Unilever bespaart 1 miljoen ton CO2 - en EUR 244 miljoen
18/05/2015
Sinds 2008 heeft Unilever 1 miljoen ton CO2 minder uitgestoten en 20% minder energie verbruikt in haar wereldwijde fabrieksnetwerk. (Bericht alleen uitgegeven in het Engels.)
UNILEVER SAVES 1 MILLION TONNES OF CO2 - AND EUR244 MILLION
London/Rotterdam, 18 May 2015 - Just three months after announcing the industry leading achievement of zero waste to landfill across its global factory network, Unilever has reached a new milestone of 1 million tonnes of CO2 savings since 2008 in its manufacturing network. Energy consumption
has been reduced by 20% - the same energy used to run 40 factories or the equivalent in carbon of over 800,000 acres of forest in one year. This has also resulted in significant cost savings of EUR244m.
Savings in CO2 have been delivered by a global strategy, including circular economy approaches, for example:
* In South Africa, a bi-product of the seed oil from Flora, Stork, Rama and Rondo is used as a fuel in the boilers to deliver energy back into the factory.
* In the UK Marmite factory, 18,000 tonnes of solid Marmite waste is converted into methane via an anaerobic digester which is used to provide 30% of the factory's thermal energy.
The announcement was made at the start of Climate Week Paris (18-22 May). Unilever has been assessing its greenhouse gas emissions since 1995. Reducing energy use not only benefits the environment, but has a clear business purpose as it helps to drive down costs and means Unilever is less
exposed to changes in the energy price market, improving business resilience.
Unilever will continue to reduce its energy consumption, and will switch to renewable energy where cost effective. This has been a big move in Europe and North America where all of the electricity purchased by Unilever factories is from renewable sources. Across the globe, 28% of the energy
used by Unilever factories comes from renewable sources, with 39% of electrical energy produced from this source.
Unilever has a target to reach 40% renewable energy by 2020 and will work towards 100% of renewable energy in the future. Unilever has also joined the RE100 campaign to accelerate the scale-up of renewable power to create a healthier and more sustainable environment. The goal of RE100 is for
at least 100 of the world's most influential businesses to join the campaign and commit to going 100% renewable for electricity.
Unilever is also helping other industries to reduce their carbon emissions. In Indonesia, waste from Unilever's operations goes into another company's cement as a material - this then contributes to CO2 reduction as the cement industry is the 6th biggest contributor to greenhouse gas
emissions in the world.
Commenting, Unilever Chief Supply Chain Officer, Pier Luigi Sigismondi said:
"We're delighted to have hit this milestone in our CO2 reduction.
"Reducing our energy consumption not only cuts our greenhouse gas emissions - the equivalent in carbon of 800,000 acres of forest each year - but also cuts our costs. Since 2008, we've saved over EUR244m by reducing our CO2 emissions.
"Across our supply chain we are increasingly turning to energy provided by wind, solar and biomass, converting heat from our manufacturing processes into power for our factories. We are on track to reach our target of 40% renewable energy by 2020.
"Climate change is having a huge impact on the environment and on business. Ahead of Climate Week in Paris, we are continuing to show that sustainability is a driver for growth, and the only long-term option for business in a volatile world."
Notes to Editors
Unilever has a clear track record of improving eco-efficiency performance in the areas of water, waste and CO2 from energy. In January 2015 the company announced it had achieved 100% zero waste to landfill and will be sharing the methodology for how this was achieved in the coming months.
Media Enquiries:
Please contact Louise Phillips (louise.phillips@unilever.com / +447825 049 151) or Andriana Matsangou (andriana.matsangou@unilever.com / +447584 607150)
About Unilever:
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. It has 172,000 employees and generated sales of EUR48.4 billion in 2014. Over half (57%) of the company's footprint is in
developing and emerging markets. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Persil, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Hellmann's, Lipton, Wall's, PG Tips, Ben & Jerry's, Marmite, Magnum and Lynx.
Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) commits to:
* Decoupling growth from environmental impact.
* Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being.
* Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.
Unilever was ranked number one in its sector in the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In the FTSE4Good Index, it achieved the highest environmental score of 5. It led the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the 2014 GlobeScan/SustainAbility annual survey for the fourth year
running, and in 2015 was ranked the most sustainable food and beverage company in Oxfam's Behind the Brands Scorecard.
Unilever has been named in LinkedIn's Top 3 most sought-after employers across all sectors.
For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com(Link opens in a new window). For more information on the USLP: www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/(Link opens in a new window)
About RE100:
RE100 is a global initiative that celebrates and supports major companies committed to 100% renewable power across their operations. Its goal is that 100 of the world's most influential businesses commit to 100% renewable power.
Led by The Climate Group, in partnership with CDP with the support of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), RE100 shares the compelling business case for renewable power, addresses barriers to wide-scale adoption, develops transparent reporting mechanisms, and identifies the
necessary regulatory reforms.
By massively increasing private sector demand for renewable power, RE100 will accelerate the transformation of the global energy market, thus enabling the transition to a prosperous low carbon future.
The following companies have joined RE100 and made a public commitment to going 100% renewable: BT Group, Commerzbank, Elion Resources Group, Formula E, H&M, Infosys, IKEA, KPN, Mars, Nestle, Philips, Reed Elsevier Group, J. Safra Sarasin Bank, SAP, SGS, Swiss Re, YOOX Group. RE100 is an
action of the We Mean Business coalition.
theRE100.org - #RE100
About The Climate Group:
The Climate Group is an award-winning, international non-profit. Our goal is a prosperous, low carbon future. We believe this will be achieved through a `clean revolution': the rapid scale-up of low carbon energy and technology. We work with corporate and government partners to develop climate
finance mechanisms, business models which promote innovation, and supportive policy frameworks. We convene leaders, share hard evidence of successful low carbon growth, and pilot practical solutions which can be replicated worldwide.
Since 2009, The Climate Group has been the convenor of Climate Week NYC, an annual international platform for governments, businesses and civil society to collaborate on bold climate action and low carbon leadership. In September 2014, Climate Week NYC hosted 150 events as the collaborative
space in support of the UN Climate Summit.
The Climate Group has offices in Greater China, North America, India and Europe.
Please visit www.theclimategroup.org
Follow us on Twitter @climategroup using #cleanrevolution and #RE100
Unilever NV
Media Relations
Weena 455
3013 AL Rotterdam
+31 (0) 10 217 4844 (Na 17.30 uur: +31 (0) 10 217 4000)
mediarelations.rotterdam@unilever.com