UNILEVER : Palmolie voor Unilevers Europese voedingsactiviteiten 100% traceerbaar en gecertificeerd duurzaam

19/11/2014

58% of global volume now traceable to known sources

London / Rotterdam - 19 November 2014 - Unilever today published its sustainable palm oil progress report, highlighting significant steps forward in the traceability of palm oil from known sources.

• All palm oil directly sourced for its European Food business will be 100% traceable and certified sustainable by the end of 2014
• Unilever now has visibility of around 1,800 crude palm oil mills, representing around two-thirds of all mills in the global palm oil industry
• 58% of palm oil is now traceable to known mills

Knowing the origin of palm oil is vital to halt deforestation which blights communities and the environment. The Unilever Sustainable Palm Oil Progress Report 2014(Link opens in a new window) was published today at the 12th Round Table of the RSPO in Kuala Lumpur.

Pier Luigi Sigismondi, Unilever Chief Supply Chain Officer, said: "2014 has been a defining year for our goal to create a more transparent palm oil industry. Knowing where it comes from is a critical step in the journey. The challenge is enormous and not easy to achieve but we are determined and can now report good progress. We want to share our learnings with the rest of the industry."

Mr Sigismondi, continues: "This is about doing the right thing for our planet and our consumers because you cannot have a healthy business in an unhealthy world. We want to continue to meet our consumers' every day needs in decades to come and this means sourcing in a fully sustainable way to future proof our supply chains. Halting deforestation is our end goal and this is what we work towards."

Unilever is firmly committed to smallholder farmers and with its suppliers, works towards improving livelihoods, incomes and working conditions.

Engaging with smallholders on palm oil is the next stage of the challenge and is critical to achieving full traceability. For many smallholders in developing countries, palm oil provides a way out of poverty and a chance to raise their families' aspirations, enabling them to send their children to school. Unilever is involved in programmes of this type, such as a pilot partnership with IDH in North Sumatra. Additionally, a broader social impact partnership with Solidaridad focuses on palm oil as a key commodity in West Africa with potential to scale into Asia and Latin America.

Unilever is also gathering many learnings from its global smallholder farmer programme with other commodities and applying this knowledge to palm oil.

It is Unilever's vision that, by 2020, we will achieve a transformation of the palm oil market to see the entire industry to move to 100% sustainable palm oil. Unilever believes that a profitable and sustainable palm oil sector must get the right balance between social, environmental and economic objectives. This is a shared responsibility between governments, the private sector and society at large. Hence, Unilever is working with industry leaders and NGOs to find a solution to halt deforestation, protect peat land, and drive positive economic and social impact for local communities.

More information about Unilever's journey to 100% sustainable palm oil can be found in:

• The full Unilever Sustainable Palm Oil Progress Report 2014(Link opens in a new window)
• The Unilever palm oil infographic(Link opens in a new window)

Marc Potma +31 (0) 6 1137 5464 or mediarelations.rotterdam@unilever.com

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. We work with 174,000 colleagues around the world and generated annual sales of €49.8 billion in 2013. Over half of our company's footprint is in the faster growing developing and emerging markets (57% in 2013). Working to create a better future every day, we help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. Our portfolio includes some of the world's best known brands, 14 of which - Knorr, Persil / Omo, Dove, Sunsilk, Hellmann's, Surf, Lipton, Rexona / Sure, Wall's ice cream, Lux, Flora / Becel, Rama / Blue Band, Magnum and Axe / Lynx - now generate a turnover of €1 billion or more.

Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals, we have defined nine commitments, underpinned by targets encompassing social, environmental and economic areas. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/(Link opens in a new window) .

Unilever has been ranked number one in their sector in the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. We are included in the FTSE4Good Index Series and attained a top environmental score of 5, leading to inclusion in the FTSE4Good Environmental Leaders Europe 40 Index. Unilever has been named sector leader of the CDP's Forests programme for three consecutive years, and in 2014 led the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the GlobeScan/SustainAbility annual survey - for the fourth year running. Unilever was named LinkedIn's No. 1 most sought-after FMCG employer worldwide in 2014.

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