Our approach
Our Code of Business Principles guides our behaviour in all aspects of our work, both within our business and externally with others. It commits us to obey the laws of the countries in which we operate and, more broadly, behave with honesty, integrity and openness, and with respect for the human rights and interests of our employees and other stakeholders. In line with our Code, we do not support political parties or fund groups that promote party interests.
We recognise that business has an important role in promoting good governance in society. For example, we are supporting the work of Business Action Against Corruption in Africa which aims to embed best practice across our supply chain and more widely.
External relationships
We encourage our companies to take part in the development of public policy that may affect our business. We engage with governments and other organisations, both directly and through bodies such as trade associations. We take part in multi-stakeholder debates and when relevant respond to public consultations. We also engage with organisations that are critical of our actions and seek to understand and address their concerns. Our aim is to find workable solutions that benefit stakeholders such as consumers, and give incentives to businesses like ours to invest in research and innovation.
In 2007 we completed mapping our main external relationships, including trade associations, intergovernmental organisations and NGOs. We list some of our principal memberships of business associations at EU and international level (please see the Engaging with Stakeholders section of this report). With operations in around 100 countries, we have many hundreds of separate memberships and dialogues at national level.
Encouraging trade liberalisation
Governments provide the economic framework within which companies like ours operate. They decide on domestic market reform, provide funding for infrastructure and set trade and investment rules.
Actions by national governments and international trade bodies like the World Trade Organization to liberalise trade flows have led to significant economic growth in many developing and emerging markets. While these countries continue to face grave social, economic and environmental challenges, we believe that market-based growth within effective regulatory frameworks can make a significant impact on poverty reduction. We continue to engage in discussions with national and international organisations on trade liberalisation. For example, we are exploring customs facilitation projects in Africa to identify specific barriers and opportunities. This is supported by the Investment Climate Facility, a public–private partnership which aims to promote economic development as the most sustainable way out of poverty. We commit €400 000 a year to this partnership as one of eight corporate partners.
Combating counterfeiting
Counterfeiting is a global issue which affects all sectors and industries around the globe. It can pose serious health and safety risks to consumers, damage the reputation of our brands and is a serious threat to global trade. We have established an internal steering committee and a global strategy to address this growing problem. We contributed to build and drive international industry alliances (such as the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue, the International Chamber of Commerce/BASCAP and the International Trademark Association). Through this we aim to engage governments and a broader spectrum of stakeholders to take serious action such as better intellectual property protection, enforcement as well as improving consumer awareness.
Chemicals in products
The REACH regulation has now entered into force. Unilever has supported this regulation since its inception in 2002 and is contributing to its successful implementation, working with others in the industry.
Unilever is also working with other stakeholders to promote the implementation in Europe of the United Nations' global harmonised system (GHS) for classification and labelling of chemicals.
We believe that both these systems help promote consumer confidence in chemicals. REACH helps guarantee safety through a system of rigorous safety assessments and GHS provides a framework for communicating with consumers on chemical content, enabling them to feel safe.
Both must work together to form a strong framework which will give consumers the confidence to use products safely and in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The United Nations Global Compact
As a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, Unilever is committed to living out the Compact's ten principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption in our everyday business operations.
Our own Code of Business Principles has long reflected the Compact's goals. We provide an annual update in our Communication on Progress, explaining how we are implementing the principles across our business.
