Unilever living up to its 2020 commitments

Consumer goods giant Unilever is reporting good progress towards meeting the goals of its 2020 sustainable living plan. Its production processes were generating less CO2 and waste, and consuming less water in 2012 than in previous years, the firm has confirmed

In 2010, the company behind household brands Dove, Comfort, Flora and PG Tips, made a commitment to halve the greenhouse-gas impact of its products across their life cycle over 10 years.

It also pledged a similar reduction by 2020 in both the water associated with consumers’ use of its products and the waste associated with the disposal of its goods.

The latest figures reveal that in 2012 the amount of CO2 from energy consumed by Unilever factories was 838,000 tonnes less than in 2008, the baseline year for its carbon, waste and water targets. The firm says this equates to a 31.5% reduction per tonne of production.

Data for last year also show that the Anglo-Dutch company’s facilities abstracted 13 million cubic metres less water than in 2008, a 25% reduction per tonne of production.

Unilever sites generated 6,000 tonnes less waste in 2012 than in the baseline year, which represents a 51% reduction per tonne of production. This equates to a cost saving of almost €10 million since 2008, says the firm.

It also reports that more than half of its 252 manufacturing sites around the world now send no non-hazardous waste to landfill.