The British consumer goods group Unilever is supporting more and more of its suppliers in climate protection. By the end of 2024, around 300 companies whose materials contribute the most to negative climate impacts will be included in the company's program, Unilever Germany announced. At the same time, the partners will pass on their product carbon footprint data to Unilever. This enables the company to better understand its impact on the climate, take effective measures and monitor progress.

Conversions throughout the supply chain

Unilever's climate protection program for suppliers was launched three years ago. Since then, more and more companies in the supply chain have intensified their efforts to protect the climate. Not without reason: emissions from raw materials, ingredients and packaging accounted for around 63% of the Group's greenhouse gas emissions in 2023. Suppliers come from sectors such as palm oil, agricultural raw materials, food ingredients, packaging and various chemicals or manufacture products on behalf of Unilever.

Training the purchasing teams

We are seeing more and more suppliers accelerating their climate protection measures,” says Stella Constantatos, head of Unilever's supplier climate protection program. By working together, the partners are not only better equipped to reduce emissions. They would also help to obtain a more accurate picture of the climate impact in the supply chain. “This allows us to focus on the best ways to reduce emissions and pave the way for our future partnership,” says Constantatos. At the same time, Unilever has equipped its procurement teams with the know-how on how to integrate emissions reductions into business strategies.

Savings with suppliers

The Dutch plastic packaging group, Weener Plastics, is already participating in the Unilever program by calculating data. “We didn't have much experience with calculating the carbon footprint. It was therefore helpful that we had a pre-selected tool at our disposal,” says their sustainability officer Lenny Ellenkamp-van Olst. Thanks to the climate protection program for suppliers, the company itself has achieved operational savings: from reducing reject rates to optimizing cooling systems. And the climate protection program is drawing further circles: Weener Plastics is now also pointing out missing emissions data to its suppliers.

Source: Unilever