HUL weaves sustainability into its business plans

From sustainably grown tomatoes in its ketchups to developing the technology for converting used shampoo sachets into fuel, consumer products giant Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) said on Tuesday that its ambitious ‘Sustainable Living' programme was ahead of target in most areas.

Releasing a status report on the plan, which aims at incorporating the concept of sustainability into its core business plans, the HUL Managing Director and CEO, Mr Nitin Paranjpe, said there was now clear evidence that the plan was not only improving the company's environmental and social footprints, but was also boosting toplines and bottomlines.

Tuesday's release in the capital was part of a global release of similar reports by HUL's parent Unilever worldwide. Announced in November 2010 as a global initiative by Unilever, the plan set 60 specific targets

To be achieved over a 10-year time frame, aimed at halving its environmental footprint and sourcing 100 per cent of its agricultural raw material from sustainable sources.

In India, HUL said that as much as 60 per cent of the tomatoes it sources for its Kissan ketchup is from sustainable farms. And 16 per cent of the tea it sells in India under the Brooke Bond and Lipton labels are now sourced from certified sustainable plantations.

Safe water campaign

Two other key initiatives, launched in India by then HUL CEO and current Unilever COO Mr Harish Manwani, have been rolled out into other markets worldwide. One is to provide safe drinking water through a low-cost, non-electric storage water filter. The other was the hand-washing (with soap) campaign aimed at children, which the company said had helped reduce diarrhoeal diseases by 20 per cent and improved school attendance by 40 per cent among a sample group studied in Mumbai in 2008.

Both are now being rolled out in other emerging markets. HUL's Pureit filters are now being sold in many developing markets worldwide, and the company said that as many as 35 million people have gained access to safe drinking water through Pureit, since its launch in 2005.

Palm oil sourcing

But the company said the biggest strides were made in the sustainable sourcing of palm oil, a key ingredient in as much as 60 per cent of Unilever's worldwide output by volume. Rampant destruction of rainforest to clear land for palm oil cultivation has been cited as the major reason for environmental degradation in the rainforest ecology of South East Asia.

Unilever said that its palm oil target has been reached three years ahead of schedule, with 800,000 tonnes of the 1.3 million tonnes the company consumes annually being certified as sustainable.

The balance, which is in the form of palm oil derivatives, is less easily certifiable. Unilever has announced a $100-million investment in Indonesia to set up a palm oil processing plant in Sumatra.

Consumer habits

But Mr Paranjpe admitted that progress on sustainability was slower in some areas, especially those relating to changing consumer habits — like using less water while bathing or washing clothes — was slower. He sought the cooperation of other stakeholders, including governments, NGOs and consumer forums, to work towards a common sustainability goal.

Earlier, formally releasing the report in India, the Union Corporate Affairs Minister, Mr M. Veerappa Moily, said that corporate social responsibility and corporate governance were being embedded in the new Companies Bill under preparation.

>Raghavan.s@thehindu.co.in

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