Game-changing products to meet sustainability challenge

UNILEVER is undoubtedly one of the world’s leading fast-moving consumer goods companies, selling its products in more than 190 countries.  On any given day, more than 2 billion people around the world use Unilever products to look good, feel good and get more out of life. With more than 400 brands that are focused on health and wellbeing, few other companies touch so many people’s lives in so many different ways.  

International Plastics News – Middle East and Africa spoke to Eddie van Os, Global Packaging Director for Strategic Materials, about the company’s business, the role plastic packaging in particular plays in the company’s sustainability agenda and future plans.  Mr. Eddie van Os is based in Durban, South Africa, and heads a team of subject matter experts scattered around the world, from China to Chicago.   The role of Mr. Van Os and his team is to develop material technologies that deliver game changing consumer, sustainability and cost benefits to the business. 

“Reusing potential waste makes a big difference, which is why consumers will see more and more Unilever brands available in refills.”  – Mr. Eddie van Os, Global Packaging Director for Strategic Materials, Unilever (SA)

IRNEA: How big is the Unilever portfolio of products currently?

Mr. van Os: Unilever has more than 400 brands, 14 of which generate sales in excess of €1 billion a year. Many of these brands have long-standing, strong social missions, including Lifebuoy’s drive to promote hygiene through hand washing with soap, and Dove’s campaign for real beauty. Our portfolio ranges from nutritionally-balanced foods to indulgent ice creams, affordable soaps, luxurious shampoos and everyday household care products. We produce world-leading brands including Lipton, Knorr, Dove, Axe, Hellmann’s and Omo, alongside trusted local names such as Blue Band, Pureit and Suave. 

Our range of brands is as diverse as our worldwide consumer base, but our brand identity expresses Unilever's core values, with each icon representing an aspect of the business. Our logo was designed to include 25 icons, each of which represents something important to Unilever. From a lock of hair which symbolises our shampoo brands, to a spoon, an ice cream, a jar, a tea leaf, a hand and much more, the little icons all have a meaning.  Obviously the big blue ‘U’ of our logo stands for Unilever. But look a little closer and you’ll see there’s much more to it. 

IRNEA: How does Unilever manage to balance its sustainability agenda with a commitment to its bottom line and delivering good returns to its investors?  

Mr. van Os: Sustainability is integral to how we do business. With 7 billion people on our planet, the earth’s resources are strained. This means sustainable growth is the only acceptable model of growth for our business. We believe that as an international business, we have a responsibility to our consumers and to the communities in which we have a presence.  For this reason, we invest in local economies around the world and develop people’s skills inside and outside of Unilever. To embed sustainability into every stage of the life cycle of our products, we’re working with our suppliers to support responsible approaches to agriculture. We’re also learning from NGOs and other organisations, recognising that building a truly sustainable business is not something we can do without expert advice.

Through our business and through our brands, we run a range of programmes to promote hygiene, nutrition, empowerment and environmental awareness.  The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) sets out to decouple our growth from our environmental impact, whilst at the same time increasing our positive social impact.  

Our Plan has three big goals that by 2020 will enable us to: help more than a billion people to improve their health and well-being; halve the environmental footprint of our products; source 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably and enhance the livelihoods of people across our value chain.

IRNEA: What are some of the ways in which Unilever reduces its environmental footprint?

Mr. van Os: Unilever has a clear vision, namely, to double the size of the business whilst halving our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact. The Unilever Sustainable Living  Plan (USLP) lies at the heart of this vision and is central to what we do.  The USLP sets quantified, time bound targets for each of our focus areas; greenhouse gases, water, waste and sustainable sourcing. Regarding waste, all packaging associated with Unilever’s products has to be designed for sustainability; in other words, reduce, reuse and recycle.

We measure waste by weight.  The lighter the packaging, the lesser waste to landfill.  This approach guided us when redesigning our detergent pouches to replace our traditional coated cartons. We redesigned the pack and reduced the weight, thereby removing 4,457 tonnes of materials from the waste stream annually.  Another method of reducing weight is giving the consumer the same amount of product but in a concentrated pack. Comfort fabric softener is a good example. A smaller, concentrated pack obviously weighs less.

Reusing potential waste makes a big difference, which is why consumers will see more and more Unilever brands available in refills.   The Organics range of shampoos is a good example. The refill pack is lighter and creates less waste, as does your reusing your old shampoo bottle. It’s a double win.

The Organics range of shampoos available in refill packs

However, we are now working on solving the problem of the empty pouches that are generally considered not worth recycling because they are small and lightweight, therefore lacking in value. Our ambition is to develop a viable business model for this waste which continues to provide the benefits of refills whilst tackling the environmental issues associated with their use.

By reducing waste in energy, raw materials and manufacturing, we aim to create efficiencies and cut costs, which helps to improve our margins.  The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan inspires our employees to act and to develop sustainable business ideas through our €15 million “Small Actions, Big Difference” fund.  As a result of this, we invested in 50 of the best projects suggested by them to reduce water abstraction by manufacturing sites around the world. These yield an average payback time of less than two years and have helped us achieve big reductions in water abstracted.  

Today, 75% of our manufacturing sites no longer send any non-hazardous waste to landfill at all. That’s a total of 186 manufacturing sites in 38 countries. The scale and speed of reduction has been achieved by making sites more aware of their waste streams and identifying opportunities to eliminate and reduce waste at source. We have also pooled our expertise with our waste suppliers to find opportunities for reduction wherever possible. 

In 2013, our CO2 emissions from energy in manufacturing were 32% below 2008 levels per tonne of production. Water abstraction was down 29% and total waste sent for disposal down 66%. Although we are making good progress in some parts of our business, others are proving more challenging. The total greenhouse gas footprint of our products, including consumer use, is up by 5% since 2010 and domestic water is up 15 %, whilst packaging waste to landfill is down 11%. Our greenhouse gas impacts have grown as a result of our Alberto Culver acquisition and our water impacts increased due to high levels of growth from our laundry bars in India which, while very affordable for people on low incomes, are also associated with a more water-intensive washing habit.  By the end of 2013, 48 % of our agricultural raw materials were sourced sustainably, a significant rise from 36 % in 2012.

IRNEA: How important is product research and innovation to Unilever?

Mr. van Os: Innovation and new product development are key to our progress and success.  We invest around €1 billion every year in research and development, and have established laboratories around the world where, through cutting-edge science, we’re constantly enhancing our brands, improving their nutritional properties, taste, fragrance, or functionality.  Our scientists constantly explore new thinking and techniques, applying their expertise to our products – whether it is to food or the latest in packaging design.  To this end, consumer research plays a vital role in this process. Our unrivalled global reach allows us to get closer to consumers in local markets, ensuring we understand their diverse needs and priorities.

One such an example can be seen in the new technology employed in the Dove Body Wash bottles. We worked closely with packaging technology experts, Mucell and Alpla, who helped us develop a technique which allows us to inject gas during the blow-moulding of bottles. The gas creates bubbles in the middle of the pack walls. This cuts plastic use by up to 15% whilst maintaining full functionality for the consumer. The bottles also remain 100% recyclable.  We estimate savings of up to 27,000 tonnes of plastic resin a year once this technology is fully applied across our portfolio of products. In future years, this could deliver potential cost savings of up to €50 million.

IRNEA: How does Unilever address or overcome some of the challenges facing plastics packaging?

Mr. van Os: We anticipate that the future will continue to be as challenging, as our planet deals with the impact of a growing population, global warming and natural disasters, food scarcity and labour unrests around the world. However, Unilever has positioned itself accordingly, and will continue to drive out complexity and cost to fund growth opportunities. 

One such an area of growth and opportunities that we see is the recycling of packaging.  We are  determined to improve the recycling rate of our packaging and we hope that our efforts will act as a catalyst to increase recycling rates around the world.  

Not only do we aim to ensure that our products are packaged in materials that are readily recycled, but we also strive to include a percentage of recycled content in our packaging.  One such example is the Sunlight dishwasher bottle that has enjoyed wide acclaim for the fact that 50% of the virgin PET used, has been replaced with recycled PET. We are confident that this approach will help to drive the demand for PET plastic, which will in turn increase the collection of this material from households and landfills.

Another way in which we are aiming to support and assist the recycling industry is by carrying clear and easy to understand material ID logos.  Because plastics very often look very much alike, the logos are important in helping consumers, collectors and recycling companies separate their waste. All Unilever packs carry material ID logos that help consumers identify the packaging material. This means that not only can you can chose to spend your money on recyclable material but you are also helped to separate your waste at home. 

The work that Unilever is doing clearly has a knock-on effect on the rest of the industry.  We work with industry bodies to improve collection of post-consumer waste. We have made a lot of noise and all our suppliers are aware of our waste ambitions and are happy to fall in line.  Nampak Flexibles is only one such example, which now supplies a South African NGO with trim and production waste, who in turn, donates it to a Durban-based Aids Centre to crochet and manufacture into bags. 

Together, we are cutting down on waste and creating employment. It may be small but it makes a difference. Everything makes a difference. The whole Unilever team is really proud of the work we do and will continue to pursue this commitment.  We hope other companies will follow; we want to see more waste collected and recycled and less waste to landfills. Zero waste to landfill is my ultimate ambition. IRNEA

Unilever South Africa

Tel: +27-31 570 2000/3000 

E-mail: Eddie.Van-Os@unilever.com

Website: www.unilever.co.za