Unilever ramps up sustainable goals

GLOBAL consumer goods company Unilever announced plans to decouple future growth from environmental impact by halving the environmental footprint of its products, helping 1 billion people improve their health and wellbeing, and source 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably. Other key goals of the Sustainable Living Plan, as the initiative is called, is to achieve by or before 2020 sourcing 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably including, by 2015, 100% sustainable palm oil. It will see Unilever, whose global brands include Dove, Omo, Knorr and Lipton, halve the greenhouse gas emissions, water and waste used not just by the company in its direct operations, but also by its suppliers and consumers. "We have ambitious plans to grow the company. But growth at any price is not viable. We have to develop new ways of doing business which will ensure that our growth does not come at the expense of the world's diminishing natural resources," explained CEO Paul Polman at the launch of plan, which was announced simultaneously in London, Rotterdam, New Delhi and New York early in November.Air Force 1 High