In my
second in a
series on Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan, I describe how the company executed its plan to change consumer behavior via its brands. The challenge was tough, but two years into this initiative, Unilever is making an impressive difference. Brands such as Lipton, Ben & Jerry’s, Lifebuoy, and even Hellmann’s Mayonnaise are behind efforts to boost fair trade, animal welfare and public health. What I admire about
Unilever is its transparency, as I argue on Sustainable Brands’ web site:
No matter how ambitious, responsible or empowering Unilever’s goals may be, the company’s progress must be quantified in order to show its stakeholders – with total clarity and transparency – metrics. With reporting focused on what had been done instead of what will be done, Unilever’s shares its progress across its entire value chain with updated reports on over 50 targets.
This is not just about “doing good,” but in fact, it is more about smart business. Markets in developed economies are tapped out--future growth is in markets such as the usual suspects--India and China--as well as Latin America and Africa. For companies like Unilever to find success in emerging markets, they have got to be an engage stakeholder. And on this front, Unilever is showing how corporate social responsibility is wicked smart strategy.
Read the full article here.
Image credit of Unilever R&D Center in Bangalore, India:
Wikipedia
About The Author
Leon Kaye
Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division,
GGP Media.
Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event.
His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
He writes for San Francisco-based
Triple Pundit,
Inhabitat and now
The Guardian, for which he writes about corporate responsibility, water, and green building. He has also written for AIA's
Architect Magazine.
Leon works out of Fresno and Silicon Valley, California, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 60 countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.
In my second in a series on Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan, I describe how the company executed its plan to change consumer behavior via its brands. The challenge was tough, but two years into this initiative, Unilever is making an impressive difference. Brands such as Lipton, Ben & Jerry’s, Lifebuoy, and even Hellmann’s Mayonnaise are behind efforts to boost fair trade, animal welfare and public health. What I admire about Unilever is its transparency, as I argue on Sustainable Brands’ web site:
