Unilever urges business and government to align on climate strategies

At Unilever, we’re focusing our efforts to tackle climate change on what will have most material impact on our business and where we have greatest influence in our value chain. We developed our Climate Transition Action Plan (CTAP) with this in mind, outlining our actions and planned investments to move towards our near-term emissions reduction targets.

As we don’t operate in a vacuum, our progress depends on having the right policy and market conditions. That’s why we’re working to drive systemic changes that will help us and businesses like us to go further, faster.

A new report from Unilever sets out how business and government can accelerate the global shift towards a net zero economy by aligning their climate strategies. Written by corporate sustainability advisory firm ERM, the review outlines practical ways in which corporate transition plans and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) can catalyse one another, alongside case studies demonstrating examples of how Unilever is already putting this into practice.

The road to COP30: time for governments to strengthen climate commitments

Ahead of COP30, the UN climate summit being held in Belém, Brazil, in November, global leaders are expected to submit their updated NDCs, the roadmaps outlining each country’s climate targets to 2035 and their plans to meet them. The strength of these commitments – and crucially their delivery – will determine how fast the world can lower emissions and still limit global warming to 1.5°C, while adapting to climate change impacts.

Our report shows that, when backed by policy and market incentives, ambitious NDCs have the potential to deliver long-term economic benefits, such as new growth opportunities, energy security and job creation. They can also help de-risk the transition for business, create a level playing field and provide the stability required for companies to unlock investment and accelerate their own climate transition plans. In turn, by creating robust strategies that support NDCs, businesses can drive innovation, maintain competitive advantage and build long-term resilience.

Our call to business to support stronger NDCs

The systemic transformations called for by Unilever to help us make faster emissions cuts will affect entire sectors and industries in our value chain. That’s why we need other companies to join us in pushing for investible NDCs that will help close the gap between capital flows and transition needs.

“We call on every business that values long term success and planetary health to use this moment to champion stronger, high-quality NDCs – not just for their own resilience, but to help drive systemic change across the global economy,” says Rebecca Marmot, Unilever Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer.

Four ways Unilever is supporting greater climate ambition

Reducing emissions from energy, agriculture and chemicals are key priorities in our CTAP and Unilever is already working to decarbonise in these sectors. The following initiatives demonstrate how we are supporting NDC priorities at country level, or where we have also benefited from supportive climate policies and incentives that have helped us take faster steps towards our climate goals.

1. Supporting Indonesia’s clean energy transition

   We have become the first company in the country to buy biomethane for industrial use. At our palm oil processing facility in North Sumatra, we’ve started replacing natural gas with biomethane created from palm oil effluent from local mills. As well as lowering our own emissions and supporting Indonesia’s transition to cleaner energy, it also stops methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas, from being released into the atmosphere or flared at these mills.

2. Farming regeneratively grown soy in Brazil

   Unilever Foods and CJ Selecta have invested R$32 million (€5 million) in the Renova Terra programme, which will promote regenerative agriculture across soy fields in Brazil’s Cerrado region. We aim to transition 45,000 hectares to regenerative agriculture practices by 2030, covering up to 90% of the soy footprint of Hellmann’s mayonnaise in Brazil. The project also seeks to build climate resilience in our supply chain and help reduce emissions, while also positioning Brazil as a global leader in regenerative soy production and supporting their goal to encourage the widespread adoption of sustainable agriculture models.

3. Accelerating the shift to net zero in India’s chemicals industry

   We’re supporting the decarbonisation of India’s chemicals industry by working to shift from fossil-based to renewable and recycled feedstocks in our Home Care products. This is an important step for India to achieve net zero emissions by 2070. Through Hindustan Unilever (HUL), we’re chairing a working group established by the government of India during its G20 Presidency in 2023, aiming to create a roadmap for sustainable chemical production. As well as looking at the wider enablers and dependencies within the chemicals industry, we’ve worked with industry and academic partners on a white paper outlining key technologies and policy interventions needed to accelerate the transition.

4. Working with suppliers on Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)

   Policy incentives offered by India led to the world’s lowest solar tariffs and promoted significant private sector investment in renewables. We signed a pioneering PPA deal supplying solar power to 32 sites across 15 Indian states, including our own factories and those of ten collaborative manufacturers. The project is expected to deliver 25% cost savings over 20 years and avoid 28,000 tonnes of CO₂e emissions annually. Strong government support was crucial in making this happen, waiving all central transmission charges for early adopters for the duration of the contract.