Water in Unilever’sSustainable developmentapproach

GIN 2009, American International School of Rotterda m

Marti van Liere2nd October 2009

Our brands

160 million times a day, someone will choose one of our foods, home or personal care brands

• We have studied the footprint and impact of our business on society and the environment

• We aim to minimise negative impacts in our own manufacturing, eg water use, CO2 emissions, sustainable production of tea, tomatoes etc.

• We aim to maximise positive impacts of our products and our business on the health and wellbeing of the population

• www.unilever.com/sustainability

Our approach to sustainability

Water A shared resource

A shared resource

• Water scarcity is a growing global concern

• We are reducing water use in our own manufacturing

• Our water footprint prompts us to focus on areas of biggest impact – water use by consumers and agricultural suppliers

• We are designing products that need less water

• We are working with agricultural suppliers to reduce their water use via our Sustainable Agriculture Programme

Understanding our water footprint

We estimate that our manufacturing makes up less than 5% of our total water footprint

Reducing water use in manufacturing

Working with our suppliers

• Water is one of 11 indicators tracked through our Sustainable Agriculture Programme

• Water wastage and evaporation can be cut down using drip irrigation to deliver water exactly where it is needed

– reduces water use by up to 30% for tomatoes in Brazil

– trials on tea in Tanzania show it can reduce water by 10% – equivalent to saving 700 million litres of water if implemented on a 3,000 hectare farm

Health, hygiene & well-beingChanging habits, saving lives

Changing habits, saving lives

• Water is a scarce resource also from a health and hygiene perspective

• Preventable diseases resulting from poor hygiene and sanitation pose significant health challenges around the world

• Our brands deliver health benefits and promote well-being - but quality products alone are not enough if people do not change their habits

• Our campaigns promote behaviour change to– make a positive difference to health– grow our business

Providing safe drinking water

80% of all diseases in developing and emerging countries are waterborne, killing 2 million children a year

• Many major diseases in D&E countries are waterborne

• Contamination of drinking water by germs

(viruses, bacteria, and parasites)

• Widespread Government and consumer concern

• Cost of implementing clean piped water infrastructure is

prohibitive

Widespread drinking water contamination

•••• Inadequate municipal water •••• Groundwater contaminated due to:pre-treatment and sewage disposal •••• Open defecation

•••• Deep pit latrines•••• Water and sewage pipes in parallel •••• Septic tanks close to wells

•••• Compounded by •••• Contamination of handpumps•••• Lack of water pressure in pipes•••• Unauthorised tapping into pipes

•••• Storage tanks not cleaned in apartments •••• Contamination due to human handling

•••• Supplemental ground water not treated

Urban areas Rural areas

Concerned consumers are making variouscompromises on efficacy / convenience / cost - education is key

• Boiling – Cumbersome– Time consuming– Energy intensive – rising costs– Poor taste– Expensive

• Bottled water– Expensive– Environmental concerns

• Standalone filters– Typically do not deliver adequate

bacteria, virus and parasite kill/removal

• Ultraviolet / reverse osmosis purifiers– Dependent on electricity & pressurised pipe water– Expensive

• Complete germ protection

• No harmful viruses, bacteria, parasites

• Has an end-of-life indicator, and an auto switch-off mechanism

• Safe water …. anytime, anywhere

• Works without electricity, pressurized piped water

• Meets the US Environmental Protection Agency’s germ kill criteria for untreated water

• Great tasting, clear, odour-free water

• Sachet in development for emergency relief

Unilever Pureit A breakthrough innovation

Pureit : Affordable and sustainable protection

India• Purifier is Rs 2000.• Four litres of water that’s ‘as safe as boiled water’ for just

one rupee• Replacement Germkill Battery Kit TM is Rs 350 purifying

1500 litres of water• Protecting 2 million homes in India – 10 million people

Euro Comparison• Purifier is €32 working out at €0.004c per litre

School Program with UNICEF

Key Objectives• bring safe drinking water to school children• makes concerned schools self sufficient with respect to ongoing maintenance cost

• improving safe water as well as overall hygiene awareness amongst school children and concerned local communities

Experience so far: Safe water rapidly brought to 100 government schools, and 100 anganwaris, protecting 15,000 children from low income homes

Key Findings from School Intervention

• Avg. consumption per child per day – 0.3 ltr / one purifier sufficient for about 50 children

• System for ongoing maintenance established

• Qualitative assessment through teachers and stake-holders

• improvement in attendance amongst students

• Generic awareness amongst students

• Many small purifiers in a school better than one big purification unit

� Easier access for children between class breaks

� Units placed next to class room – strong ownership by teachers and students who take turns in being water / hygiene experts

� Because there are multiple units there is no risk of not having safe water due to one unit being out of operation

• Immediate startup possible – no lead time to setup; no issues of finding appropriate space

• Not having to need any technical maintenance is important in ensuring sustainability

• Local authorities and parents come together to fund the ongoing costs of the consumable components

Encouraging behaviour change

• Promoting better health and hygiene through simple, everyday steps, eg washing hands with soap to prevent disease, brushing day and night with fluoride toothpaste

• Our smart technology helps monitor and evaluate handwashing and tooth brushing habits

• Integrating hygiene, water and sanitation as well as nutrition interventions in schools and communities

Our defined Social Mission for the next 5 years

To bring safety, security and health to 5 Billion people through the active promotion of handwashing with soap

LifebuoyAn Overview

• + 100 years of hygiene protection

• World’s Largest health Soap

– 2.3 Billion bars sold annually

• How are we different

– Accessible pricing. 30-40% cheaper than competition

– Bringing health to those who need it most

– Enjoyable World class products

Visible commitment to actionApproaches

Hygiene Education : Swasthya Chetna– Rural Hygiene promotion projects in

India– Reaching 125 million + people in 6

years

Advocacy: Global Hand Washing day

Capacity Building : In Safe hands– in partnership with the WSP-World

Bank, LSHTM

SWASTHYACHETNA

SWASTHYACHETNA

• Since 2002

• 50,671 Villages in 9 states

• 120 Million+ rural Indians touched

One of our best example of commitment :Lifebuoy Swasthya ChetnaThe largest sustained rural direct contact program in the world

“Global Handwashing Day” – 15th of October of every year which is now mandated by the UN

EVALUATION 2008 - Snapshot

23 LIFEBUOY MARKETS HAD A PRESENCE IN THE FIRST EVER GLOBAL HANDWASHING DAY

A WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT FOR THE MOST PEOPLE WASHING THEIR HANDS AT THE SAME

TIME

46 PARTNERS ACROSS THE GLOBE INVOLVED IN THE DAY

75 COUNTRIES HAD HANDWASHING ACTIVITIES TAKING PLACE ON THE DAY