Swimming with the tide

Leading international environmental and water management experts along with senior Unilever representatives from around the world have taken part in a Sustainable Water and Integrated Catchment Management (SWIM) conference.

The framework for SWIM is based on a set of principles developed by Unilever in consultation with a panel of international water management specialists and environment group Forum for the Future. The principles encompass the need to: take a participatory approach to sustainable water, involving all stakeholders at every level; regard water as essential to sustain life development and the environment; acknowledge the economic, social and environmental value of water, ensuring that all people have access to clean water and sanitation.

The SWIM conference took place in Liverpool, UK. Unilever's historic links with the region date back over one hundred years, when Lever Brothers established a plant in nearby Port Sunlight. The company is also involved in two key environment projects in the region - the Mersey Basin campaign and Dibbinsdale Brook projects.

Defining best practice

Unilever delegates met with speakers including Jonathon Porritt, director of Forum for the Future, and Dr Pierre-Frederic Teniere-Buchot, senior advisor to the director general, United Nations Environment Programme. They refined and developed the principles of SWIM and established best practice for current and future Unilever sustainable water projects across the world. Unilever already has several water sustainability pilot schemes in operation, including projects in India and the Philippines, as well as the Living Lakes global initiative.

John Sharpe, business group president, Home & Personal Care Europe, stated: "We've got to drive the principles and practises of sustainable development into the hearts and minds of our people and the activities of our business."

Clarifying our commitment

Earlier, John Sharpe had also addressed the EuroWirral conference held in nearby Birkenhead, UK, which aimed to tackle the vital issues of protecting and sustaining the environment for future generations. He outlined Unilever's approach to sustainability to delegates at the one-day conference, which was also attended by UK Environment minister, Michael Meacher.