Unilever Reports Early Progress on Sustainability Goals
Unilever Reports is making steady progress on its four key sustainability priorities: climate, nature, plastics, and livelihoods. While there is still much to do, early indicators suggest that the company’s refocused approach is beginning to yield tangible results. Through strategic action, advocacy, and collaboration, Unilever is actively working towards achieving its sustainability goals as part of its Growth Action Plan 2030.
Sustainability is not just an initiative at Unilever—it is a fundamental part of the company’s long-term strategy. In May last year, the company outlined a sharpened focus to accelerate progress in four critical areas. Since then, significant groundwork has been laid, including enhancements to data monitoring and reporting systems. Although challenges remain, the company is seeing encouraging early results in meeting its short- and medium-term goals.
Reducing Emissions Across the Value Chain
Unilever’s Climate Transition Action Plan (CTAP) is built around three ambitious, science-based targets that address operational (Scope 1 and 2) and value chain (Scope 3) emissions. The company aims for a 100% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. As of now, Unilever has achieved a 72% reduction from its 2015 baseline, demonstrating significant progress in this area.
However, Scope 3 emissions—those originating from raw materials and ingredients—present a more complex challenge. These emissions account for the largest share of Unilever’s carbon footprint, and addressing them requires systemic change. The company is prioritizing initiatives such as its Supplier Climate Programme and the transformation of its palm oil supply chain to drive reductions in these emissions.
Against its 2021 baseline, Unilever has reduced its Scope 3 forest, land, and agriculture (FLAG) GHG emissions by 14% and its Scope 3 energy and industrial emissions by 8%. While the pathway to reaching its targets is not linear, these figures indicate steady progress.
Advocacy is also a key element of Unilever’s approach. The company is actively engaging with trade associations and policymakers to push for policies that support a global transition to net-zero emissions. By fostering an enabling regulatory environment, Unilever believes it can accelerate its own mitigation efforts and help drive broader industry-wide change.
Scaling Nature Protection, Restoration, and Regenerative Agriculture
Recognizing the critical role of nature in sustainability, Unilever has set new goals to implement regenerative agricultural practices on one million hectares of land and to help protect and restore an additional one million hectares of natural ecosystems by 2030. Currently, the company has 23 active regenerative agriculture projects covering nearly 130,000 hectares and 13 protection and restoration programs spanning approximately 425,000 hectares.
A cornerstone of Unilever’s approach is maintaining deforestation-free sourcing for key commodities. By investing in infrastructure, strengthening supplier verification, and supporting smallholder farmers, the company has achieved 97% deforestation-free order volumes for essential commodities such as palm oil, paper and board, tea, soy, and cocoa.
In addition, Unilever sourced 79% of its key crops sustainably in 2024. Water stewardship is another focus area, with 21 active programs in water-stressed regions aimed at enhancing water efficiency and conservation. The company is working collaboratively with businesses that share its suppliers—such as its partnership with PepsiCo in Iowa—to expand the reach of regenerative agriculture initiatives.
Beyond direct action, Unilever is amplifying its impact through advocacy. By working with industry coalitions, the company is calling for stronger policies to halt and reverse nature loss. These efforts align with broader global initiatives to protect biodiversity and promote sustainable land use practices.
Driving Progress in Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Initiatives
Plastic waste remains one of the most pressing environmental challenges, and Unilever is committed to reducing its virgin plastic footprint by 30% by 2026 and 40% by 2028 (compared to a 2019 baseline). So far, the company has achieved a 23% reduction in virgin plastic use, driven by lighter packaging designs and increased use of recycled materials. Recycled plastic now constitutes 21% of Unilever’s global plastic portfolio.
Unilever is also working towards making 100% of its plastic packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable—by 2030 for rigid packaging and 2035 for flexible packaging. Currently, 57% of its plastic packaging meets these criteria, with significant progress in rigid packaging (76%) but ongoing challenges in flexible packaging (13%).
The company is investing heavily in packaging innovation, particularly in finding alternatives for hard-to-recycle flexible packaging such as plastic sachets. Efforts include boosting R&D investment, developing paper-based flexible packaging materials, and exploring new packaging formats and reusable models.
However, achieving large-scale change in packaging solutions requires more than just technological innovation—it demands systemic transformation across the entire packaging value chain. To drive this change, Unilever is advocating for regulatory frameworks that support circular economy principles. As a co-chair of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, the company is pushing for legally binding international regulations that establish clear rules on extended producer responsibility and other critical enablers of a circular economy.
Enhancing Livelihoods Across the Global Value Chain
Unilever recognizes that sustainability extends beyond environmental concerns to social and economic factors. The company’s 2026 goals focus on improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, supply chain workers, and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within its retail network.
In 2024 alone, Unilever supported over 80,000 smallholder farmers through livelihood programs and helped 2.58 million SMEs expand their businesses via its digital ordering platforms. These initiatives are designed to strengthen economic resilience and promote inclusive growth in communities linked to Unilever’s supply chain.
Another key initiative is the Living Wage Promise, which calls on suppliers to assess and close living wage gaps among their workers. Suppliers representing 32% of Unilever’s procurement spend have already registered for this commitment. To further drive progress, Unilever is collaborating with the Sustainable Trade Initiative to provide training and capacity-building support.
Beyond its own operations, Unilever is advocating for broader systemic change in labor standards. The company supports the WageIndicator Foundation, which publishes living wage data for over 170 countries, and is pushing for government policies that promote fair wages and decent working conditions.
