It is the first time that zero waste has been delivered on this scale and affects more than 240 factories in 67 countries which make products for a number of its personal care brands such as Dove, as well as in other industries.
To achieve zero-waste to landfill Unilever adopted the four ‘R’ approach – firstly reducing waste at source then reusing, recovering or recycling any non-hazardous waste that remains.
It has meant reconsidering every single material that is consumed in a factory - from reusing packing materials from supplier deliveries to food waste from staff cafeterias.
“Reaching this landmark is the result of a huge mind-set shift throughout our organisation and a great example of Unilever driving sustainable business growth,” says Pier Luigi Sigismondi, Unilever Chief Supply Chain Officer.
“Thousands of employees - our ‘zero-makers’ – from across the business have developed some really innovative solutions to eliminate waste. I am incredibly proud of what we and our partners have achieved.”
Sustainable Living
Unilever has been working towards its Sustainable Living Plan for a number of years now and has stated its ambition is to double the size of its business while reducing its environmental impact.
For this, reducing waste at source remains the number one priority, coupled with the Anglo-Dutch consumer giant and its project partners finding innovative solutions for any remaining waste.
By eliminating waste the company says it has avoided €200m of cost and also created hundreds of jobs as well.
“However we cannot stop here. Our focus now is on becoming a zero waste company and working towards a zero waste value chain by encouraging our suppliers and customers to join us on this mission,” continues Sigismondi.
“We are also committed to developing an open source approach and sharing our ‘zero waste framework’ and experience with other organisations to drive global change and create a more sustainable future.”
Since 2012, Unilever set out the target of zero waste to landfill and included it in the Sustainable Living Plan target, focusing on embedding a ‘zero waste mind-set’ to rapidly accelerate the speed of the global roll-out programme.