Sustainability people profiles

Our people

All around the world, Unilever people are doing jobs that contribute to the environment and society. They are contributing to our business success and helping us to achieve our Sustainable Living Plan targets.

Some jobs involve working with our partners and partnership development, others promoting the sustainability of our agricultural raw materials.

Some are involved in activities that help us manage our impacts ― from setting environmental targets and monitoring our progress, to designing marketing programmes for our brands to promote better health and hygiene practices.

Here you can find out about some of these 'champions' and read about their contribution to sustainable living in their own words.

Colin Kerr, Global Packaging Director, United Kingdom

About

Colin joined Unilever in 1986 after completing a PhD in organic chemistry. He spent four years in research before moving into product development and up through the ranks of Unilever’s laundry category to become Global Packaging Director. In 2009 he switched to Unilever’s savoury category, also as Global Packaging Director, and is the unit’s R&D sustainability champion. It’s a role that cuts across the 50-plus targets that make up Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan.

Twin goals

“In the savoury category we look at a number of issues, from reducing salt levels to tackling our greenhouse gas emissions - but there are two big themes to our current work,” explains Colin. “The first is sustainable sourcing. Our category is Unilever’s biggest user of vegetables and spices, so we have a key role to play in meeting our Sustainable Living Plan target to source 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020. The second is waste reduction. Our target is to halve the waste associated with the disposal of our products by 2020, and this is supported by seven further goals covering packaging weight, re-use, recycling, sachet waste, and a longer term goal to achieve 100% sustainable packaging.”

Colin oversees the design of packaging materials for brands such as Knorr, Ragu, and Bertolli, and works in the category’s global design centre – the ‘nerve centre’ where Unilever develops many of the technical solutions that will help achieve the Sustainable Living Plan targets. As Colin explains, the targets force his team to face various technological and behavioural challenges.

Sustainable design

“Our packaging targets cover the entire category, so the trick is to look at our portfolio as a whole rather than tackle each product individually,” he says. “The approach we take depends on a number of different options such as pack type and consumer habits and expectations, and we need to explore each one to identify the most suitable route.”

One avenue is to redesign packaging. “Many of our seasoning products come in individual sachets and we’re looking at ways to improve the design of the sachet itself,” he says. Stick-shaped sachets, for example, use 25% less material than conventional flat sachets.

“We’re also looking to increase the amount of materials we use that are recyclable. But many of our products have a long shelf-life, which means the packaging has to be robust enough to protect the product for a sustained period. In these instances we often have to use more complex packaging materials that aren’t recyclable, such as laminates. As well as trying to reduce the amount of these materials we use, and exploring alternatives, we’re looking at how we can recover the energy embedded in them so that they continue to have a value after they have been used by consumers.

Another solution is to reduce the quantity of packaging materials we use, a process known as lightweighting. Glass accounts for 25% of Unilever’s packaging footprint, and is the second most commonly used material after paper and board. “We can reduce the amount of glass we use in bottles and jars, but this brings additional challenges, as we need to develop new transport systems and there are limits to how thin we can make glass from a consumer safety perspective,” explains Colin.

“In some cases we can substitute packaging materials with lighter alternatives such as replacing glass with plastic. Glass is a heavy material, meaning more energy is needed to transport it. While lightweighting and replacing glass with plastic can have positive environmental benefits, we need to account for differences in consumer attitudes. We want to make sure consumers continue to associate our products with quality, so in some countries lightweighting is more appropriate than switching to plastic.”

On track

Despite the challenges, Colin is confident that the category is on target to achieve its goals. “We’ve achieved a lot to date. We have a well-established sustainable sourcing programme and we’re making good progress on waste reduction through our design innovations and brand communications.”

Colin has seen a big change in Unilever’s approach to sustainability since he joined 25 years ago. “We’ve gone from having a very narrow focus on individual issues such as packaging weight to a much more holistic and joined up approach.”

Personally, he has changed too. “I’m much more aware of the packaging of the items I buy, but obviously I’m more aware of issues that aren’t as apparent to the average consumer. My family is playing their part as well and together we are very conscious about the choices we make. This extends beyond packaging to the ingredients in the products we buy and our broader lifestyle impacts. I’ve started to walk to work every day, and have got rid of the company car – it’s important we all play our part, no matter how small.”

Michiel Leijnse, Global Brand Development Director, Beverages Category, France

About

Michiel cut his sustainability teeth while working in Vermont for Ben & Jerry’s – long recognised as a trailblazer in ethical business practices. He cites his time there as a major inspiration for his current work, which puts him at the forefront of Unilever’s ambitious goal to source all its agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020.

Sustainable tea

As Global Brand Development Director for Lipton, he was responsible for setting up a partnership between Lipton and the Rainforest Alliance in 2007. ‘We started with a target to have all of the tea used in Lipton Yellow Label and PG Tips tea bags we sell in Western Europe sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms by 2010. We extended this to all Lipton tea bags globally by 2015 and aim to buy all our agriculture raw materials, including tea, from sustainable sources by 2020.’

Michiel is keen to emphasise that his work is just one part of a far-reaching programme that began in the 1990s. ‘We’ve been working to make our tea plantations more sustainable since our sustainable agriculture programme began in 1995. This was also the time Unilever worked with WWF to establish the Marine Stewardship Council, which established global criteria for the sustainable management of fisheries. Through the sustainable agriculture programme, we developed detailed growing guidelines for our key crops, including tea, and a lot of our work with the Rainforest Alliance builds on those foundations. We chose them because their comprehensive approach towards sustainable farm management, which covers social, economic and environmental aspects, was in line with the way we had been managing our tea estates for over a decade.’

Working with suppliers

Unilever plantations in Tanzania and Kenya provide about 10% of the tea Unilever uses, which means that 90% comes from third-party suppliers. Michiel’s team is therefore working closely with Rainforest Alliance to encourage the 500,000 farms, large and small, which supply Unilever to seek Rainforest Alliance certification. ‘The farmers have to invest in the certification and pay for the audit costs themselves, so we explain how it’s in their interests. It’s an investment, as the payback comes often from a combination of better yields, lower input costs, and higher prices. We also make sure they have the capability to get certified. For example, we’ve helped set up farmer field schools that provide practical guidance on sustainable farming practices accompanied by courses on farm management and health and safety.’

Putting on his marketing hat, Michiel points to the advantages for Unilever. ‘What we’re doing helps to build brand preference and we’ve seen a clear impact on our business. Following a year-long campaign about our work with the Rainforest Alliance, our sales in the UK increased by 6%, and in Australia they went up by 12%.’ But it’s not just about marketing, he says. ‘There are fundamental challenges facing our industry. In order for us to have continued access to good quality tea it’s in our own long-term interest to make sure that the industry is sustainable.’

Encouraging behaviour change

Michiel and his team are looking beyond sourcing to identify other areas where they can help Unilever meet more than 50 targets that make up the Sustainable Living Plan. From a marketing perspective this throws up new challenges, because it involves changing entrenched consumer habits and perspectives.

‘One of the biggest impacts is the amount of energy that consumers use when boiling water, but tackling this requires a change in consumer behaviour, as well as technological solutions. The simplest step consumers can take is boiling the right amount of water. We can look at developing tea that can be brewed at lower temperatures, such as 80 degrees Celsius rather than 100. But it’s unrealistic to expect consumers to carry a thermometer around with them.’

Often, Michiel explains, the solution lies in recognising opportunities and then seizing them in each of Unilever’s markets. ‘In the US, most tea is used to produce iced tea, which involves boiling tea and then letting it cool,’ he explains. ‘We’ve developed a tea that can brew in cold water so you skip the whole boiling process. Of course this requires a different way of processing tea and brings new challenges such as ensuring microbiological safety.’

Another focus area for Michiel is packaging. ‘We’re trying to reduce this, but overall the trend across the industry is towards using more. There is a perception that packaging, such as individual envelopes for tea bags, adds value. We’re looking to reduce the size of packs, and remove the cellophane overwrap to reduce waste.’

Having spent almost 15 years at Unilever, Michiel says his current role is his most rewarding to date. ‘From a marketing perspective it’s very fulfilling seeing something that can take up to two years to develop finally come on to the supermarket shelf and be advertised. But it’s also incredibly interesting. I’ve learned a lot about how tea is grown and it’s always fascinating to meet our tea growers and see, first-hand, the improvements that Rainforest Alliance certification can bring to their livelihoods, such as cleaner water and a safer work environment.’

Joe Muscat, Research & Development Sustainability Manager, United Kingdom

About

It’s no accident that Joe Muscat is Research & Development Sustainability Manager in Unilever’s deodorants category. He’d had his eye on the role for some time before he was appointed in 2008. ‘Sustainability was an area I’d been exposed to, something I was passionate about, and a topic I saw as being crucial to Unilever if it wants to grow in the future,’ he says. ‘So I asked about the job and luckily I was offered it.’

Innovating for change

Joe works at the deodorants category’s R&D headquarters in Leeds. His job is to co-ordinate the development of new formulations, packaging and technologies for well-known Unilever brands such as Lynx, Sure, Dove and Impulse. ‘Part of my role is as an innovations manager, the other part is as the sustainability leader for the category,’ he explains. That means helping Unilever to deliver on many of the 50 plus targets for 2020 in its ambitious Sustainable Living Plan, which - among other things - aims to halve the environmental impact of the company’s products.

Joe, who joined Unilever as a trainee in 2002 after obtaining a degree and then a PhD in chemistry at the University of Manchester, started working in IT, but progressed into the R&D labs. He therefore has a good grasp of what is needed to make the company’s products more sustainable.

The job contains three elements. Firstly, Joe needs to have a comprehensive grasp of where Unilever’s environmental impacts are. ‘Our key targets in the category are reducing our waste and greenhouse gases, so I need to have a good idea of what our total emissions are and to know where the hotspots are in terms of brands and activities. I also have to look at existing consumer habits and regulations that we need to take into account.’

Joining the dots

Secondly, he keeps abreast of any new technological projects in the deodorants category with a view to helping those who are involved in them understand what they can do to focus more on sustainability. ‘For instance, we are currently working on new technologies for our Sure/Rexona, Axe/Lynx and Dove brands, and I’m trying to maintain a focus on what we can do to build more sustainability into the aerosols we use with these products. That involves bringing in advice from those in our supply chains, from in-house packaging experts, and even from external people such as waste management companies. I’m the link point for all that activity, bringing many of the technical functions together so they keep their eye on making a more sustainable product.’

Thirdly, he focuses on specific target areas that Unilever wants to improve, such as encouraging consumers to recycle more.

‘We’re the biggest manufacturer of aerosols in the world. But a lot of consumers don’t know that deodorant canisters can be recycled, and to be honest I wasn’t aware of that myself until I started looking into the area. Often the recycling industry also is not fully aware of the recycling opportunities around aerosols, and local authorities may be missing these opportunities. Therefore part of my job is to counter these myths and explain what the opportunities are.’

Building partnerships

One vehicle for doing this has been a partnership that Joe helped to set up between Unilever, the British Aerosol Manufacturers Association (BAMA) and the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (ALUPRO), a not-for-profit company that represents aluminium packaging producers and reprocessors in the UK.

Collectively they spoke to local authorities that don’t accept aerosols for recycling, and also created a publicity campaign to let the public at large know that aerosols can be recycled. Among other things, they helped set up a scheme by which Tesco supermarket customers are now able to earn one point on their Tesco Clubcard for every two aerosols they bring in for recycling at stores.

Partly as a result of these efforts, the percentage of UK councils that offer aerosol recycling rose from 67 per cent in September 2009 to 81 per cent in September 2011 and, although it is difficult to prove in exact terms, awareness among consumers has been raised considerably.

Being persistent

Joe reports that reaction to his efforts on sustainability has been positive from both inside and outside the company. ‘I think people are glad to know the company is taking these things seriously, and from friends I get a very good reaction when they hear what I’m trying to do. They are glad to know that we’ve got people who are thinking about this stuff and trying to do something about it.’

Despite the inspiration he draws from the job, Joe knows that there are few easy wins - and that the formula is reliant on pragmatism and persistence. ‘It’s not easy. Our challenge is to keep demonstrating that we can generate products that are not only good for the environment and society, but which consumers are going to love. We have to find the sweet spot between delivering products that are great for consumers and great for the environment.’

Myriam Sidibe, Lifebuoy Global Partnership Manager, United Kingdom

About

"My goal is to do good with each bar of soap we sell" says hygiene and handwashing specialist Myriam Sidibe. "Every second, mothers across Africa and Asia trust Lifebuoy to protect their families’ health and hygiene. The more soap we sell, the more lives we potentially save."

Myriam manages Lifebuoy soap marketing campaigns throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East. "Our campaigns promote Lifebuoy products and encourage better hygiene practices by washing hands with soap," she explains.

Promoting better hygiene practices

As an example, Myriam points to Lifebuoy's 'Swasthya Chetna' (Health Awakening) campaign in India. Launched in January 2002, it is the world's single largest rural health and hygiene educational programme. It aims to reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal diseases by educating people about basic hygiene habits, including washing hands with soap. By 2006, the campaign had reached about 80 million people in 28 000 villages.

As Myriam explains, this kind of social engagement benefits society and Lifebuoy. "In India, diarrhoea is the second largest cause of death among children below the age of five. Over 1 million lives are lost each year to diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections. Handwashing with soap can reduce instances of these diseases by nearly half."

"It may sound simple, but persuading people to change their behaviour and start handwashing with soap is challenging. You need a sound understanding of consumers' habits, lifestyles and environment. People are more likely to listen to a trusted brand like Lifebuoy. After all, we have been talking about hygiene in India for over 110 years."

Some of Lifebuoy's hygiene marketing campaigns are run in partnership with organisations such as UNICEF and the World Bank. Working in partnership is important because resources and expertise can be pooled. "It also means we improve our access to national governments and other NGOs. We are continually learning more about working with each other and our respective roles in improving hygiene practices."

Myriam believes Lifebuoy is in a unique position to make a real, long term and sustainable impact on people's lives, and is working hard to ensure this vision is shared by Lifebuoy's partners. "If you consider our strengths – our expertise, geographic reach and resources - Lifebuoy is one of the few brands really able to influence people's behaviour through its hygiene education campaign. Globally, more than 1.6 billion people use Lifebuoy, many in the world's poorest countries. In rural villages in India, one in seven purchases of a branded item is a Lifebuoy product." Furthermore, explains Myriam, "our work is self-sustaining. As a successful business we can achieve this without being dependent on aid or external funding."

Background

Myriam's background is in public health. She has a degree in environmental engineering and a Masters in water and environmental management. Her varied career has taken her from southern Africa, Kenya and East Timor to Burundi. She has worked for the International Rescue Committee relief organisation installing sanitation systems in refugee camps, national health ministries, UNICEF and the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program.

In 2006 she completed a Doctorate in Public Health specialising in handwashing from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "Making kids aware of handwashing has always been a passion." She spent six months working for Unilever on a part time basis before joining full time in September 2006.

"My role is fantastic", she says. "I couldn't have dreamt of a better job. It's unique and changes constantly. Because so much of our work is pioneering it can be extremely difficult, but also extremely rewarding." Myriam knows there isn't a short term solution to improving hygiene practices. "We want to achieve as much good as we can, but it takes time to change old habits. We need to invest in long-term programmes that motivate people into changing their behaviour. Looking ahead," she says, "our biggest successes are yet to come. In 2009 we will re-launch our programmes with a renewed focus on better hygiene practices."

Funmi Bolarinwa, Marketing Manager, Oral category, West Africa

About

"The great thing about my job is that I make a difference to the oral health of people living in poor communities."

Funmi is responsible for marketing oral care products in Nigeria. Based in Lagos, she promotes Close Up toothpaste. "Our strategy is to maintain our market leadership position while improving the oral health of consumers through better products and education."

Promoting better oral health

As Funmi explains, the first step is to make fluoride toothpaste more accessible to a wider range of consumers. To do this, Funmi and her team sell toothpaste in sachets. "Small sachets are cheaper and easy to distribute, making them affordable for people from poor communities. Regular brushing with toothpaste is the first step to improving oral health, and affordable toothpaste enables more people to do this."

The second step is to improve oral health education. "We support primary school programmes that teach children about better oral health. Children are often the main influencers of family behaviour. We work with them so they can go home and tell their families about oral health care."

The third step involves working in partnership with the FDI World Dental Federation. Supported by national dental associations and the FDI, dentists and Unilever employees visit rural communities to offer free dental care. "Away from cities access to health care is costly and difficult. Clinics are far apart so people have to travel long distances to reach them. We provide logistical support, pamphlets and toothpaste to help FDI dentists with their work."

Funmi believes improving oral health is important to the development of the region. "Bad teeth can be a barrier to social interaction. It's about giving people the confidence to break down these barriers, interact with their peers and achieve their potential."

Career success

Funmi joined Unilever in 1991. She worked as a brand and marketing manager for laundry products in Nigeria where she helped make Omo the best selling laundry brand.

In 2005, she moved to oral care. "I work with a great team who have helped me achieve a lot. In 2002 our products were in about 50% of households, by 2007 this had risen to over 80%. We've improved the education packs and reach more consumers in remote communities."

"I am always learning new things, and working with such a diverse range of people who share the same beliefs really inspires me. Not only that, but my work has a direct impact on the lives of others." Funmi volunteers for an organisation called Sisters Unite for Children. "We work with NGOs to protect children from abuse and neglect, particularly orphans and those with disabilities. We support care homes and contribute to the children's upkeep and education. We make them feel wanted and loved by regularly counselling and mentoring them, and where possible reuniting them with their parents. It's a chance to help their personal development and share what I have learned with Unilever."

Michele Gerlack, European Indirect Communications Manager, Unilever Foods, United Kingdom

About

By 2020 it is predicted that heart disease and strokes will be the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. A grim statistic, but one Michele Gerlack thinks has the power to motivate people as 80% of heart attacks and strokes can be prevented by making diet and lifestyle changes.

Michele Gerlack's job is to generate "outstanding PR ideas for the Flora/Becel brand that promote heart health and encourage more people to look after their heart." After all, she says, "it's the most precious thing you will ever own."

Love your Heart

Michele highlights Flora/Becel's 'Love your Heart' campaign as key to raising heart health awareness across Europe. "It's important to make people realise there are steps they can take to reduce the risk of heart disease, and lowering cholesterol is one of those."

Just as important is motivating people to act. Michele and her team developed an internet tool to help people calculate the age of their heart in comparison with their real age. "If you are 35 and find out your heart is equivalent to a 45 year old, it makes you think differently about your heart and how you can look after it." The tool has become an important part of the campaign and is being used to launch 'Love your Heart' campaigns in other countries.

World Heart Federation

Supporting the 'Love Your Heart' campaign is the World Heart Federation (WHF) – a leading international heart charity. Michele is the main contact for Unilever's partnership with the WHF - established in 2003. The partnership is committed to improve heart health by educating the public about the need to reduce consumption of saturated fats and lower cholesterol levels.

As Michele explains, partnering with an organisation like the WHF increases Unilever's credibility with opinion formers and consumers. As a corporate sponsor, Unilever supports WHF campaigns and activities, including the annual World Heart Health Day. Recently, Unilever helped launch a pilot social marketing project in Russia to raise awareness of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Working with key opinion formers

Michele's role within Unilever is unique but it reflects the importance key opinion formers (consumer and health care professionals, media, heart health experts and charities) play in the continued growth and credibility of the Flora/Becel brand with consumers.

"It's a challenge finding new and interesting ways to engage with the media on heart health but we have a great public health story to promote. Changing from butter to Flora/Becel can reduce your risk of heart disease, and the pro•activ range of foods are proven to significantly lower cholesterol."

The statistics are sobering. According to the WHF about 17.5 million people worldwide die of cardiovascular diseases every year, particularly heart attacks and strokes. With seven out of ten people suffering from high cholesterol, products like Flora/Becel pro•activ – the world's best-selling cholesterol-lowering food brand – can play an active role in helping to reduce cholesterol levels. It's a role Michele is happy to promote.

"Unfairly, margarine (and by association Flora/Becel) is sometimes given a bad press by journalists. So part of my job is to manage the brand's image and reputation by correcting misleading facts and promoting the benefits of margarine within a healthy diet and lifestyle."

Michele looks for new and unique ways to reach consumers with positive brand messages. "Consumers are bombarded with advertising so we ensure that our brand's credibility is driven by other credible and non-traditional methods like word of mouth, where friends, family, doctors and the media recommend the product because they believe in its heart health benefits."

Achievements

Michele joined Unilever in 2005, after spending five years as communications manager for the UK's Dairy Council. Prior to that she worked as a PR manager for a train operating company and spent four years as a journalist on a London newspaper – giving her a useful insight into the workings of the media. When she arrived at Unilever there was no centralised heart health campaign, now it is an important part of the Flora/Becel brand.

She says a common criticism from the media is that Unilever promotes heart health only to sell more products. "We have been supporting healthy hearts for many years by, for example, providing cholesterol and blood pressure testing. And Flora has sponsored the London Marathon since 1996."

As well as establishing PR as an integral part of the brand's marketing, one of her first achievements was to publish a manifesto setting out Flora/Becel's contribution to heart health. "I introduced it because there was a lot of cynicism towards the brand from the media and I wanted to correct that." She describes the manifesto as the brand's 'bible' and it is regularly sent to health care professionals and the media. "I feel lucky that I can work on a brand that makes a real and important difference to people's lives."

Cherie Tan, Global Procurement Director for Renewables and Smallholder Development, Singapore

About

Cherie’s career has taken her around the world. Born in Singapore and raised in Canada, she started her career in finance helping to develop microfinance initiatives for smallholder farmers in Haiti, Mozambique and Peru. She then went on to manage relationships with agribusiness conglomerates in South East Asia as Vice President of Corporate and Investment Banking at Rabobank. In 2008, Cherie made the switch to sustainability. Before joining Unilever in July 2011, Cherie was Commodity Leader for Palm Oil and Forest Finance at WWF International and worked with stakeholders across the palm oil supply chain including investors, producers, traders and processors. Her highlights include working with the financial sector to develop investment and lending guidelines to support responsible forest conversion. She also helped develop the WWF’s Palm Oil Buyers' Scorecard and represented WWF on the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

All these experiences have proved invaluable to her new role as Global Procurement Director for Renewables and Smallholder Development. “I’ve worked across the agricultural supply chain so I see this position as a natural progression to my career, and an opportunity to use my combined experiences to make a meaningful contribution to sustainable sourcing,” she explains.

Cherie jumped at the chance to work for an organisation that she says really ‘walks the talk’. “At Unilever you know that there is a genuine commitment to sustainability from the very top, with bold ambitions for the future. It’s exciting to be part of an organisation that wants to talk openly and honestly about the challenges it faces, and invests the resources necessary to ensure that the impact of its commitment to sustainability is felt throughout the entire supply chain, benefitting the farmers and the communities that we source from” she adds.

Responsibilities

Cherie’s remit cuts across Unilever’s ambitious Sustainable Living Plan targets to source 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and link smallholder farmers into Unilever’s supply chain. It’s the first time one person is responsible for both areas, reflecting how closely the two targets are linked.

A key part of Cherie’s role involves working with Unilever’s partners and stakeholders, including NGOs and suppliers, to ensure the many hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers who make up Unilever’s agricultural supply chain see the benefits of its commitment to sustainable sourcing. “We work with our partners to provide training, agricultural supplies and other support such as providing access to markets. Smallholders typically have low yields and we encourage them to adopt more sustainable agriculture practices that can lead to higher yields and prices, as well as improved social and environmental outcomes for them and their communities.”

Raising awareness

A central part of Cherie’s current work focuses on supporting Unilever’s commitment to purchase all of its palm oil from certified sustainable sources by 2015. The company purchased around 3% of the world’s volume of palm oil in 2011 but despite its significant influence, Cherie says that Unilever cannot transform the industry alone. “We are one of the largest purchasers of certificated sustainable palm oil but we need other companies to get on board and make their own commitments”. To achieve this, Cherie engages on other multi-stakeholder initiatives, especially in growing markets such as China and India, and through the RSPO, to share best practice and encourage other companies to commit to sustainable palm oil.

Another important part of Cherie’s work is to showcase Unilever’s achievements so far. “As we extend our approach to cover new crops such as vanilla, and farmers in countries like Azerbaijan and the Ivory Coast, it’s very important we share our success with consumers and make it clear what we are trying to achieve.”

Ann Connor, Global Sustainability Manager, UK

About

A biochemist by training, Ann started her career with Unilever in 1994 researching ways to improve the processing and manufacturing of tea. She held a number positions in innovation and product development in the Unilever foods category before moving to the laundry category as Global Sustainability Manager in 2008. It was an opportunity she welcomed. ‘Sustainability was a newly developing area and I wanted to be part of it. This is some of the most interesting and challenging work I’ve done in 18 years.”

Sustainable laundry

Ann’s role is to take a ‘holistic’ view of Unilever’s laundry portfolio. “It’s my job to understand our products, and then to identify gaps in the market that support our sustainability goals.” For example, reformulating OMO washing powder in Australia and New Zealand improved its effectiveness while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Ann is keen to stress that achievements like this are very much a team effort. As a member of the laundry category’s Sustainable Living Team she works closely with the sustainability R&D director and marketing colleagues.

“Together, we support the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan which, among other targets, aims to reduce the impact of our laundry products on the environment by designing new products, manufacturing them efficiently, and motivating consumers to improve their laundry habits. We started by looking at the environmental impact of our product range by analysing key impacts, such as energy and water use, throughout the product lifecycle. This includes the resources used by our manufacturing operations and by consumers when they use a product. Understanding this baseline has helped us to target where we are going and what the impact will be.”

“We’ve made good progress on cutting the environmental impact of our manufacturing operations and re-formulating products, for example by developing washing powders that use carbonate builders. Builders essentially allow all the other ingredients in the detergent to work and carbonate builders mean washing powders need less energy to make, helping us to cut our CO2 emissions.”

Changing consumer behaviour

Ann says that Unilever has to encourage consumers to adopt more sustainable washing habits if it is to meet its Sustainable Living Plan target of halving the environmental impact of its products.

As she explains, it is here that the real strides are to be made. “Reaching our consumers is vitally important because up to 70% of our laundry category’s greenhouse gas footprint (in countries where consumers use hot washes), and 95% of its water footprint, occurs during consumer use.”

Ann says one of the most effective steps consumers can take to cut their greenhouse gas emissions is to wash their clothes at lower temperatures. But there are big cultural differences to overcome. “It’s very important we understand consumers’ behaviour, as there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. People in Turkey, for example, tend to wash their clothes at higher temperatures than those in the UK. The more we understand these differences, the more effective we can be in encouraging the right behaviour.”

“It’s very rewarding work and I’m involved in something new and complex,” she says. As an example, she points to the remote sensors, or “loggers”, her team have developed to use in washing machines. The sensors record when and how often people wash their clothes, what cycles they use, whether they use a hot or cold wash, and how many rinses. “They can tell us how much a wash costs and how many greenhouse gas emissions are produced. We are using it to build up a much deeper understanding of consumer behaviour and motivate people to wash more sustainably,” says Ann.

Advocating change

As part of her role, Ann has become a sustainability advocate among her colleagues and Unilever businesses around the world. “In some ways we’re really learning as we go along, so I’m there to support our regional teams with training, assessing new products and making sure the claims they make about laundry products can be backed up with evidence.”

Jan Kees Vis, Global Director Sustainable Sourcing Development, Unilever R&D, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands

About

"One of the great things about Unilever is that you get a chance to try new things," Jan Kees says. He has done just that, by playing a key role in Unilever’s Sustainable Agriculture Programme since its conception in 1996. "We have turned something that looked very vague to many people at the outset, into a practical, hands-on programme. And our efforts have been rewarded, since sustainable sourcing is now very much part of Unilever’s strategy going forward."

Jan Kees trained as a chemist. He spent six years working in research on catalysis and quality management then decided that, despite enjoying science, he did not want to spend his whole life as a scientist. He left research and joined Unilever's food company in the Netherlands to work on environmental lifecycle analysis.

Jan Kees strongly believes that Unilever's sustainability programme can help it become a better company. "Finding the right balance between economic growth, environmental improvement and social equity is an unbeatable way to operate. I think it is essential that multinational companies take this on board. We must contribute in our own way to solving global issues of poverty, malnutrition and environmental degradation."

Responsibilities

Jan Kees's day-to-day work is diverse. He oversees Unilever's sustainable agriculture projects around the world and participates in a growing number of joint initiatives. He was elected to lead the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil at its conception in 2004. He is also a board member of the Roundtable on Responsible Soy and a member of the Sustainable Food Laboratory steering group. "About a third of my time is spent outside Unilever", he says. "This helps me to keep an external perspective on what we do."

He sees participation as key to the Sustainable Agriculture Programme's success. "For the sustainable development concept to work, you need to have three parts of society willing and able to co-operate: industry, government and society itself. All three need to understand the issues involved, and to have similar views on governance. For example, you can't discuss sustainability policies with a corrupt government.

"Agriculture is the key to many things, now more than ever. We can all see how the cost of food is rising due to growing demand in India and China. This is good news for many farmers who have access to global markets, but very bad news for people living on low incomes. If we do not want to sacrifice more forests for agriculture, we will have to help farmers improve their yields.

"Improvements to agriculture in terms of yield, environmental impacts, profitability and efficiency are necessary to address conservation, water quality, poverty alleviation, hunger and health issues. People will not be able to improve their lives without access to food, and sustainable food supply chains can deliver products with positive environmental and social outcomes.”

The launch of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in 2010 created a new focus for Jan Kees’s team. “The Plan commitments us to source all our agricultural raw materials from sustainable sources and this has given further impetus to reach out to our suppliers and help them implement sustainability programmes with their farmers,” explains Jan Kees. “This is as much about developing new business models as it is about helping farmers achieve higher yields and incomes. My team evaluates all the different agricultural standards that are being used and compares them to the Unilever Sustainable Agriculture Code. If they meet our own high standards, they count towards our goal.”

Recognition

In 2011 Jan Kees was recognised by the James Beard Foundation for his industry-wide leadership role with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and his involvement in creating the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. He was one of ten individuals, from urban agriculture pioneers to healthy food campaigners, including Michelle Obama, who received a Leadership Award for their outstanding achievements in the fields of sustainability, food access and public health.

“I understand there were many contenders for these awards so to be one of final 10 who were honoured is a great achievement. I accepted the award for my involvement in the Sustainable Food Lab, RSPO and driving the industry towards sustainable palm oil, but also on behalf of Unilever for the great work we have been doing in sustainability over the last decade,” he says.

Meeta Singh, General Manager Sustainability, India

About

Born and brought up in Mumbai, Meeta Singh graduated with a degree in microbiology from the city’s Jai Hind College, and could have pursued a scientific career. But she felt her calling was in advertising and marketing, and has never regretted that decision.

Pursuing marketing excellence

Meeta worked initially in advertising, gaining experience as a strategic planner for Hindustan Unilever brands such as Dove, Fair & Lovely, and Pepsodent. She then had stints at BBC Worldwide and MTV, heading up their research and strategy functions. But it was no surprise that she gravitated back to working for Unilever.

That was in February 2003. She worked as senior brand manager on products such as Kissan and Annapurna in the foods division, and then with personal wash products such as Lux and Lifebouy. She then moved in 2007 to Hindustan Unilever’s marketing excellence division, helping to build the capabilities of the marketing team in partnership with the Unilever Marketing Academy in the UK.

“That’s where I came across an internal advertisement for the new post of Head of Corporate Responsibility at Hindustan Unilever,” she says. “I’d always appreciated Unilever’s value system and integrity, and I’d become really interested in sustainability. So it seemed like the job for me.”

Although Meeta is committed to the idea of supporting good causes – she has set up her own personal charity fund, into which she puts 5% of her salary - one of her key tasks in the new job was to shift Hindustan Unilever’s focus away from traditional philanthropy and onto the wider aspects of responsible business behaviour.

Doing good, doing well

As a first step, she sought the advice of the sustainability guru John Elkington, who helped to carry out an exercise to determine what Hindustan Unilever’s stakeholders expect of the company. “It was the first time we’d asked all our stakeholders, including employees, such questions in India. We found that while they weren’t expecting us to behave like Mother Teresa, they did want to see responsible behaviour embedded throughout the company. So we went ahead and structured the entire business in terms of what we called ‘doing good, doing well’.”

“Personally I decided that I would like my job to become redundant, because I hoped that eventually everybody would be working towards that goal. And I decided I would not have a large group of people around me, but instead use the business leaders as my team.”

In January 2012 Meeta stepped up to become General Manager, Sustainability covering South Asia, South East Asia, and North Asia, continuing to operate from her Mumbai base.

“As Head of Corporate Responsibility in India I was the doing person - I would start the projects,” she says. “Now my role is more about orchestrating, influencing more people across the company and other countries, sharing good practice, and transferring the good work.”

Pushing at an open door

Meeta recently completed a postgraduate course in cross-sector partnerships and sustainable business at Cambridge University in the UK, which she believes will help her with her work across the company to promote sustainability. But she believes she is in any case pushing at an open door.“Our executive directors are totally immersed in this whole agenda. I think for so many of us our views on sustainability issues have become stronger and more powerful over the past few years – that’s certainly been the case with me. There’s this huge area that we will have to address if we are to grow the business. There are a lot of opportunities - we just have to open our eyes.”