Principle 4 to
drive industry-wide change through partnerships
Forest risk commodity
Palm oil
Do you participate in activities/initiatives?
Yes
Activities
Involved in industry platforms
Country/Area
Not applicable
Subnational area
Not applicable
Initiatives
Please explain
Unilever’s commitment towards driving sustainable change in the palm oil industry are
achieved through various strategies including multi-stakeholder engagement and
partnerships. These partnerships and initiatives are not normally positioned around a
single country or sub national agenda and are global in scope. We are founding
members of these initiatives and serve on, Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) and the
Forest Positive Coalition of Action; steering committee of Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA),
Supporting Asia on Sustainable Palm Oil (SASPO),; executive committee of World
Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Unilever are active participants in each of the steering committees, memberships and
working groups. We are working together to align our goals to industry standards,
updating policies based on discussions and methodologies for better monitoring and
measurement. Many of these groups allow us to develop strategies and programmes in
a holistic approach through multi-level collaboration to tackle the challenges found in the
sustainable palm oil industry. For example we collaborated with the Consumer Goods
Forum - Palm Oil Working group on the development of an industry framework for
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Monitoring and Response. This work was carried out through 2021 and resulted in a
published framework in 2022.
This activity enables our own environmental strategy by driving consensus on KPI’s and
ambition in the industry and is aligned with our People & Nature Policy Principle 4 to
drive industry-wide change through partnerships.
Forest risk commodity
Other - Cocoa
Do you participate in activities/initiatives?
Yes
Activities
Involved in multi-partnership or stakeholder initiatives
Country/Area
Not applicable
Subnational area
Not applicable
Initiatives
UN Global Compact
Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 (TFA)
Other, please specify
Rainforest Alliance, CGF Forest Positive Coalition of Action, Lowering Emissions by
Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, One Planet Business for Biodiversity
(OP2B), Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI)
Please explain
These partnerships and initiatives are not normally positioned around a single country or
sub national agenda and are global in scope. Cocoa is a vital ingredient for many of our
brands such as Magnum, Wall’s and Ben & Jerry’s. We are committed to sourcing 100%
of our cocoa sustainably to secure our future supply of vital ingredients and improve
transparency in our supply chains. We buy around 1.5% of the global production of
cocoa, mainly sourced from Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana which supply 61% of global
production. That means that we cannot change these supply chains by just acting on
our own. Tackling cocoa related deforestation requires partnerships and collaboration,
so being involved in multi-partnership or stakeholder initiatives, & engaging with various
stakeholders creates opportunities for Unilever to implement sourcing practices that go
further in tackling specific issues found in these supply chains. For instance, Unilever’s
Magnum brand is committed to sourcing cocoa against the Rainforest Alliance
certification label. This label is underpinned by the Rainforest Alliance, which was
updated and a new version of this launched in June 2020. Unilever actively participated
in the stakeholder consultation process to support the development of the new standard.
To contribute most effectively, we hosted several internal working group meetings to
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capture the perspectives of stakeholders from across Unilever, attended workshops to
exchange ideas with other participants, and held discussions with Rainforest Alliance
directly to aid in our interpretation of new and updated requirements.
Forest risk commodity
Palm oil
Do you participate in activities/initiatives?
Yes
Activities
Involved in multi-partnership or stakeholder initiatives
Country/Area
Not applicable
Subnational area
Not applicable
Initiatives
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
High Carbon Stock Approach Steering Group
Other, please specify
Palm Oil Collaboration Group (POCG)
Please explain
Unilever holds various leadership positions and is a member of numerous palm oil
initiatives and multi-stakeholder groups. These partnerships and initiatives are not
normally positioned around a single country or sub national agenda and are global in
scope. We are committed to driving systemic change in the industry through these
platforms. We are founding members and serve on the board of the Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) we are also a founding member of the High Carbon Stock
Approach (HSCA) and support multistakeholder engagements through the Palm Oil
Collaboration Group.
In the RSPO, we have participated as members of the Communications and Claims
Standing Committee, Smallholder Interim WG, Smallholder Working WG, and
Curriculum Development Committee, Human Rights WG, Jurisdictional WG, the annual
communication of progress group and the remuneration committee.
These activity enables our own environmental strategy by driving consensus on KPI’s
and ambition in the industry and is aligned with our People & Nature Policy Principle 4 to
drive industry-wide change through partnerships. The RSPO is also driving the concept
of Shared Responsibility which seeks to ensure all members of the RSPO do their part
to make sustainable Palm oil common place. It is further important for Unilever to be
driving strong and credible standards and engagement with the RSPO is one way to
drive that across the industry.
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Forest risk commodity
Soy
Do you participate in activities/initiatives?
Yes
Activities
Involved in multi-partnership or stakeholder initiatives
Country/Area
Not applicable
Subnational area
Not applicable
Initiatives
Roundtable on Sustainable Soy (RTRS)
Sustainable Agricultural Initiative (SAI)
Please explain
Tackling soy related deforestation is a complex task and we are convinced that an
industry wide solution is needed, so Unilever have founded and are leading various
external collaboration initiatives. These partnerships and initiatives are not normally
positioned around a single country or sub national agenda and are global in scope.
Given the lack of a certification that addressed the specifics of responsible soy
production, Unilever decided to co-found the Round Table for Responsible Soy (RTRS)
in 2015. In our founding role, we contributed to developing the RTRS standard and
reaching a common understanding of deforestation definitions and cut-off dates specific
to soy. In addition, we have contributed to setting rules around the mass balance
scheme to ensure a high degree of credibility of the certification standard and the
Unilever program.
Since its inception, RTRS has become the most recognized and widely used
certification standard for deforestation and conversion free soy.
Unilever is on the executive committee of the SAI platform whose purpose is to harness
the collaborative power of our members to accelerate the widespread adoption of
sustainable agriculture practices and the transformation to sustainable food systems.
These activities enable our own environmental strategy by driving consensus on KPI’s
and ambition in the industry and is aligned with our People & Nature Policy Principle 4 to
drive industry-wide change through partnerships. The RTRS is also driving the
protection and restoration of native vegetation associated with Soy Farms. For example
by incorporating the RTRS standard in a landscsape approach we were able to
contribute to the protection of over 16,000 hectares of native vegetation in the Cerrado.
Protection and Regeneration of land forests and oceans is a core part of Unilever’s
compass environmental strategy.
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Forest risk commodity
Soy
Do you participate in activities/initiatives?
Yes
Activities
Involved in industry platforms
Country/Area
Not applicable
Subnational area
Not applicable
Initiatives
Please explain
Unilever has supported the development of industry wide initiatives like RTRS, which
has grown in scale and prominence. These partnerships and initiatives are not normally
positioned around a single country or sub national agenda and are global in scope.
Given that RTRS certification does not have the scale by itself to stop deforestation,
Unilever has joined the Statement of Business Support for the Cerrado Manifesto (SoS)
in 2017 and is part of its Steering Committee. The SoS has been working on an
encompassing solution to stop habitat conversion in Cerrado via the engagement of the
key players in the biome, such as the Cerrado Working Group, feed sector, and financial
institutions, among others. Unilever is also part of the Forest Positive Coalition (hosted
by the Consumer Goods Forum which we are a member of, in collaboration with Pro-
Forest). The Coalition aims to identify the key sourcing regions of its members and to
support on the ground initiatives that work towards deforestation and conversion free
soy. We integrate the ten UN Global Compact (UNGC) Principles in our business
activities and are signatories to UNGC initiatives LEAD and Business for Peace,
reporting these activities annually in our Global Compact Communication on Progress.
These activities enable our own environmental strategy by driving consensus on KPI’s
and ambition in the industry and is aligned with our People & Nature Policy Principle 4 to
drive industry-wide change through partnerships. Working with peer companies within
the CGF and then more importantly within a coalition of action helps us to drive further
ambition in the industry and with our partners.
In the US, Unilever is a member of the Field to Market initiative. This ensures that we
contribute to the leadership of the sustainability initiatives in this important soy sourcing
landscape, ensuring alignment with our sustainable sourcing strategy.
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Forest risk commodity
Other - Cocoa
Do you participate in activities/initiatives?
Yes
Activities
Engaging with communities
Country/Area
Not applicable
Subnational area
Not applicable
Initiatives
Please explain
In 2021, we initiated forest protection awareness-raising campaigns using radio drama
episodes called “Trees of Hope” produced in partnership with Alma Productions., The
campaign was aired with three different local radio stations in French and 5 local
languages: Dioula, Baoulé, Moré, Guéré, Bété.
The radio program was then re-broadcast on the French radio channel RFI with the
potential to reach one million listeners. The effectiveness of the radio programme
was evaluated with the support of Farm Radio International (FRI) and
key findings such as the radio programme listenership and the level of knowledge,
will help to improve the second round of the radio programme that is expected for
2022.
F6.12
(F6.12) Is your organization supporting or implementing project(s) focused on
ecosystem restoration and protection?
Yes
F6.12a
(F6.12a) Provide details on your project(s), including the extent, duration, and
monitoring frequency. Please specify any measured outcome(s).
Project reference
Project 1
Project type
Forest ecosystem restoration
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Primary motivation
Voluntary
Description of project
Unilever is part of an initiative to support WWF-Malaysia to protect and restore forest
and certify 60,000 hectares of oil palm in Sabah, Malaysia under the RSPO certification
scheme. Approx 8% of our sourced volumes originate from Sabah, where many vital
ecosystems exist as habitats for endangered species of flora & fauna, making Sabah a
key priority landscape to Unilever. The initiative includes a partnership with the PONGO
Alliance and Bornean Rhino Alliance (BORA) on restoration projects within oil palm
landscapes in the Kinabatangan area and with Forever Sabah in establishing a
permanent Secretariat for Sabah's Jurisdictional Certification Steering Committee.
Through this collaboration, we aim to restore vital ecological corridors and Forest
Reserves of more than 1,500 hectares between 2018-2023. These corridors link the Ulu
Kalumpang Forest Reserve and Tawau Hills Park to the Ulu Segama Forest, which is
part of the larger central forest complex covering almost 250,000 hectares, habitats of
critically endangered species like elephants and orangutans.
Sabah’s state policy requires maintenance of riparian reserves, of 20-50m along rivers
of different sizes, and it is also a RSPO requirement to maintain riparian reserves along
rivers. Ecological corridors are needed to offset the negative impacts of fragmentation
and isolation of wildlife populations in smaller and smaller patches, including loss of
genetic diversity and constraints on adaptation to climate change impacts.
Restoration of Sabah’s over-exploited forest areas is an important to ensure the
maintenance of ecosystem services to underpin Sabah’s future economic development,
as well as supporting its biodiversity conservation and eco-tourism.
This is part of our wider strategy to achieving sustainable transformation and reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions in the palm oil industry. This project contributes to the
jurisdictional approach to RSPO certification that is being piloted in Sabah, Unilever
funds the Tawau and Lower Sugut landscapes.
Start year
2018
Target year
2023
Project area to date (Hectares)
225
Project area in the target year (Hectares)
1,095
Country/Area
Malaysia
Latitude
4
Longitude
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117
Monitoring frequency
Six-monthly or more frequently
Measured outcomes to date
Other, please specify
Area planted, maintained or restored
Please explain
Our partner WWF manages a project component, the Sabah Softwoods Berhad wildlife
corridor and orangutan habitat in Trusan Sugut Forest Reserve. Through Unilever’s
investment, a nursery was established to grow orangutan food plants, in Tabin Wildlife
Reserve and 699 seedlings have been provided to two companies for planting, Sawit
Kinabalu (SK) and Kretam Holding Berhad (KHB). They are working with PONGO
Alliance to plant the seedlings and increase the extent of food sources within orangutan
habitat. This experimental planting is a new paradigm of orangutan and human co-
existence in a mixed oil palm and forest landscape. Baseline surveys for orangutans
and other wildlife were conducted in 2019 and in 2020 this baseline data was an input to
spatial & program planning by providing an understanding orangutan habitat, &
distribution of this threatened species. In 2021, together with WWF Malaysia, BORA and
other local partners, we planted 10,525 trees in the landscape and mapped 1,500
smallholder farmers to participate in the RSPO and MSPO certification programmes.
F7. Verification
F7.1
(F7.1) Do you verify any forests information reported in your CDP disclosure?
Yes
F7.1a
(F7.1a) Which data points within your CDP disclosure have been verified, and which
standards were used?
Disclosure module
F1. Current State
Data points verified
F1.1, 1.1a - In palm oil, our supply chain links to a universe of 1,400 mills as declared by
our suppliers. We have publicly shared the names and locations of more than 1400
mills and 150 refineries (sourcing from many mills) from around the world from which
our suppliers source palm oil.
Mill locations are an important indicator of where palm fruit is processed and therefore
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tell us more about where oil palm plantations are located. By plotting these mills on a
map, we can measure environmental risk using WRI’s Global Forest Watch (GFW) tool.
Verification standard
In 2021, we strengthened our satellite data, geolocation and blockchain capabilities to
monitor & trace from mill to plantation.
Our Orbital Insights partnership anonymises geolocation-tracking capability to increase
traceability, enabling identification of deforestation risks. With Descartes Labs we
access geospatial data layers on palm & forest for traceability in our own monitoring
platform. Our NDPE Dashboard combines cloud computing and Google Earth satellite
imagery capabilities for better deforestation detection.
3Keel identifies countries, regions, districts of origin, mill name, location & GPS details
with the RSPO Palm Trace system and does traceability surveys for Unilever twice
yearly. Our suppliers provide traceability information on RSPO certified and non-certified
volumes. This permits visibility of all the mills in our supply chain to assess/manage risk
+ publicly disclose lists of more than 1400 mills and 150 refineries/oleochemical
plants/kernel crushing plants.
Please explain
By enhancing our own and our stakeholders' understanding of where our palm oil
comes from, we improve our ability to identify and address risks and build trust in our
supply chain. Partnering with Rainforest Alliance, PalmTrace and WRI & GFW gives us
visibility of our supply chain - where our palm oil mills are located globally and the
environmental risks that sit in our supply chain based on the five key indicators in the
PALM Risk tool. The tool enables us to verify environmental risk and identify where the
highest risks are in our supply chain so we can pinpoint key areas and landscapes to
prioritize.
F8. Barriers and challenges
F8.1
(F8.1) Describe the key barriers or challenges to eliminating deforestation and/or
conversion of other natural ecosystems from your direct operations or from other
parts of your value chain.
Forest risk commodity
Timber products
Coverage
Supply chain
Primary barrier/challenge type
Value chain complexity
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Comment
One barrier and challenge for paper & board is supply chain complexity and traceability,
particularly in the uncertified recycled packaging market, which remains a source of risk
because of the lack of chain of custody and traceability of raw materials.
Forest risk commodity
Timber products
Coverage
Supply chain
Primary barrier/challenge type
Limited public awareness and/or market demand
Comment
Another key barrier and challenge for P&B packaging materials is limited consumer
awareness and therefore limited market demand for certification, particularly for non-
consumer-facing packaging.
Forest risk commodity
Palm oil
Coverage
Supply chain
Primary barrier/challenge type
Value chain complexity
Comment
The palm industry has many issues and involves many stakeholders, creating a
complex, multi-faceted supply chain challenge. Deforestation, land conflict & labour
exploitation are some examples of issues that exist within the palm industry. These
issues require collective effort through programs with diverse stakeholders over long
periods of time. The costs of certification and maintaining the certification is high,
especially for smallholder farmers (SHF), and there is little incentive to continue
certification without market demand. Limited availability of certified materials also drives
raw materials prices up, which will increase the production costs of our products. A
multi-tiered palm supply chain adds to the supply chain complexity, and this may
prevent us from identifying and engaging non-compliant suppliers for remedial actions.
SHF account for 40% of land under oil palm cultivation in Indonesia but contribute 30%
of total palm oil produced, and their integration into sustainable supply chains remains a
challenge. As part of our policy, we want to ensure Independent SHF facilitation and
inclusion, and through our various partnership programs with suppliers and
implementation partners, we are scaling up our work to provide training, creating
avenues for increased RSPO certification, and implementing a jurisdictional approach.
Through these projects, we seek to progress the industry towards sustainable
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agricultural practices, which will enable greater supply of certified sustainable palm oil in
the market.
Forest risk commodity
Soy
Coverage
Supply chain
Primary barrier/challenge type
Value chain complexity
Comment
There are many interconnected barriers to sourcing sustainable soy oil and thus
avoiding forest-related risks. Supply chains are complex as multiple tiers of actors exist
between the farmer growing soybeans and Unilever. This complexity, coupled with
limited availability of certified materials and limited public awareness and/or market
demand, hinder the move towards 100% deforestation and conversion-free soy.
Soy oil is the by-product of soy processing for soy meal. For the sustainable production
of 1 ton of soy oil, 5 tons of beans must be crushed and refined. Given that soy meal is
used by the animal feed industry, there is limited public awareness of the fact that
animals such as dairy cows, chickens or cattle are fed on soy meal. There is little
consumer pressure for sustainably produced soy meal-derived animal feed and this
drives up the cost of sustainably sourced oil and other soy certified by-products in
general.
Forest risk commodity
Other - Cocoa
Coverage
Supply chain
Primary barrier/challenge type
Value chain complexity
Comment
There are many interconnected barriers to sourcing sustainable cocoa and thus
avoiding forest-related risks. Supply chain complexity coupled with lack of adequate
traceability systems and lack of regulatory control and enforcement from local
governments hinder the move towards 100% deforestation and conversion-free cocoa.
Our goal is to “protect the people” at the same time that we “protect the planet.”
Hundreds of thousands of farmers and their families depend on cocoa farming in
protected areas for their incomes and livelihoods. We therefore need to understand the
social impact of our efforts to end deforestation, and sequence the implementation of
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actions to minimize adverse social and economic risks for forest-dependent
communities.
F8.2
(F8.2) Describe the main measures that would improve your organization’s ability to
manage its exposure to deforestation and/or conversion of other natural ecosystems.
Forest risk commodity
Timber products
Coverage
Supply chain
Main measure
Greater transparency
Comment
All measures listed are of equal importance to Unilever. The measures listed all
contribute positively to the management of forest risks. Key to managing risks are
partnerships and monitoring and traceability systems. Working with our partner, Global
Traceability Systems, Unilever invests in regularly monitoring the sustainability status of
packaging and requests suppliers to report on a quarterly basis. We set a goal to
purchase packaging materials with a full chain of custody by 2021 which we have
achieved 92.9% conveying our commitment to certification and traceability as a means
to manage forest-related risks. Increased transparency and reporting of forest origins
would improve Unilever’s ability to manage forest-related risks inherent in paper & board
packaging. We are also developing and implementing several technology partnerships
to advance supply chain transparency, including with Google Earth Engine, WRI Global
Forest Watch and others.
Forest risk commodity
Palm oil
Coverage
Supply chain
Main measure
Greater stakeholder engagement and collaboration
Comment
All measures listed are of equal importance to Unilever. Stakeholder engagement
though partnerships, advocacy & committed on-ground work are essential to transform
the palm oil industry & bring innovation. Collaboration & stakeholder engagement that
advocates for certification can help increase the supply of certified materials & make
certified materials commonplace in the market. We think deforestation can only be
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addressed when all stakeholders adhere to the strong environmental protection
standards and collaborate to monitor and manage risk. We have policies that encourage
sustainability across the supply chain and work through multi-stakeholder platforms
such as RSPO, CGF, TFA to advocate for adoption of similar high standards for all.
Unilever has long participated in RSPO and we were are part of developing & improving
RSPO standards, such as the RSPO Independent Smallholder Standard, launched in
Nov 2019. In smallholder and jurisdiction impact programming, collaboration is
essential: we work with local governments, communities and NGOs including INOBU,
Conservation International & suppliers PTPN, PT SKIP, to build capacity among some
9,000 smallholders. Since 2016, Unilever contributed to a jurisdictional project managed
by Yayasan Inovasi Bumi (INOBU). Our brands are vehicles for consumer engagement
and advancing social & environmental change, raising awareness of sustainable
consumption. Stakeholder engagement and collaboration are essential for traceability
across the industry to be standard practice and to set common standards for data
collection & quality. We work with Earthqualizer to build a palm oil database & mapping
platform that details company group structure, business relationships & concession
maps within the industry.
Forest risk commodity
Soy
Coverage
Supply chain
Main measure
Greater transparency
Comment
All measures listed are of equal importance to Unilever as we believe they all contribute
positively to the management of forest risks.
Various measures are needed to improve our ability to manage forest-related risks,
including greater transparency & traceability in our tail soybean oil supply chain.
Specifically, a critical enabler in managing forest risk would be investment in enforcing &
strengthening local regulation to address all deforestation & conversion. This would
raise the bar across Brazil.
But traceability and regulation enforcement are not enough. Greater customer
awareness would drive increased demand for certified products, which in turn would
result in improved incentives to produce sustainable raw materials.
Stakeholder engagement & collaboration across all sectors is key to enable the move to
deforestation- & conversion-free soy.
Starting in 2010, our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan commitment was to 100%
sustainable sourcing of all our agricultural commodities by 2020. Since then, we’ve
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refined our approach by introducing short-term targets, pioneering the traceability of
materials to known origin, & leading industry discussions on commodities. With the
launch of our new Unilever Compass strategy & our People & Nature Policy in 2020,
we’re committed to sourcing 100% deforestation-free soy by 2023. We will continue
working with our soybean oil suppliers and other partners to gain greater visibility into
our soy origins and advocating for no deforestation with industry- wide initiatives, eg the
CGF Forest Positive Coalition. Through partnerships with suppliers we see the
possibility to create change much larger than the sum of our requirements. This is
reflected in our new partnership in Brazil to generate deforestation free soy with our
partner CJ Selecta.
Forest risk commodity
Other - Cocoa
Coverage
Supply chain
Main measure
Investment in monitoring tools and traceability systems
Comment
All measures listed are of equal importance to Unilever. The measures listed all
contribute positively to the management of forest risks in our opinion. Investment in
monitoring tools and traceability systems is essential to monitor the origin of the cocoa
that we buy & to comply with our commitment to not source cocoa that is grown illegally.
We are committed to strengthening supply chain mapping, with the end goal of effective
and cost-efficient traceability at the farm-level, and we are working with the governments
to develop the framework and tools to ensure that quality data collection. It is important
to ensure a uniform approach that applies equally to international and national traders,
particularly in Côte d’Ivoire where the local traders (traitants and pisteurs) have been
identified as the primary direct buyers of cocoa from protected areas. Better
coordination of national production policies and programs of cocoa producing countries
ensures stable and sustainable long-term supply management consistent with global
demand projections. Greater stakeholder engagement and collaboration is necessary to
focus on a comprehensive approach to poverty reduction, sustainable land use, and
forest protection - with governments in the lead in order to eliminate deforestation.
Industry, governments, and development partners need to work together to accelerate
investment in long term cocoa sustainability programs like Cocoa Action in West Africa.
Joint action is required to boost farmer productivity and profitability in environmentally
suitable areas, such as through improved planting materials, good agricultural practices,
financial inclusion, and agriculture and trade policy reforms. As we seek to improve the
profitability of cocoa production and boost farmer income, also to ensure more stable
commodity price on cocoa, governments need to enact complementary measures for
improved land-use planning and enforcement of national environmental regulations to
ensure that cocoa is grown only in environmentally sustainable areas. We encourage
increased transparency and discussion about the way government-regulated prices and
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cocoa taxes are determined in producing countries. Our goal must be “more cocoa from
less land.”
F17 Signoff
F-FI
(F-FI) Use this field to provide any additional information or context that you feel is
relevant to your organization's response. Please note that this field is optional and is
not scored.
No additional comments
F17.1
(F17.1) Provide the following information for the person that has signed off (approved)
your CDP forests response.
Job Title
Corresponding job category
Row 1
Chief Supply Chain Officer
Other C-Suite Officer
SF. Supply chain module
SF0.1
(SF0.1) What is your organization’s annual revenue for the reporting period?
Annual revenue
Row 1
52,444,000,000
SF1.1
(SF1.1) In F6.3 you were asked “Have you adopted any third-party certification
scheme(s) for your disclosed commodity(ies)? Indicate the volume and percentage of
your certified production and/or consumption”. Can you also indicate, for each of
your disclosed commodity(ies), the percentage of certified volume sold to each
requesting CDP supply chain member?
No
SF1.1b
(SF1.1b) Why can you not indicate the percentage of certified volume sold to each of
your requesting CDP supply chain members? Describe any future plans for adopting
and communicating levels of certification to requesting members.
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Requesting member
Arcos Dorados
Forest risk commodity
Timber products
Primary reason
Other, please specify
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
Requesting member
Arcos Dorados
Forest risk commodity
Palm oil
Primary reason
Other, please specify
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
Requesting member
Arcos Dorados
Forest risk commodity
Other - Cocoa
Primary reason
Other, please specify
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
Requesting member
Arcos Dorados
Forest risk commodity
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Soy
Primary reason
Other, please specify
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
Requesting member
Stéarinerie Dubois
Forest risk commodity
Timber products
Primary reason
Other, please specify
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
Requesting member
Stéarinerie Dubois
Forest risk commodity
Palm oil
Primary reason
Other, please specify
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
Requesting member
Stéarinerie Dubois
Forest risk commodity
Other - Cocoa
Primary reason
Other, please specify
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Unilever plc CDP Forests Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
Requesting member
Stéarinerie Dubois
Forest risk commodity
Soy
Primary reason
Other, please specify
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
Requesting member
Walmart, Inc.
Forest risk commodity
Timber products
Primary reason
Other, please specify
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
Requesting member
Walmart, Inc.
Forest risk commodity
Palm oil
Primary reason
Other, please specify
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
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Unilever plc CDP Forests Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
Requesting member
Walmart, Inc.
Forest risk commodity
Soy
Primary reason
Other, please specify
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
Requesting member
Walmart, Inc.
Forest risk commodity
Other - Cocoa
Primary reason
Other, please specify
It is sold to retailers within products.
Please explain
The commodity is within a percentage of our products, which are then sold to retailers.
We don't sell the commodity itself directly to our customers (retailers).
SF2.1
(SF2.1) Please propose any mutually beneficial forests-related projects you could
collaborate on with specific CDP supply chain members.
SF2.2
(SF2.2) Have requests or initiatives by CDP supply chain members prompted your
organization to take organizational-level action to reduce or remove
deforestation/forest degradation from your operations or your supply chain?
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SF3.1
(SF3.1) For your disclosed commodity(ies), do you estimate the GHG emission
reductions and/or removals from land use and land use change that have occurred in
your direct operations and/or supply chain?
Timber products
Estimate GHG emissions and removals from land use and land use change
Please explain
Palm oil
Estimate GHG emissions and removals from land use and land use change
Please explain
Soy
Estimate GHG emissions and removals from land use and land use change
Please explain
Other - Cocoa
Estimate GHG emissions and removals from land use and land use change
Please explain
Submit your response
In which language are you submitting your response?
English
Please confirm how your response should be handled by CDP
I understand that my response will be shared
Response
with all requesting stakeholders
permission
Please select your
Yes
Public
submission options
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Unilever plc CDP Forests Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
Please confirm below
I have read and accept the applicable Terms
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
Welcome to your CDP Climate Change
Questionnaire 2022
C0. Introduction
C0.1
(C0.1) Give a general description and introduction to your organization.
BACKGROUND
Unilever makes and sells more than 400+ brands in over 190 countries which are used by
some 3.4 billion consumers worldwide every day. Our brands include Knorr, Dove, Rexona,
Lipton, Hellmann’s, Omo, Lifebuoy and Ben & Jerry’s - amongst many others.
In 2021, our business was organised across three divisions: Beauty & Personal Care, Foods &
Refreshment and Home Care. Total turnover in 2021 was €52.4bn.
OUR PURPOSE
Unilever’s purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace which we believe is the best way
to deliver long-term sustainable growth. We put sustainable living at the heart of everything we
do, including our brands and products, our standards of behaviour and our partnerships which
drive transformational change across our value chain.
In June 2020, we released new commitments to fight climate change and protect nature as part
of our new integrated business strategy, the Unilever Compass which builds on the Unilever
Sustainable Living Plan, which came to an end in 2020. Some of our Unilever Compass
commitments include:
• Net zero emissions for all our products by 2039.
• A deforestation-free supply chain by 2023.
• A new Regenerative Agriculture Code for all our suppliers.
• Water stewardship programmes to 100 locations in water-stressed
areas by
2030.
• Investing €1 billion in a new Climate & Nature Fund, which will
be used by
Unilever’s brands over the next
ten years to take meaningful
and
decisive
action.
OUR REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE
Unilever’s primary report is our Annual Report & Accounts (ARA). In our ARA, we report
progress against our Unilever Compass commitments as well as a range of other non-financial
indicators. Our ARA also includes TCFD disclosures. We provide additional climate related
disclosure and commentary in the Planet & Society Hub on unilever.com.
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
ASSURANCE
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) scope for their assurance work on selected Compass &
Environmental & Occupational Safety performance indicators can be found in the PwC Basis of
Preparation 2021 document in the Independent Assurance and metrics section on our website,
alongside their findings in the PwC Limited Assurance Statement for 2021.
DISCLAIMER
This CDP submission may contain forward-looking statements, including ‘forward-looking
statements’ within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Words such as ‘will’, ‘aim’, ‘expects’, ‘anticipates’, ‘intends’, ‘looks’, ‘believes’, ‘vision’, or
the negative of these terms and other similar expressions of future performance or results, and
their negatives, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-
looking statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions regarding
anticipated developments and other factors affecting the Unilever Group (the ‘Group’). They are
not historical facts, nor are they guarantees of future performance. Because these forward-
looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document.
Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any
obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Group’s expectations with regard
thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is
based.
C0.2
(C0.2) State the start and end date of the year for which you are reporting data.
Start
End date
Indicate if you are
Select the number of past
date
providing emissions data
reporting years you will be
for past reporting years
providing emissions data for
Reporting
October
September
Yes
1 year
year
1, 2020
30, 2021
C0.3
(C0.3) Select the countries/areas in which you operate.
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bangladesh
Belgium
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
Chile
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Ethiopia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guatemala
Honduras
Hong Kong SAR, China
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Kenya
Lithuania
Malaysia
Mexico
Morocco
Myanmar
Nepal
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan, China
Thailand
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Republic of Tanzania
United States of America
Uruguay
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Viet Nam
Zimbabwe
C0.4
(C0.4) Select the currency used for all financial information disclosed throughout your
response.
EUR
C0.5
(C0.5) Select the option that describes the reporting boundary for which climate-
related impacts on your business are being reported. Note that this option should
align with your chosen approach for consolidating your GHG inventory.
Operational control
C-AC0.6/C-FB0.6/C-PF0.6
(C-AC0.6/C-FB0.6/C-PF0.6) Are emissions from agricultural/forestry,
processing/manufacturing, distribution activities or emissions from the consumption
of your products - whether in your direct operations or in other parts of your value
chain - relevant to your current CDP climate change disclosure?
Relevance
Agriculture/Forestry
Both own land and elsewhere in the value chain [Agriculture/Forestry
only]
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
Processing/Manufacturing
Both direct operations and elsewhere in the value chain
[Processing/manufacturing/Distribution only]
Distribution
Both direct operations and elsewhere in the value chain
[Processing/manufacturing/Distribution only]
Consumption
Yes [Consumption only]
C-AC0.7/C-FB0.7/C-PF0.7
(C-AC0.7/C-FB0.7/C-PF0.7) Which agricultural commodity(ies) that your organization
produces and/or sources are the most significant to your business by revenue?
Select up to five.
Agricultural commodity
Timber
% of revenue dependent on this agricultural commodity
More than 80%
Produced or sourced
Sourced
Please explain
The % of revenue dependent on each commodity is an approximation based on annual
turnover for our Beauty & Personal Care, Foods & Refreshment and Home Care
divisions. This is not based on actual product-specific data and does not take into
account the level of inclusion or whether or not it is substitutable/one of a number of
sources. Each commodity is assessed based on revenue per division and an
approximate calculation (%) of brands within that division that use paper and board.
Paper and board is widely used across all divisions in some form i.e. box packaging, so
we have selected >80% of revenue.
Agricultural commodity
Palm Oil
% of revenue dependent on this agricultural commodity
40-60%
Produced or sourced
Sourced
Please explain
The % of revenue dependent on each commodity is an approximation based on annual
turnover for our Beauty & Personal Care, Food & Refreshments and Home Care
categories. This is not based on actual product specific data and does not take into
account level of inclusion or whether or not is substitutable/one of a number of sources.
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
Each commodity is assessed based on revenue per category and a rough calculation
(%) of brands within that category that use palm oil.
Palm oil is used in Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Food & Refreshments.
Based on this estimation, palm oil accounts for about 51-60% of revenue.
Agricultural commodity
Soy
% of revenue dependent on this agricultural commodity
Less than 10%
Produced or sourced
Sourced
Please explain
The % of revenue dependent on each commodity is an approximation based on annual
turnover for our Beauty & Personal Care, Foods & Refreshment and Home Care
divisions. This is not based on actual product specific data and does not take into
account the level of inclusion or whether or not it is substitutable/one of a number of
sources.
Each commodity is assessed based on revenue per division and an approximate
calculation (%) of brands within that division that use it. Soy is only used in only a small
amount of our Foods & Refreshment portfolio, so the revenue is calculated as 6- 10% of
the total.
Agricultural commodity
Other, please specify
Cocoa
% of revenue dependent on this agricultural commodity
Less than 10%
Produced or sourced
Sourced
Please explain
The % of revenue dependent on each commodity is an approximation based on annual
turnover for our Beauty & Personal Care, Food & Refreshments and Home Care
categories. This is not based on actual product specific data and does not take into
account level of inclusion or whether or not is substitutable/one of a number of sources.
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
Each commodity is assessed based on revenue per division and an approximate
calculation (%) of brands within that division that use cocoa Unilever purchases cocoa
mainly for our ice cream business for brands such as Magnum, Wall’s and Ben &
Jerry’s, and we estimate this accounts for between 6 - 10% of revenue.
C0.8
(C0.8) Does your organization have an ISIN code or another unique identifier (e.g.,
Ticker, CUSIP, etc.)?
Indicate whether you are able to provide a unique identifier for
Provide your unique
your organization
identifier
Yes, an ISIN code
GB00B10RZP78
C1. Governance
C1.1
(C1.1) Is there board-level oversight of climate-related issues within your
organization?
Yes
C1.1a
(C1.1a) Identify the position(s) (do not include any names) of the individual(s) on the
board with responsibility for climate-related issues.
Position of
Please explain
individual(s)
Chief Executive
The Unilever Board delegates the running of Unilever Group to the CEO, with the
Officer (CEO)
exception of some strategic matters (e.g. approval of dividends). Whilst the Board
takes accountability, the CEO is ultimately responsible for the oversight of our
climate agenda, including the management of all risks and opportunities, including
our commitments on climate action and achieving net zero emissions by 2039.
The CEO can delegate responsibilities to the Unilever Leadership Executive
(ULE). The ULE is comprised of the CEO, CFO and other senior executives. All
ULE members report to the CEO but are not part of the Board’s decision-making
process, which is reserved for the CEO and CFO as the only two executive Board
members.
In 2020, our CEO approved Unilever’s new set of sustainability commitments
under the Unilever Compass, which succeeded the Unilever Sustainable Living
Plan. These included commitments to achieve net zero emissions from all our
products from sourcing to point of sale by 2039, halving the GHG impact of our
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
products across the lifecycle by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions in our
operations by 2030. The CEO also approved our Climate Transition Action Plan
(CTAP), which outlines what specific actions we will take to achieve our climate
commitments.
In December 2020 Unilever’s Board agreed that it would put our Climate Transition
Action Plan (CTAP) before shareholders and seek a non-binding, advisory vote on
our ambitious emissions reduction targets. Our CTAP sets out a range of targets
and actions designed to deliver an emissions reduction pathway consistent with
the 1.5 degrees ambition of the Paris Agreement. In May 2021, we put the CTAP
to our shareholders at our AGM and 99.59% of our shareholders voted in favour of
the plan, giving the Board and our business a strong mandate to progress our
ambitious climate agenda.
C1.1b
(C1.1b) Provide further details on the board’s oversight of climate-related issues.
Frequency with
Governance
Please explain
which climate-
mechanisms into
related issues
which climate-related
are a scheduled
issues are integrated
agenda item
Scheduled - some
Reviewing and guiding
Unilever’s Board has ultimate responsibility for
meetings
strategy
reviewing, monitoring and guiding the strategy for the
Reviewing and guiding
Unilever Group, as well as its conduct. The Board has
major plans of action
overall accountability for the management and
guidance of risks and opportunities, including those
Reviewing and guiding
associated with climate action and our net zero
risk management
commitments.
policies
Reviewing and guiding
In 2021, the Board held 6 planned meetings and 3
business plans
additional meetings. The Board is supported by the
Setting performance
Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE). The ULE meet
objectives
quarterly to discuss key strategic matters. During
Monitoring
2021, three agenda items relating to climate change
implementation and
were discussed, including progress against our
performance of
Compass climate goals.
objectives
Overseeing major
The Board’s delegated Corporate Responsibility
capital expenditures,
Committee (CRC) oversees Unilever’s conduct as a
acquisitions and
responsible global business. Core to this remit is its
divestitures
governance of progress on Unilever’s sustainability
agenda, as set out in the company’s integrated
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
Monitoring and
business strategy, the Unilever Compass, and
overseeing progress
reviewing sustainability-related risks, developments
against goals and
and opportunities. The CRC feeds into the Board for
targets for addressing
key decisions on major plans of action to be made,
climate-related issues
review our climate reporting and receive
presentations from sustainability experts, including the
Sustainability Advisory Council. Within the Unilever
Compass, there are climate action targets, including
those for our climate action and net zero commitments
in our own operations and across our value chain,
which the CRC oversees. The CRC report their
findings to the Board regularly so that they can fulfil
their oversight responsibilities.
The CRC’s responsibilities are complemented by
those of the Audit Committee. During 2021 the Audit
Committee continued to review the sustainability
assurance provided by PwC (including Environmental
& Occupational Safety which includes metrics such as
GHG emissions) and plan for the assurance on non-
financial Compass metrics going forward.
Additional specialist governance groups are in place to
support our climate agenda and ULE decision-making,
including:
▪ Climate Action Committee: Drives delivery of our
carbon ambition at corporate and country level and
leads strategic partnerships and policy on renewables.
Chaired by our Chief Business Operations Officer.
▪ Sustainable Sourcing Steering Group: Supports our
strategy focusing on long-term, sustainable access to
our key crops. Chaired by our Chief Procurement
Officer.
For the fifth year, we applied the recommendations of
the TCFD. In Unilever’s 2021 ARA, climate was
included as one of our principal business risks. As part
of the Board sign-off process, the Board and the Audit
Committee are required to approve the ARA, which
includes our TCFD statement. In 2021, this statement
again included our analysis of the direct risks from
climate change to key commodities such as palm oil,
including changes in yield and supply. These risks are
reviewed by the Board on an annual basis.
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
C1.1d
(C1.1d) Does your organization have at least one board member with competence on
climate-related issues?
Board member(s) have
Criteria used to assess competence of board member(s) on
competence on climate-
climate-related issues
related issues
Row
Yes
Involvement of Board Member in climate-related organisations.
1
Unilever’s CFO is Vice Chair of the Financial Stability Board
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
C1.2
(C1.2) Provide the highest management-level position(s) or committee(s) with
responsibility for climate-related issues.
Name of the position(s)
Responsibility
Frequency of reporting to the
and/or committee(s)
board on climate-related
issues
Chief Financial Officer
Both assessing and managing
Quarterly
(CFO)
climate-related risks and
opportunities
Chief Executive Officer
Both assessing and managing
Quarterly
(CEO)
climate-related risks and
opportunities
C1.2a
(C1.2a) Describe where in the organizational structure this/these position(s) and/or
committees lie, what their associated responsibilities are, and how climate-related
issues are monitored (do not include the names of individuals).
Our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) are the two Executive
Directors on our Board and are both members of the Unilever Leadership Executive
(ULE). The ULE is Unilever’s highest operational leadership group, comprised of senior and C-
Suite executives. The CEO is then responsible for reporting to the Board.
The Board have delegated to the CEO and CFO the responsibility for the day-to-day
operational leadership of the business including strategy, monitoring of performance and policy.
This responsibility is shared equally between the CEO and CFO. This includes accountability
for assessing and managing climate-related risks and opportunities, including our climate-
related 'principal risk'. It also includes responsibility for the 6 climate specific targets under the
Unilever Compass 'improve the health of the planet' overarching goal. The ULE then help the
Board fulfil their oversight responsibilities.
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
As well as being a member of the ULE and the Boards, our CFO also attends our Board-
delegated Audit Committee meetings, which discuss Unilever’s risk management strategy and
processes. Our principal risks are those we regard as the most relevant to our business and
more material to business performance, from both a financial and a strategic perspective. One
of Unilever’s principal risks is climate change. In reviewing the principal risks, the CFO along
with the Audit Committee consider the level of risk that Unilever is prepared to take in pursuit of
the business strategy and the effectiveness of the management controls and monitoring in
place to mitigate the risk exposure. They also consider the effectiveness of any remedial
actions taken and report their findings in the Risk section of the Annual Report and Accounts
(ARA) annually. As a reflection of the significance that we place on climate change, for the fifth
year in a row, we have included TCFD-aligned disclosure in our ARA.
The full ULE, chaired by the CEO, meet on a quarterly basis to review our sustainability
progress against the new Unilever Compass goals, including those targets related to climate.
This represents a significant step towards integrating climate considerations into our core
business operations. The ULE is CEO led, with each member reporting directly to the CEO. In
addition the ULE, including the CEO and CFO, meet monthly to discuss key strategic matters
and during 2021, several agenda items related to climate change were discussed, including
progress against our new Unilever Compass climate goals. The ULE’s responsibilities also
include overseeing climate-focussed R&D and brand-led innovations (for example, detergents
that perform well in cold water) to help reduce indirect consumer use phase emissions.
Additional specialist governance groups are in place to support our climate agenda and ULE
decision making. This includes the Climate Action Committee, which drives the delivery of our
carbon ambition at corporate and country level and leads strategic partnerships and policy on
renewables. The Climate Action Committee is chaired by our Chief Business Operations
Officer, who is part of the ULE.
C1.3
(C1.3) Do you provide incentives for the management of climate-related issues,
including the attainment of targets?
Provide incentives for the management of
Comment
climate-related issues
Row
Yes
No comment necessary. Details
1
included in C1.3a
C1.3a
(C1.3a) Provide further details on the incentives provided for the management of
climate-related issues (do not include the names of individuals).
Entitled to
Type of
Activity
Comment
incentive
incentive
incentivized
Chief
Monetary
Emissions
One element of our Remuneration Policy is the long-term
Executive
reward
reduction
Performance Share Plan (PSP). The PSP is linked to
target
financial and sustainability performance, guided by our
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
Officer
Sustainability Progress Index (SPI), which accounts for
(CEO)
25% of the total PSP award for the CEO, other C-Suite
officers and senior executive leadership. The PSP
replaced the Management Co-Investment Plan (MCIP) in
2021.
Performance is determined through the SPI, a qualitative
and quantitative assessment made jointly by the Board-
delegated Corporate Responsibility and Compensation
Committees. The Committees determine a rating from 0%
to 200% each year based on 7 key performance indicators
(now 8 indicators in 2022).
SPI in 2021 was based on a selection of key performance
indicators (KPIs) from our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan
(USLP) which ran until 2020, reflected in the PSP up to
and including the 2021 award. This includes performance
against our environmental impact target to reduce CO2
emissions from our factories per tonne of production. In
2021 Unilever overachieved against this target, reducing
our CO2 emissions from energy from our factories per
tonne of production by 75% against the 2008 baseline.
MCIP performance is assessed annually and then tallied
as an average index for each four-year MCIP performance
period, enabling the Compensation Committee to
determine the level of matched shares. The level of
monetary reward is dependent on the average score
between 0 to 200% over the four years.
Over 2018-2021 the average SPI outcome was 125%,
contributing to an MCIP outcome of 87% (which has now
vested). In 2020, the annual SPI outcome was 125%, of
which a proportion was based on Unilever’s performance
on emissions reduction. Details of the MCIP awards for
our CEO & CFO are published on p 89 - 90 our Annual
Report 202.
The CEO leads the Unilever Leadership Executive who all
play a significant role in driving progress towards our
Compass targets, including our climate ambitions.
Executive remuneration for management employees - up
to and including the ULE - continues to be linked to
performance against climate change goals. Their reward
packages include fixed pay, a bonus as a percentage of
fixed pay and eligibility to participate in a long-term
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
Performance Share Plan (PSP).
C2. Risks and opportunities
C2.1
(C2.1) Does your organization have a process for identifying, assessing, and
responding to climate-related risks and opportunities?
Yes
C2.1a
(C2.1a) How does your organization define short-, medium- and long-term time
horizons?
From
To
Comment
(years)
(years)
Short-
0
3
Our annual report outlines the time horizon for our risks in line with the
term
entries in the table here. In order to report on the long-term viability of
our company, the Directors annually review the overall funding
capacity and headroom available to withstand severe events and carry
out a robust assessment of the principal risks, including those that
would threaten its business model, future performance, solvency or
liquidity. This assessment also includes reviewing and understanding
the mitigation factors in respect of each principal risk. The horizons
are aligned with other business practice time horizons - including
those which underpin our principal risk reporting. We also use a three-
year viability period based on our forward-looking planning which is set
out in our three-year strategic plans and annual forecasts.
Medium-
3
10
Our annual report outlines the time horizon for our risks in line with the
term
entries in the table here. In order to report on the long-term viability of
our company, the Directors annually review the overall funding
capacity and headroom available to withstand severe events and carry
out a robust assessment of the principal risks, including those that
would threaten its business model, future performance, solvency or
liquidity. This assessment also includes reviewing and understanding
the mitigation factors in respect of each principal risk. The horizons
are aligned with other business practice time horizons - including
those which underpin our principal risk reporting. We also use a three-
year viability period based on our forward-looking planning which is set
out in our three-year strategic plans and annual forecasts.
Long-
10
100
Our annual report outlines the time horizon for our risks in line with the
term
entries in the table here. In order to report on the long-term viability of
our company, the Directors annually review the overall funding
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
capacity and headroom available to withstand severe events and carry
out a robust assessment of the principal risks, including those that
would threaten its business model, future performance, solvency or
liquidity. This assessment also includes reviewing and understanding
the mitigation factors in respect of each principal risk. The horizons
are aligned with other business practice time horizons - including
those which underpin our principal risk reporting. We also use a three-
year viability period based on our forward-looking planning which is set
out in our three-year strategic plans and annual forecasts.
C2.1b
(C2.1b) How does your organization define substantive financial or strategic impact
on your business?
Definition: Substantive impacts for Unilever are those that would threaten the Group’s
business model, future performance, solvency or liquidity. We call these our Principal Risks &
these apply to the Unilever Group (including our direct operations & supply chain). One of
Unilever’s Principal Risks is climate change.
Determination: We use our Principal Risks (all 14 included in pages 46-50 of our Annual
Report and Accounts 2021) to identify scenarios which could force Unilever to cease being
viable over a three-year period. Each year, we assess the cash flow impact a particular risk/mix
of risks could have to the business based on the amount of cash held, our operating cash flows
and the credit facilities available & their ability to affect the business operating and meeting its
liabilities. Our time horizons are aligned with our forward-looking planning, set out in our three-
year strategic plans and annual forecasts and our Board assume overall accountability for the
management of risk & reviewing the effectiveness of Unilever’s risk management & internal
control systems.
Threshold: In assessing viability, ‘severe but plausible’ scenarios based on our principal risks
are considered and the definition we work with is 1% of our Group Turnover which was equal to
€524m in 2021.
We identify substantive financial impact in 2 ways:
1. assessing scenarios for each individual principal risk, for example the termination of our
relationships with the three largest global customers; the loss of all material litigation cases; a
major IT data breach or reputational damage from not progressing against our plastic
packaging commitments, and the lost cost and growth opportunities from not keeping up with
technological changes
2. assessing scenarios that involve more than one principal risk, for example a major global
incident affecting one or more of Unilever’s key locations resulting in an outage for a year in a
key sourcing unit & significant water shortages in our key developing markets. All the principal
risks could impact our business within the next two years (i.e. short-term risks less than 3
years), or could impact our business over the next 3-10 years (i.e. medium-term risks less than
10 years).
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
C2.2
(C2.2) Describe your process(es) for identifying, assessing and responding to climate-
related risks and opportunities.
Value chain stage(s) covered
Direct operations
Upstream
Downstream
Risk management process
Integrated into multi-disciplinary company-wide risk management process
Frequency of assessment
More than once a year
Time horizon(s) covered
Short-term
Medium-term
Long-term
Description of process
Climate risks are reviewed and assessed on an ongoing basis and formally at least once
per year. We monitor risks throughout the year to identify changes in the risk profile.
We regularly carry out climate-related risk assessments at site level, supplier level, as
well as innovation-project level.
Process to assess the financial impact of risks: We take an embedded approach to risk
management which puts risk and opportunity assessment at the core of the Board
agenda. Unilever’s appetite for risk is driven by the following:
• Our growth should be consistent, competitive, profitable and responsible.
• Our actions on issues such as plastic and climate change must reflect their urgency,
and not be constrained by the uncertainty of potential impacts.
• Our behaviours must be in line with our Code of Business Principles and Code
Policies.
• Our ambition to continuously improve our operational efficiency and effectiveness.
• Our aim to maintain a minimum A/A2 credit rating on a long-term basis
The Board has overall accountability for the management of risk and for reviewing the
effectiveness of Unilever’s risk management and internal control systems. The Board
has established a clear organisational structure with well-defined accountabilities for the
principal risks that Unilever faces in the short, medium and long term. This
organisational structure and distribution of accountabilities and responsibilities ensure
that every country in which we operate has specific resources and processes for risk
reviews and risk mitigation. This is supported by the Unilever Leadership Executive
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
(ULE), which takes active responsibility for focusing on the principal areas of risk to
Unilever. The Board regularly review these risk areas, including consideration of
environmental, social and governance matters, and retain responsibility for determining
the nature and extent of the significant risks that Unilever is prepared to take to achieve
its strategic objectives.
We use our 14 Principal Risks (p46-50 of our Annual Report & Accounts 2021) to
identify scenarios which could force Unilever to cease being viable over a 3-year period.
We see these as our substantive financial or strategic risks and climate change risk is
one of them. Each year, we run an integrated, company-wide viability assessment and
provide the estimated cash impact to the business. Findings are reported to the Audit
Committee and a summary is provided in our Annual Report & Accounts.
The assessment has 3 parts:
1) Directors consider the period over which they have a reasonable expectation Unilever
will continue to operate and meet its liabilities;
2) They consider the available debt facilities and headroom over the viability period,
assuming any debt maturing can be refinanced at commercially-acceptable terms;
3) They consider the potential impact of severe but plausible scenarios over this period,
including individual principal risk scenarios and those that involve more than one
principle risk (multi-risk scenarios).
As well as identifying the most relevant risks for our business throughout the year, we
reflect on whether we think the level of risk associated with each of our principal risks is
increasing or decreasing and whether certain mitigating actions help us to manage
these risks. For each of our Principal Risks, we have a risk management framework
which details the controls in place and management responsibilities for both the overall
risk, and the individual controls mitigating it. Time horizons vary for different aspects of
our business from the short-term (e.g. product innovation), medium-term (e.g business
planning) and long-term (e.g. company-level sustainability targets). Each year, as well
as assessing the cash impact of each Principal Risk individually, we also use a multi-risk
approach to look at the worst-case scenario we may face.
Transition risk: As part of our 1.5⁰C, 2⁰C and 4⁰C scenario analysis, we look at the
impact from transition risks and opportunities, such as changing consumer preferences
and future policy and regulation. Possible future mandatory carbon pricing in key
countries could result in increases in both manufacturing costs and the costs of raw
materials such as ingredients and packaging. If the circumstances in these risks occur
or are not successfully mitigated, our cash flow, operating results, financial position,
business and reputation could be materially adversely affected. To mitigate the risk from
future policy and regulatory changes, we support the use of carbon pricing as an
important tool to help us achieve our zero emissions goal.
Case study: Over the past five years, we have piloted different carbon pricing schemes
for our direct operations including a programme that ‘taxed’ divisional capital
expenditure budgets (initially formed from the carbon emissions of the divisions) to
create a centrally managed Low Carbon Fund. The Fund was used to accelerate clean
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
technology investment through energy and emissions reduction projects globally.
Physical risk: Climate change and governmental actions to reduce such changes may
disrupt our operations and/or reduce consumer demand for our products. Each year, as
well as assessing the cash impact of each Principal Risk individually, we also use a
multi-risk approach to look at the worst-case scenario we may face. In our 2021 viability
assessment, we looked at a number of multi-risk scenarios including for example a
major global incident affecting one or more of Unilever’s key locations resulting in an
outage for a year in a key sourcing unit and significant water shortages in our key
developing markets (for instance due to severe weather). The level of severity reviewed
was based on the complete loss of all our turnover in our largest geographic market
along with destruction of a key sourcing unit (upstream) and reduced demand for our
products that require water (downstream). Our Directors concluded that they had a
reasonable expectation the Group (Unilever) would be able to continue in operation and
meet its liabilities due over the three-year period of the assessment.
Case study: To mitigate the physical risks from climate change, including extreme
weather we monitor changing weather patterns on a short-term basis and take action to
mitigate any negative effects. We have contingency plans to secure alternative key
material supplies at short notice, to transfer or share production between manufacturing
sites and to substitute materials in products and recipes if needed. We manage
commodity price risks through forward-buying of traded commodities and other hedging
mechanisms. We integrate weather system modelling into our forecasting process. Our
Regenerative Agriculture Principles (launched in 2021) and Sustainable Agriculture
Code promote the principles of Climate-Smart Agriculture to our suppliers and
encourage practices to sustainably increase their productivity and resilience to extreme
weather.
C2.2a
(C2.2a) Which risk types are considered in your organization's climate-related risk
assessments?
Relevance &
Please explain
inclusion
Current
Relevant,
Relevance of risk:
regulation
always
included
Our processes for managing legal and regulatory risks are very similar.
We report them as a combined risk (‘Legal & Regulatory’) in our Annual
Report. To be consistent, we are doing the same with our CDP
reporting. Climate change laws and regulations around the world -
including but not limited to carbon taxes and emission trading schemes
(ETS), zero deforestation laws and greenhouse gas emissions
reporting - are continuously changing and therefore require regular
monitoring and assessment for requirements. Failure to comply with
laws and regulations could expose Unilever to civil and/or criminal
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
actions leading to damages, fines and criminal sanctions against us
and/or our employees with possible consequences for our corporate
reputation. To monitor the risks associated with current climate-related
laws and regulations, we are continually reviewing existing regulation.
Example:
Decarbonisation activities to date have kept Unilever ahead of the
curve on carbon pricing regulation. However, potentially bigger risk
exists in our supply chain. Unilever sources materials and services
from around 53,000 suppliers in over 150 countries. Carbon pricing
poses a risk of increased costs to Unilever and our suppliers with
significant carbon footprints where carbon taxes or ETS schemes are
under consideration or currently being implemented, such as in China,
South Africa and the UK. This may lead to increased supply chain
costs as suppliers pass the cost of carbon on to Unilever. In addition,
failure to pay carbon taxes could lead to fines. For instance, Unilever is
likely to incur an indirect cost through its scope 2 emissions where
carbon pricing affects energy generators. Switching to green tariffs may
not shield Unilever from electricity price rises that result from carbon
pricing regulation on power generation. There is a risk these costs
cannot be passed on to the consumer. There is currently no certainty
on where the tax burden will fall and whether the costs will be passed
downstream to manufacturers and consumers. Furthermore, supplier
capability to manage the risk from carbon pricing and taxes (e.g.
through emissions reduction) is in many cases nascent. Details of
mitigating actions are reported in our Annual Report & Accounts.
Emerging
Relevant,
Relevance of risk:
regulation
always
included
Climate change regulations around the world - including but not limited
to carbon taxes and emission trading schemes (ETS), zero
deforestation laws and greenhouse gas emissions reporting - are
continuously being introduced and therefore require regular monitoring
and assessment for emerging requirements. To monitor the risks
associated with emerging climate-related laws and regulations, we are
continually reviewing emerging regulation as part of Unilever’s ‘Legal &
Regulatory’ Principal Risk. Our legal & regulatory specialists are
heavily involved in monitoring and reviewing our practices to provide
reasonable assurance that we remain aware of, and in line with, all
relevant laws and legal obligations. As regulatory pressures around
climate change have increased, we are seeing impacts to our
operations and supply chain.
Example:
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
We monitor governmental developments around actions to combat
climate change and we consider the impact of possible future
mandatory carbon pricing in key countries e.g. our largest markets in
terms of carbon emissions such as China which accounts for 3% of the
top 30 Unilever countries in terms of carbon footprint. Prior to the
planned introduction of the UK ETS (in place of the EU ETS), Unilever
was expecting to be affected by changes made to the EU ETS as it
entered its fourth phase in 2021 - namely, by the phasing out of free
allocation between 2021 and 2030. Without further decarbonisation, in
any carbon price scenario Unilever was expecting to incur costs as the
free allocations were gradually phased out to 0% by 2030.
Technology
Relevant,
Relevance of risk:
always
included
Technology is key in creating innovative, sustainable products that
continue to meet the needs of our consumers and getting these new
products to market with speed. If we are unable to invest in technology
to reduce carbon emissions across our value chain, our production and
distribution costs may increase and we may cease to be competitive,
impacting sales and future growth. We need to invest in technology
related to (1) the energy efficiency of our operations and across our
value chain, (2) product innovation and the use of low carbon materials
in our products, and (3) product innovation through low-carbon and
resource-efficient products. Because of this technology risks are
included under our ‘Brand Preference’ Principal Risk to Unilever.
Example:
If we are unable to innovate effectively or utilise technological
advancements to make our products more sustainable, we may cease
to be competitive, impacting sales and future growth. We are working
to address this risk in our household cleaning and laundry portfolio
through ‘Clean Future’, which is removing black carbon ingredients
from our products in place of recycled or renewable carbon through:
- Using bio-science and industrial biotechnology to produce highly
efficient cleaning ingredients from sustainably sourced biomass, such
as the rhamnolipids (a surfactant) we are using in our hand dishwash
detergent in Chile and Vietnam or new high-performing bio-enzymes.
- Turning non-recyclable plastic waste destined for landfill or
incineration into biodegradable cleaning and fragrance chemicals.
- Turning CO2 from industrial emissions into useful chemicals and
minerals through carbon capture and utilisation, as we already do for
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
some of the soda ash we use in our laundry detergents in India.
Adopting this approach in the recent past has helped us deliver up to
GHG savings in product formulations whilst delivering new consumer
benefits such as skin mildness. We are now exploring the extent to
which this level of GHG reduction could be deliverable across the
Home Care portfolio. We’re investing €1 billion over ten years in
researching and developing new technologies to reduce the carbon
footprint, plastic waste and water use, and increase the biodegradable
and sustainable ingredients associated with our products.
Legal
Relevant,
Relevance of risk:
always
included
Our processes for managing legal and regulatory risks are very similar.
We report them as a combined risk (‘Legal & Regulatory’) in our Annual
Report. To be consistent we are doing the same with our CDP
reporting. Climate change laws and regulations around the world -
including but not limited to carbon taxes and emission trading schemes
(ETS), zero deforestation laws and greenhouse gas emissions
reporting - are continuously changing and therefore require regular
monitoring and assessment for requirements. Failure to comply with
laws and regulations could expose Unilever to civil and/or criminal
actions leading to damages, fines and criminal sanctions against us
and/or our employees with possible consequences for our corporate
reputation. To monitor the risks associated with current climate-related
laws and regulations, we are continually reviewing existing regulation.
Example:
Concerns about deforestation could lead to changing regulations on
land use that could limit growth and impact prices. For example, in
Malaysia and Indonesia where we source much of our palm oil, the
total land available for palm oil plantations is being capped by
government regulation or new plantation licenses have been halted.
Failure to comply could lead to litigation or fines. We support policies
that tackle deforestation associated with palm oil, and in 2020 we
committed to ending deforestation in our supply chain by 2023. So far,
we’ve made progress in moving our sourcing footprint to areas of lower
risk of deforestation. We’re working towards reporting of low-risk
deforestation volumes from 2022 and independently verified
deforestation-free volumes from 2023
We have been at the forefront of driving industry-wide change to
ensure a sustainable future for palm oil, including as a founding
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Unilever plc CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 01 August 2022
member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
Market
Relevant,
Relevance of risk:
always
included
Consumer tastes, preferences and behaviours are changing more
rapidly than ever before. Unilever’s growth and profitability are
determined by our portfolio of categories, geographies and channels
and how these evolve over time to meet consumer needs. Unilever
depends on its ability to continue being relevant in its markets such as
in areas of water scarcity (e.g. South Africa and Brazil) where there
could be reduced demand for our products; or in markets where there
is an increased demand for plant-based products. Market risk from
climate change is included under our ‘Brand Preference’ and ‘Portfolio
Management’ Principal Risks to Unilever.
Example:
If Unilever does not make optimal strategic investment decisions taking
climate change risks and opportunities into account, then opportunities
for growth and improved profitability could be missed. Unilever
depends on the ability to continue being relevant, such as in markets
where there is an increased demand for plant-based products. In
November 2020, the Foods & Refreshment division announced the
bold ‘Future Foods’ ambition with several mid-term commitments,
including the goal to increase annual sales of plant-based meat and
dairy alternatives to €1 billion by 2025-2027. The scope includes three
groups of products that are specifically designed to look, taste or cook
like products containing animal-derived proteins:
- Meat replacement: Vegan or vegetarian products that contain non-
animal-derived alternative proteins instead of meat proteins.
- Vegan mayonnaise: Vegan mayonnaise products in which all animal-
derived ingredients are replaced by non-animal-derived alternatives.
- Vegan ice cream: Vegan ice cream products in which all animal-
derived ingredients are replaced by non-animal-derived alternatives.
Reputation
Relevant,
i) Relevance of risk: Acting in an ethical manner, consistent with the
always
expectations of customers, consumers and other stakeholders, is
included
essential for the protection of the reputation of Unilever and its brands.
Unilever’s brands and reputation are valuable assets and the way in
which we operate, contribute to society and engage with the world
around us is always under scrutiny both internally and externally. It is
important for Unilever to be recognised as a company taking positive
action in the context of climate change as this potentially impacts our
share price (through investor confidence) and sales (through consumer
preference). Reputation is included under our ‘Ethical’ Principal Risk to
Unilever.
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