Unilever Sustainable Living Plan - India 2015 Progress ReportPDF

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unilever sUSTAINABLE living planINDIA PROGRESS 2015

HIGHLIGHTSUNILEVER SUSTAINABLE LIVING PLAN – INDIA PROGRESS 2015

IMPROVING HEALTHAND WELL-BEING

Reducing Environmental Impact

Enhancing livelihoods

65 million>people reached through LifebuoyHandwashing Programme

litres of safe drinking waterprovided by Pureit in India, till date

70 Billion>

30,000toilets in Indian households

DTA has helped build over

1,60,000people have been impactedthrough Domex Toilet Academy (DTA)

Approximately

100% of our children’s Frozen Dessertsand Edible Ice ‘Paddle Pop’ portfolioin India contains 110 kilocaloriesor fewer per portion

100%tomatoes, used in Kissan Ketchup, sourced from sustainable sources

398tea estates certified as sustainable estatesby Rainforest Alliance and Trustea in India

200 Billionlitres of water conservation potential createdby Hindustan Unilever Foundation partnerships

>

reductions in

manufacturing

48%in water usage

42%in CO emissions2

1

in disposed waste

92%>

¹ Per tonne of production in India – against the baseline of 2008

1,38,000people benefitted fromPrabhat’s programmes

Shakti Ammas

Shaktimaans

70,00048,000

Project Shaktinetwork has empowered nearly

2 lakhyouth benefitted throughRin Career Ready Academy

>

02

REDUCE DIARRHOEAL AND RESPIRATORY DISEASE

THROUGH HANDWASHING

Our Lifebuoy handwashing behaviour change initiatives help us

in promoting the benefits of handwashing with soap at key

times among people and encouraging them to sustain good

handwashing behaviour. Till date, we have reached over 65

million people in India through our handwashing behaviour

change programmes.

Help a Child Reach 5

2Every year, in India alone, 1.3 million children die before they

reach the age of five, many due to preventable infections. Over

40% of these deaths occur in the neonatal period (first 28 days

after delivery), when children are most vulnerable. Washing

hands with soap before a mother touches her baby is proven to

prevent many of these deaths. We are teaching mothers this

lifesaving habit through our ‘Help A Child Reach 5’ programme.

The Lifebuoy ‘Help a Child

Reach 5’ on-ground

handwashing

behaviour change

programme was

started in 2013 in

Thesgora, a village

in Madhya Pradesh

that has one of the

highest rates of child

diarrhoea in India. This

programme created a

significant impact, with mothers

reporting reduction in incidence of

diarrhoea from 36% to 5%, and 26% more

children washing their hands before meals. During the same

year, we piloted the handwashing programme in two districts

of Bihar – Begusarai and Khagaria, reaching out to nearly

one million people in partnership with Bihar government and

Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).

We scaled up the programme to cover more districts in Bihar

and reach out to more number of people. This time, Lifebuoy

took its message to new mothers, building awareness and

improving hand hygiene habits during the crucial first

28 days after delivery, when mothers and their babies

need it the most. As a part of this campaign in Bihar, around

600 health promoters trained by us visit government rural

primary schools in Bihar four times in a 21-day period to

engage with students. In 2015 alone, over four lakh children

were covered under the programme, while since inception,

the programme has reached over six lakh children. Over the

Millions of people still lack access to effective

hygiene, safe drinking water and nutritious food. We

are uniquely placed to help mitigate such challenges.

With our portfolio of health and well-being brands,

wide reach and expertise in consumer behaviour

change, we can drive demand for improved facilities

and provide cost-effective solutions. We also have

deep insights into what motivates people and

overcomes barriers. We use this information to

develop behaviour change model and promote new

behaviours that help people to adopt habits which will

keep them and their families healthy.

Our approach has been to sell products with strong

and tangible health, hygiene and nutrition benefits,

encourage people to take action through behaviour

change programmes and work with the right partners

dedicated to health, hygiene and nutrition, to broaden

our impact.

In the area of health and hygiene, through our WASH

(water, sanitation, and hygiene) initiatives we focus on

behaviour change programmes. Some of our home

and personal care brands like Lifebuoy (handwashing

programme), Domex (improved sanitation) and Pureit

(providing safe drinking water) spearhead these

behaviour change programmes across India. Our

efforts in the area of health and hygiene have, so far,

reached over 125 million people in India.

HEALTH & HYGIENE

2 ‘Levels & Trends in Child Mortality (2014), UNICEF.

03

Our approach to nutrition keeps consumers at the

heart of everything we do. We offer great-tasting

products made with ingredients that are increasingly

sourced sustainably and provide choice across our

range with products that are lower in calories, saturated

fat and salt. Our nutrition and innovation programmes

ensure that we improve nutritional profiles further

without compromising on taste or quality.

IMPROVING HEALTH & WELL-BEINGUNILEVER SUSTAINABLE LIVING PLAN – INDIA PROGRESS 2015

next three years, 45 million people are expected to benefit

through this programme in partnership with CIFF and

Government of Bihar.

To support the behaviour change campaign, we launched a

film ‘Chamki’ that showcases the emotional journey of a

pregnant woman who is excited at the prospect of being a

mother. Her excitement is contrasted with the agony and

doubt about her child’s survival post birth. She ponders

whether her child will survive or will meet the fate of those

other children in her village who succumbed to diarrhoea

and pneumonia in the first few weeks of their birth. The film

has received 14 million views on YouTube and has been the

most viewed advertisement on YouTube in 2015. You can

watch the film here.

Global Handwashing Day (GHD)

Like every year, last year too Global Handwashing Day (GHD)

brought our employees together to spread the message on

importance of handwashing habits among school children.

This year we reached out to over two lakh children across 125

schools in seven cities of India. Over 2,000 HUL employees

across factories and offices took time off to spend a day with

school children to create awareness about handwashing.

PROVIDING SAFE DRINKING WATER

The lack of safe drinking water is a major public health issue,

particularly in developing countries like India. Our Pureit

water purifiers make safe water accessible and affordable for

millions. Globally, so far, Pureit has cumulatively provided 78

billion litres of safe drinking water.

Pureit’s most affordable range of purifiers provides safe

drinking water at a running cost of just 30 paise per litre,

without the hassles of boiling, without the need of electricity

or a continuous tap water supply. In India, Pureit has provided

over 70 billion litres of safe drinking water till date.

We have also been partnering with existing micro-finance

institutions (MFIs) to make water purifiers more accessible

for people at the bottom of the pyramid. In 2015, the Pureit

Partnerships extended their footprint to new geographies

such as Punjab and continued to provide safe drinking

water to low income households in Kerala, Tamil Nadu

and Karnataka.

IMPROVING ACCESS TO SANITATION

Domex Toilet Academy (DTA):

The World Bank has estimated that

poor sanitation costs India $53.8

billion a year – equivalent to

6.4 per cent of the country’s 3GDP . It is evident that

access to sanitation is

extremely important for

the social, physical and

economic well-being of

our society.

Domex Toilet Academy is our

market-based, entrepreneurial

model that provides people access to

sanitation in rural communities. In partnership with the

social enterprise eKutir and NGO Population Services

International (PSI), the DTA programme trains

entrepreneurs and masons to supply, install and maintain

toilets for local households; builds supply chains for

sanitation hardware; provides access to micro-financing and

creates demand for sanitation in underserved communities.

The objective is to reduce the incidence of open defecation

and improve proper sanitation thereby promoting the

adoption of healthy, hygienic habits.

04

3 http://www.wsp.org/featuresevents/features/inadequate-sanitation-costs-

india-equivalent-64-cent-gdp

“Now, my child washes his hands before his meal every day and also tells us to

wash our hands.” Meeta Devi (36)

Mother of twelve

year old child in

Samasthipur, Bihar

2 LAKH>children across 125 schools

in 7 cities on Global

Handwashing Day 2015

Reached


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsnP_6kdtDY

Till date, DTA has trained 255 micro-entrepreneurs. DTA

has helped build over 30,000 toilets in Indian households as

reported by our partners PSI and eKutir. This has

benefitted an estimated 1,60,000 people in four states –

Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar.

Swachh Aadat, Swachh Bharat

We launched ‘Swachh Aadat, Swachh Bharat’ programme

in line with Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

(Clean India Mission) to promote good health and hygiene

practices. Given the scale of challenges that India faces in

the areas of WASH, this programme is an effort to help

India realise the goals of Clean India Mission by 2019.

This programme promotes good health and hygiene

practice by stressing the need to adopt three simple good

habits (‘Swachh Aadat’) – washing hands five times a day,

using a toilet for defecation and adopting safe drinking

water practices.

The Swachh Aadat, Swachh Bharat programme has three

key thrusts: An on-ground behaviour change model, a

mass media campaign to drive engagement and awareness

and mobile education on health and hygiene led by our

factory workers.

Swachh Basti – on-ground behaviour change model

In 2015, we piloted a behaviour change model in the slums

of Mumbai and Delhi. The programme was undertaken with

support of municipal corporations to reach out to students

in municipal schools where a four-week behaviour change

programme was conducted through engaging activities like

skits, demos and jingles. This programme also covered

mothers and other stakeholders in the local community

such as doctors and support groups to create awareness

and develop champions within schools and the community.

Till date, two lakh people have been reached through

multiple engagement points like school contact programme,

home-to-home programme and neonatal programme.

‘Swachh Aadat’ mass media campaign

A mass media campaign – “Haath, Munh aur Bum, Bimari

Hogi Kum” was launched to promote awareness across the

country. Through this campaign children turn into agents of

05

“When a student does a creative

activity it gets rooted in their mind and

they remember it for longer time.”

Siddhi Chavan

Teacher in Sainath

Nagar Municipal School,

Ghatkopar, Mumbai

change and propagate the adoption of three ‘Swachh

Aadatein’ (clean habits). Till date, the campaign has reached

75 million people through television and press coverage. It

has received more than 20 million views on YouTube. You can

view the campaign video here.

Swacchata Doot (Messenger Of Cleanliness)

This is a mobile-led rural behaviour change communication

model wherein HUL’s factory workers become agents of

behaviour change in their villages by sharing two minute

audio stories on clean habits through their mobile phones.

They reach out to school children, parents and community

members thereby positively impacting rural communities.

We have successfully completed a pilot that has reached

2,00,000 people.

IMPROVE SELF-ESTEEM

At Dove, we believe no girl should be held back from reaching

her full potential. However, anxiety over appearance keeps

girls from being their best selves, affecting their health,

friendships, and even performance at school. For more than

10 years, we’ve been helping young people with self-esteem

education, reaching over three lakh people so far. The main

contributors to our success have been our partnership with

the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

(WAGGGS) and scaling our digital presence in spreading

awareness to build self-esteem among girls.


https://www.hul.co.in/news/press-releases/2015/15-12-04-hul-launches-swachh-aadat-swachh-bharat-programme-in-india.html?criteria=year%3D2015

HIGHEST NUTRITIONAL STANDARDS

We continuously work to improve the taste and nutritional

quality of our products using globally recognised dietary 4standards. In 2015, globally 34% of our portfolio met the

highest nutrition standards, whereas in India, 46% of our

total food and refreshment portfolio met the highest

nutrition standards.

REDUCE SALT LEVELS

In 2015, globally, 60% of our Foods portfolio (by volume) and

in India 69% of the Indian Foods portfolio (by volume) was

compliant to 5g salt per day target.

REMOVE TRANS FAT

In 2015, both globally as well as in India, 100% of our

portfolio was virtually free from trans fats originating from 5partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (PHVO). We undertake

regular reviews of our products to ensure that we continue to

be compliant. If products with trans fat originating from

PHVO are found then they are reformulated.

REDUCE CALORIES – CHILDREN'S ICE CREAM

By 2015, globally, 100% of our children’s ice creams, and in

India, 100% of our children’s Frozen Desserts & Edible Ice

‘Paddle Pop’ portfolio contained 110 kilocalories or fewer

per portion.

REDUCE CALORIES – PACKAGED ICE CREAM

Our commitment stated that by 2015, 80% of our packaged

ice cream products will not exceed 250 kilocalories per 6portion . We have over-achieved on the 2015 target, 91%

products globally meet this level, whereas in India 98% of

packaged ice-creams meet this level.

4 Independently assured by PWC.

5 We have published our definition and approach to removing trans fats from

partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. See: Melnikov S & Zevenbergen H.

"Implementation of removing trans fatty acids originating from partially

hydrogenated vegetable oils". New Food 2012; 5: 44-46. This approach

focuses on main ingredients in our recipes and does not include traces of

trans fats from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil that may be found in

some flavours or emulsifiers.6 A portion is defined as: a pre-packed single-serve ice cream product meant

to be consumed in one go or 100 ml when sold in packaging aimed at multi-

consumption moments such as tubs.7 5 % of this increase vs 2014 results from changes to the definition of relevant

nutrition labelling as described in our updated global approach to nutrition

labelling on www.unilever.com.8 Where applicable and legally allowed in accordance with local or regional

industry agreements.

NUTRITION

06

100%of our children’s Frozen Desserts

& Edible Ice ‘Paddle Pop’

portfolio in India contains 110

kilocalories or fewer per portion

PROVIDE HEALTHY EATING INFORMATION

Our aim is to provide clear, simple labelling on our products

to help consumers make choices for a nutritionally balanced

diet. We are committed to include energy per portion on the

front of packs, plus eight key nutrients and percentage

Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) for five nutrients on the

back of packs.

Our targets respect local or regional industry agreements as

well as the law in each market.

7In 2015, globally 86% of our portfolio carried the full

labelling on pack and 96% carried the nutrition information 8on pack or online. In India, as a part of GDA labelling , 78% of

our products have full labelling on the pack which included

energy per portion information on the front of the pack and

percentage GDA for five nutrients on the back of the pack.

Nearly 99% of our portfolio carried the nutrition information

table on the back of pack in compliance with local legislation.


REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM

OUR MANUFACTURING

We continue to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) impact of

manufacturing. In 2015, we have reduced CO emissions per 2

tonne of production by 42% compared to 2008.

This reduction has been achieved through multiple initiatives

to reduce energy supported by 4% increase in share of

renewable energy in 2015 compared to 2014. As a result,

25% of energy requirement in manufacturing units was met

with renewable resources.

Several initiatives rolled out by our units to conserve energy

include increase in biogenic fuel firing in boilers and hot air

generators by 11% (in tonnes of biomass) in 2015 compared to

2014, heat recovery from gasses generated from boilers and

hot air generators, installation of LED, solar powered lights

and wind turbo ventilators for raw materials and finished

goods ware-houses, day-light harvesting and energy audits

for continuous improvement.

REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

FROM TRANSPORT

Innovative and strategic changes in the logistics network have

changed the way we look at distribution. We have redesigned

our networks, and increased direct despatch from factories to

customers. In a first of its kind initiative in Unilever Asia, we

have successfully installed 100 kilowatt solar panel at

Chennai distribution centre. This initiative was supported by

installation of solar panels and LED lights at our warehouses

which we estimate will help save 60,000 trees every year and

reduce our carbon footprint by 130 tonnes.

We have also addressed truckload management by

centralizing our transport operations at Bangalore,

deploying leading edge technology - OTM (Oracle

Transport Manager); and implementing Design to

Distribute project across all categories.

Our Design to Distribute project focuses on realigning

product packs, changing their case configuration and

design to optimise the space utilised for loading and

packing. This has increased truck utilisation by 200 bps

and reduced kilometres travelled. We have also

redesigned our secondary packaging, which has reduced

gross weight of products that are loaded onto trucks.

These initiatives have resulted in over 2% reduction in

CO emissions from our logistics network in 2015.2

REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

FROM REFRIGERATION

We have continued to roll out environment friendly

freezer cabinets that use hydrocarbon (HC) refrigerants.

There are currently 43,000 freezers with HC technology

in our fleet in India.

We have significantly reduced our environmental

footprint in areas of greenhouse gases, water and

waste across our manufacturing locations and other

offices. In our manufacturing operations, we have

achieved the zero waste to landfill target in all our

factories last year. Our carbon emission per tonne of

production has consistently reduced year-on-year. Our

approach to reduce, reuse and recycle has led to

reduction in water usage across our factories.

In addition, we have identified water as a priority area

and through Hindustan Unilever Foundation (HUF), we

are working with partners to conserve water and

enhance farm-based livelihoods across the

communities and villages in India. So far, HUF in

partnership with communities, NGOs and government

bodies has created 200 billion litres of water

conservation potential. We are sharing our knowledge

and expertise in sustainable agriculture practices with

a number of small holder farmers across India, to drive

sustainable farm practices and enabling the farmers to

become more competitive.

This is how we are making our entire value chain

sustainable. The value chain approach has not only

reduced risk, but has presented us with astonishing

opportunities for growth. This approach is central to

achieving our goal to halve the environmental footprint

of the making and use of our products, by 2030, as we

grow our business.

GREENHOUSE GASES

07

100KILOWATT

solar panelsat Chennai

Distribution Centre

60,000trees saved every year

REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTUNILEVER SUSTAINABLE LIVING PLAN – INDIA PROGRESS 2015

Estimated

water; identifying dry areas in shop-floor; recovery and

reuse of process condensate water; and using

Effluent Treatment Plant(ETP) treated water

instead of fresh water for ETP chemical slurry

preparation.

HINDUSTAN UNILEVER FOUNDATION

According to estimates, by 2030 the supply

of water in India will be half its demand. In

2010, we established the Hindustan

Unilever Foundation (HUF), our Section 25,

not-for-profit organisation. HUF is helping

to shape the debate on agricultural water

management and water security. The impact of

HUF’s collective actions is expected to generate a

cumulative water conservation potential of

500 billion litres.

So far, HUF has initiated projects across 54 districts in nine

states and two Union Territories located across 11 river

basins in India.

The water conservation programme has achieved the

following benefits for the communities till date:

• Water conservation: Cumulative and collective water

potential of 200 billion litres has been created

• Crop yield: HUF projects have generated

agriculture production of 1.5 lakh tonnes.

• Person days: These projects have generated more

than 20 lakh person days of employment.

• Capacity building: We have trained over one lakh people in

water conservation activities, better agricultural practices

and other related issues.

REDUCE ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN OUR OFFICES

Some of the energy reduction initiatives in our offices include

installation of solar panels on terraces to provide electricity

to office area and power to streetlights; retrofit fluorescent

lamps with LED lamps and pull cord switches for office

lighting; dedicated chiller for after-office hour operation of

certain blocks for optimum loading; installation of split units

at guest rooms for managing lean occupancy; and usage of

occupancy sensors at guest floor corridors. These initiatives

have helped in reducing cost and making our offices

environment friendly.

REDUCE EMPLOYEE TRAVEL

Video conferencing and tele-presence facilities were

effectively implemented to ease travel requirements of our

employees thereby reducing the impact of employee travel on

the environmental footprint. In 2015, over 5,000 meetings

were held making use of the tele-presence facility.

08

REDUCING WATER USE IN OUR

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Water usage (cubic meter per tonne of production) in our

manufacturing operations has reduced by 48% compared to

2008 baseline.

We have been able to reduce our water usage by regular

metering, monitoring and controlling of utilities consumption

at all our manufacturing sites. Some of the other initiatives

include better runtime strategies for lesser usage of cleaning

Dr Pooran C Pandey

Executive Director,

United Nations Global

Compact Network India

“HUF projects truly validate therole played by community-levelinstitutions in the management

and governance of waterresources. The Collective ActionFramework of HUF is a unique

way to identify and analyseco-created impacts as itenhances stakeholder

relationships and governancemechanisms at local level.”

200 BILLIONLITRES

Water potential of

created through HUF

20 lAKHperson days of employment

These projects havegenerated more than

Water


REDUCE WASTE FROM OUR MANUFACTURING

In 2015, there was over 92% reduction in disposed waste

generated (kg per tonne of production) and 30% reduction in

total waste generated (disposed waste and recycled waste)

compared to 2008 baseline.

This was achieved through captive usage of organic process

waste as biogenic fuel in boilers in a few of our factories;

waste segregation at source; and reduction in generation of

manufacturing wastes though site driven initiatives.

In 2015, all our manufacturing facilities

retained zero non-hazardous waste to

landfill status, a target

accomplished in 2014.

REDUCE PACKAGING

In 2015, we implemented innovative ways of reducing the

resources used for our packaging. We focused on using

lighter, stronger and better materials that have a lower

environmental impact. This led to over 10,000 tonnes of paper

and board waste reduction and over 840 tonnes of polymer

waste reduction. We have also been successful in reducing

glass wastage in foods packaging and wooden stick wastage in

ice creams.

REDUCE OFFICE WASTE

In 2015, we implemented several waste reduction initiatives

in our offices. We used organic composter to compost food

waste from canteens and dry leaves from campus. We also

engaged with government-authorised recyclers to recycle

paper waste and other solid waste. Other initiatives include

RECYCLE PACKAGING

We are working in partnership with industry, governments

and NGOs to increase recycling and recovery rates in our

packaging. We have started using r-PET (80% recycled PET)

in our blister packs for personal care brands like Pepsodent

toothbrush and Fair & Lovely. This ensures there is an

application for newly available r-PET resin in market thereby

establishing circular economy thinking.

REUSE PACKAGING

We provide consumers with refill packs in our home and

personal care portfolio to make it

convenient for consumers to

reuse the primary pack.

09

Waste

Refill packs in

our home and

personal care

portfolio for reuse

of primary pack

> 92% reduction in

disposed waste generated30%

reduction in totalwaste generated


installing jet hand dryer in washroom to reduce paper

waste and installing z-towel (pull folded towels) in place

of paper towel.

SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL

All our palm derivatives are backed by RSPO (Roundtable on

Sustainable Palm Oil) certificates. We have signed multiple

partnerships to drive market transformation, traceability of

the supply chain and commitment to halt deforestation of

palm oil trees.

SUSTAINABLE PAPER & BOARD

We have increased our volumes of sustainably sourced paper

and board for packing our products to 99% in 2015. This

paper & board has come from mills that are Forest

Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. We have decreased the

usage of paper and board by moving to low GSM (Grams per

Square Meter) alternative in cartons of certain brands like

Dove, Fair & Lovely and Pears. We have further reduced

paper usage by extending the implementation of high

performance paper grade which has helped to reduce the

layers of paper and overall consumption.

Total Paper and Board consumption has reduced from 95,000

tonnes to 80,000 tonnes over last two years (12,000 tonnes in

paper and 3,000 tonnes in board).

SUSTAINABLE SOURCING

The Public Private Partnership (PPP) project which began in

2012 between HUL and Maharashtra Government for

sustainable sourcing of tomatoes matured in 2014. In 2015,

the programme no longer required the intervention or

support of PPP which made the project self-sustaining. As a

part of this initiative, HUL provides farmers with a buy-back

guarantee for their produce. HUL also offers global and local

knowledge and expertise in sustainable agriculture practices

in tomato cultivation; this includes the latest agricultural

techniques, irrigation practices and recommendation of the

right type of seeds. Execution of good agricultural practices

and adoption of drip irrigation systems help farmers make

significant savings in water, pesticide and fertiliser, limiting

any negative impact on the environment. In fact, under this

project, all the farmers associated with one of our partners –

an established food processing company located near

Nashik, are using drip irrigation. This in turn, helps to reduce

water used in agriculture and has resulted in better yields.

Till date, we have reached out to over 5,000 smallholder

farmers who grow tomatoes on more than 7,000 acres of

land. In 2015 alone, we reached out to 3,000 smallholder

farmers who grew tomatoes on 4,000 acres of land.

10

28%>tea sourced from

sustainable sources in

India for Unilever’s brands


SUSTAINABLE TEA

Till date, 398 tea estates have been certified as sustainable

estates by Rainforest Alliance and trustea in India. In 2015

alone, 181 tea estates across Assam, West Bengal, Kerala

and Tamil Nadu were certified as 'Sustainable Estates'.

Out of these, 54 estates were certified on Rainforest Alliance

and the remaining 127 on Trustea in Assam, West Bengal,

Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

In 2015, over 28% of tea was sourced from sustainable

sources in India for Unilever's brands.

SUSTAINABLE FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

In 2015, we sourced 100% of tomatoes used in Kissan

ketchup from sustainable sources.

100%tomatoes, used in

Kissan Ketchup, are sourced

from sustainable sources

tea estates have been

certified as sustainable

estates by Rainforest

Alliance and trustea

in India, till date

398

IMPLEMENT UN GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON BUSINESS

AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Business can only flourish in societies in which human rights

are respected, upheld and advanced.

Our Code of Business Principles upholds the principles of

human rights and fair treatment. The Code describes the

operational standards we follow and supports our

approach to governance and corporate responsibility. It

ensures that we conduct our operations with honesty,

integrity and openness and with respect for human rights

and interests of employees.

We seek to uphold and promote human rights in three ways:

• In our operations, by upholding values and standards

• In relationships with suppliers, and

• By working through external initiatives such as the United

Nations Global Compact

Unilever’s Understanding the Responsible Sourcing Audit

(URSA) – Guide for Suppliers reinforces the principles of

human rights and labour rights for all our suppliers. In

accordance with this guide, all suppliers are expected to

adopt practices that are consistent with that of the

Company. The URSA is available on our website and can

be accessed here.

Our human rights practices assure respect for the right of

employees to freedom of association and recognition of

employees’ rights to collective bargaining, where permissible

by law. All sites in HUL are under collective bargaining

agreements. Our Code of Business Principles confirms to

International Labour Organisation (ILO) principles.

By 2020, our aim is to enhance the livelihoods of

millions of people as we grow our business. Three

commitments support our global goal to enhance

livelihoods:

• Driving fairness in the workplace – by

implementing the UN Guiding Principles on

Business and Human Rights throughout our

operations, and working with suppliers who

commit to promote fundamental human rights.

• Advancing opportunities for women.

• Developing inclusive business – by improving the

livelihoods of smallholder farmers and the

incomes of small-scale retailers, and by increasing

the participation of young entrepreneurs in our

value chain.

From our suppliers, including the thousands of

smallholder farmers growing our product

ingredients, through the network of entrepreneurs

and retailers selling our products, to the millions of

consumers using them, the breadth and depth of our

value chain gives us the opportunity to make a

significant difference.

SOURCE 100% OF PROCUREMENT SPEND IN LINE

WITH OUR RESPONSIBLE SOURCING POLICY

We are progressing well on our target to source 100% of our

procurement spend through suppliers who commit to

promote fundamental human rights as specified in our

Responsible Sourcing Policy.

Our Responsible Sourcing Policy sets mandatory

requirements on human and labour rights in business

relationships with HUL and defines a ‘continuous

improvement ladder’. We have used this to engage with all

our suppliers to progressively work towards achieving

leading practices.

CREATE FRAMEWORK FOR FAIR COMPENSATION

Compensation in India is based on guidelines issued by

Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA). All factory sites and

offices are covered under CBA. We ensure that our salaries

adhere to the mandatory statutory limits and are at par with

various external industry benchmarks. This allows us to

provide compensation that is fair, just and ensures that we

retain our talent.

All our supply chain units pay wages which are well above the

statutory minimum wages as prescribed by the law. As a part

of the standard wage structure, there is also an element

called Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA) which takes

inflation into consideration and compensates for the increase

in commodity prices and standard of living. VDA has been

linked to the Cost Price Index (CPI) which keeps on changing

every six months as notified by the Ministry of Labour &

Employment.

11

FAIRNESS IN THE WORKPLACE

ENHANCING LIVELIHOODSUNILEVER SUSTAINABLE LIVING PLAN – INDIA PROGRESS 2015

https://www.unilever.com/Images/updated-ursa-guide-for-suppliers-understanding-responsible-sourcing-audit_tcm244-435460_en.pdf

resilient, energised, stay focused as well as thrive in today’s

VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world.

Nearly 4,000 employees attended Thrive workshops.

REDUCE WORKPLACE INJURIES AND ACCIDENTS

We aim to minimise workplace injuries by ensuring safety of

everyone – employees, contractors and visitors – on our

premises. Safety performance is monitored through a set of

key performance indicators and reviewed regularly by the

Company’s management committee. By end of 2015, we

achieved over 70% reduction in Total Recordable Frequency

Rate (TRFR) compared to 2008 baseline for accidents in our

factories and offices. This has been achieved through

rigorous deployment of Unilever’s global BeSafE initiatives,

implementation of advanced equipment safety standards and

adoption of DuPont Behavioural Safety methodology across

our operations.

IMPROVE EMPLOYEE HEALTH, NUTRITION

AND WELL-BEING

Our Lamplighter employee programme was implemented a

decade ago to improve nutrition, fitness and mental

resilience of employees. A dedicated Medical & Occupational

Health (M&OH) Team along with the Human Resource

department of the company has strategically developed this

programme to address the wide-ranging health risks in

employees of the company.

As part of the programme, employees are assigned colour

codes based on their health quotient. In 2015, a total of

13,287 (over 93%) employees participated in this programme.

Out of these, over 79% employees belonged to the green

category, nearly 14% employees were in the amber category

and over 6% employees belonged to the red category. In 2015,

the programme also included personal risk factors of

employees like personal history of smoking, increasing age

and family history of cardiovascular disease. This helped in

identifying additional 958 employees who will require close

monitoring and follow-up for controlling health risk factors.

The M&OH team conducted various health promotion and

protection programmes to help employees transit from red to

amber and from amber to green zones by motivating them to

make lifestyle changes. In many occasions the team provided

support and necessary treatment for employees identified in

red and amber categories.

In 2015, we added another dimension to the health and well-

being of our employees through the ‘Thrive’ programme

based on the four-pillar model identified by Unilever -

Physical, Mental, Emotional & Purposeful Well-being.

As part of this, the HR and M&OH Teams conducted Thrive

Workshops which enabled employees to become mentally

BUILD A GENDER-BALANCED ORGANISATION WITH A

FOCUS ON MANAGEMENT

The year 2015 saw a significant acceleration in leadership

commitment, organisational awareness and understanding,

capability building and innovative practices to drive

improvement in gender balance. These initiatives led to

a significant uplift in the number of women being recruited

and promoted.

Some of the key initiatives during the year:

Gender balance, diversity and inclusion practices:

• The first all-women factory: We have the first ever all-

women run factory in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods

(FMCG) industry. The 100% women employee factory at

Haridwar is a testimony to HUL’s ‘diversity’ initiatives,

which seek to promote gender-balance and accelerate

the advancement of high-potential women talent in the

company. The final on-boarding of the all-women team

was done in December 2014. Prior to that, comprehensive

training was completed for the team to ensure smooth

transition. The training included technical classroom

sessions by an external Industrial Training Institute (ITI)

professor and four weeks of on-the-job training to ensure

business continuity. This team delivered success in the

first quarter itself, after taking over operations.

• Besides this, there is an enhanced commitment to the

comfort and safety of women on the shop floor. Right from

inclusive working policies to better infrastructure, we have

taken several steps to make our shop floors women friendly.

12

OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN

> 70% reduction in Total

Recordable Frequency Rate

(TRFR)

Achieved through Unilever’s global BeSafE

initiatives and DuPont Behavioural Safety


roles for them. The integrated online portal called MAPS

(Maternity and Paternity Support) helps employees and

their line managers in this period of transition through

various tools, guidance and resources. Once they join back,

we support them with mentorship as and when required.

There is also a state-of-the-art day care facility at our

Mumbai and Bangalore campuses, with trained

professionals and caregivers, nursing stations, play areas,

kitchens, etc.

Agile working policy

• Location Flexibility Policy: In 2015 we introduced this policy

for women who need to “trail their spouses career” for

short periods of time. 12 women employees have

benefitted from this policy.

• Work from home, flexi-hours and part time/reduced hours

policy (including a job share policy) are some of the other

initiatives introduced as part of agile working culture.

These policies are supported with technology and office

infrastructure by the Company.

Workplace facilities

Our Head Office at Mumbai has Bru World Cafe (coffee shop),

Knorr counter (which serves Knorr meals, Kwality Wall's

Happiness Station (which serves Kwality Wall's ice creams),

U-shop (which sells HUL products for employees), a florist,

gymnasium, Squash court, banking facilities etc. besides the

day care facility.

• Our shop floors have separate restrooms for women,

changing rooms, female security guards, transport facility

and above all a day care facility for employees’ children.

Sessions on sexual harassment and female safety are

regularly conducted across locations.

• Gender balance council: The Council comprises of cross-

functional, impactful mid-senior managers nominated by

the management committee and function heads. The

council is instrumental in driving the diversity and

inclusion agenda which we refer to as Winning Balance

agenda across the organisation.

• Recognising inclusive role model leaders: Leaders from

various functions like R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing, Sales,

Finance, IT are recognised for creating a trusting and

supportive work environment for the team, adopting agile

and virtual ways of working and leading inclusively.

Career transition policies and practices

• Career by Choice programme: We have a unique career

comeback programme that provides a platform for women

looking for opportunities to work flexibly. In 2015, there

were 26 women talent associated with us under this

programme across functions.

• Career Break Policy: The facility of a career break is

available to all managers of the Company. Such break can

be availed for duration of up to five years in total for many

reasons including maternity, higher study, sabbatical,

adoption etc.

• Strengthened Maternity and Paternity Support

Programmes: We have best-in-class maternity and

paternity leave policy – paid six-month maternity leave and

two week paternity leave. In addition to this, we support

our employees who are going on maternity leave by holding

13

PROMOTE SAFETY FOR WOMEN IN COMMUNITIES

WHERE WE OPERATE

We aim to improve safety for women and girls in our

operations and the communities where we operate including

in our extended supply chain. We do this through awareness,

engagement and capacity building for women and men. We

have focused on putting new measures in place through

awareness-raising and training on sexual harassment and

gender-based violence and strengthened grievance

mechanisms. The results of our work in 2015 show that

substantial improvements have been made.

Affirmative action and prevention of sexual harassment

We have a policy on affirmative action and a policy on

prevention of sexual harassment to ensure a harassment-

free workspace for our employees. Sexual harassment cases

are dealt as per the policy on prevention of sexual

harassment and the Code of Business Principles. All our

employees are communicated on regular basis on the various

aspects of prevention of sexual harassment at work through

e-articles and other means of communication.

Complaint resolution

As per the requirement of the Sexual Harassment of Women

at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013,

HUL has constituted Internal Complaints Committees (ICC).

The Company has designated external independent member

as a Chairperson for each of the Committee. During the year

2015, three complaints with allegation of sexual harassment

have been filed with the Company and the same have been

processed under the provisions of the Act.


Awareness building

The following training programmes (web-based and physical)

were carried out to raise awareness on the issue related to

sexual harassment of women at workplace:

• A web based training module on ‘Respecting People’ was

assigned to all employees.

• All new joinees/trainees/interns were inducted on the

subject of Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at

Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal Act).

• In addition to this, a web-based training module on Gender

Sensitisation / Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women

at Workplace was re-assigned to identified employees.

Self-defense for women

We conducted a self-defense programme for our women

employees who have to work in the market and are often

exposed to safety threats. The programme was conducted in

three phases that covered end-to-end personal safety

paradigms starting from pre-incident phase, incident phase

to the post incident phase. A BeSafe App was launched at the

end of the workshop.

Safety at work

Employees are discouraged from working beyond 8:30 pm.

Any instances of late working are detected by the card reader

and sent to the employee's Line Manager automatically. In

unique circumstances where late working becomes

unavoidable, 1) Women are required to take a drop home

from a company approved car vendor only; 2) A male

colleague must drop the woman home, if such a car is

unavailable; 3) A woman has to call her Line Manager upon

reaching home to inform that she has reached home safely.

14

ENHANCE ACCESS TO TRAINING AND SKILLS

Our brand led programmes aim at educating the girls by

providing scholarships to deserving students.

Clinic Plus scholarship

Clinic Plus provides scholarships to girls in rural schools to

support them in completing secondary education. The ‘Clinic

Plus Scholarship’ programme aims to reduce the dropout

rate and aid the girls to build a better future. The campaign is

based on the thought that every daughter gets her strength

from her mother and how a mother plays a huge role in her

daughter's development. In 2015, the campaign awarded

scholarships to 251 girls. So far, over 700 girls have

benefitted from the programme.

Fair & Lovely scholarship

The Fair & Lovely Foundation identifies academically

exceptional girls from financially challenged backgrounds

and offers scholarships to the candidates. To maintain

integrity and fairness, the selection is done by a panel of

eminent personalities from diverse fields.

In 2015, the Foundation partnered with edX to promote

access to quality higher education and skills for women

across India. edX is a non-profit online learning destination

founded by Harvard University and MIT. The partnership will

enable HUL, via the Fair and Lovely Foundation, to launch a

portal leveraging edX’s online courses to provide a holistic,

career guidance-driven learning to enable higher

employability for young women.

Till date, the Fair & Lovely Foundation has given out more

than 1,200 scholarships to deserving applicants. In 2015

alone, the Foundation awarded scholarships to 200 girls.

EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR VALUE CHAIN

Project Shakti

Our Shakti programme has empowered nearly 70,000 Shakti

Entrepreneurs (known as ‘Shakti Ammas’). They distribute

our products in more than 1,62,000 villages, and reach over

four million rural households. The majority of our Shakti

Ammas are earning more than Rs 1,000 a month.

In 2010, we extended Project Shakti to include ‘Shaktimaans’

who are typically husbands or brothers of Shakti Ammas who

sell our products on bicycle to surrounding villages, covering

a larger area than Shakti Ammas can cover on foot. There are

48,000 Shaktimaans in the Project Shakti network.

Rin Career Academy

Our Laundry brand Rin launched Rin Career Ready Academy

with the aim to inspire, educate and equip the youth from

modest backgrounds with skills in English training, office

dressing and interviewing. Launched in the states of Tamil

Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana in June 2015, the

programme allowed all the participants to take the course by

simply giving a missed call. Mobile was the key medium for

administering the course which was provided

for free to all participants. Deserving

individuals were put up for a

more intensive face-to-face

three-week course,

designed to suit their

needs. So far, over two

lakh people have been

reached through

this programme.

Over

2 LAKHpeople reached

in India


15

IMPROVE LIVELIHOODS OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS

Through our inclusive approach, we aim to benefit hundreds

of thousands of smallholder farmers whilst securing our

supply of sustainably grown crops. We aim to source our

agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020. Smallholders

are integral to achieving this. We help them improve

agricultural practices so they can increase their yields –

sometimes even tripling them – generating better income

and prospects for the future.

We have been associated with a number of small holder

farmers through our supplier partners, training them on

good agricultural practices like drip irrigation, nutrient

management, pest and disease management, to improve

their livelihood.

IMPROVE INCOMES OF SMALL-SCALE RETAILERS

Kwality Wall’s Vending Operations

Our Kwality Wall's mobile vending initiative, ‘I am Wall’s’,

has provided entrepreneurship opportunities to over 7,500

people across India. This programme has helped vendors to

become self-sufficient micro-entrepreneurs selling ice

creams on the move.

On an average, each vendor can make Rs 7,000-8,000 per

month. Some of our vendors have now become distributors

themselves, managing Rs 2-10 crore in the ice cream

business and earning upwards of Rs 1,00,000 per month.

INCLUSIVE BUSINESSPrabhat

‘Prabhat’ means dawn in Hindi. True to its meaning, it is our

endeavour to ring in a new dawn of development into the

lives of people living in communities around our

manufacturing sites. Through Prabhat we implement

health and hygiene, water conservation and livelihoods

initiatives which are fully aligned to the USLP

priorities. The health and hygiene programme is led

by our brands like Lifebuoy, Domex and Pureit

whereas water conservation initiative is spearheaded

by Hindustan Unilever Foundation. Our livelihood

initiatives are implemented with the help of our

partners – LabourNet, TARA (of the Development

Alternatives group) and Mann Deshi

Foundation. These implementation

partners are empanelled with

National Skill Development

Corporation, which operates under

the Ministry of Skill Development

& Entrepreneurship.

In 2015, we covered 27 HUL

manufacturing locations reaching

out to 1.38 lakh people so far

through the following initiatives:

Prabhat Livelihood Centres

There are 67 Prabhat Livelihood and Out-Reach Centres

offering 18 courses to over 11,000 beneficiaries across 16

locations. Till date, 8,555 beneficiaries who enrolled at these

centres to upgrade their skills have been certified. A total of

66% of these have already been meaningfully employed.

Nearly 84% of enrollments at these centres are women.

Sunsilk-Prabhat partnership

Sunsilk has partnered with Prabhat’s Livelihood programme

to train women in beauty and health care.

As a part of this initiative, all certified students of the Beauty

and Hair Care course at our Livelihood centres have been

given the ‘Sunsilk Life Starter Kit’ which is instrumental in

helping them train and start offering their own beauty

services immediately post certification. Till date, almost

2,000 women have benefitted from these kits.

Munmun James

“I am very thankful to HUL for providing this opportunity to

me to enroll for the beautician course at the Prabhat Skill Development Centre. After

successful completion of the course, I am now able to earn

my livelihood by providing beauty services. I want to tell

others like me to enroll for this programme and

benefit from this initiative.”

Student of Beauty & Hair

Care course from Prabhat

Skill Development Centre

at Haldia


Prabhat’s ‘Corporate School On Wheels’

In September 2015, we launched our first ‘Corporate School

on Wheels’ at Chiplun in Maharashtra for underprivileged

communities, especially women. These communities often do

not have access to skill enhancement or are unable to reach

the training centres due to their remote location. HUL in

collaboration with Mann Deshi Foundation has launched a

training bus that travels from village to village to train people

in financial literacy, business development, and agricultural

practices. The bus is fully customised to offer practical

sessions within the bus with labs for courses like tailoring,

computers and beauty. Post the training, beneficiaries are

linked to micro finance options to enable them to start their

own enterprise or grow their existing businesses.

By December 2015, 374 beneficiaries enrolled under this

programme, of which, 275 successfully completed the

course. A total of 56 entrepreneurs have already started their

own businesses.

With our aim to enable livelihoods of differently abled people,

we have employed 25 such people at our re-packing site at

Bangalore through an NGO, Enable-India. This is the first-of-

its-kind initiative in Unilever Asia Logistics function.

Prabhat’s Swachh (Health & Hygiene) programme

Prabhat’s Swachh initiative is aligned to the health & hygiene

pillar of the USLP and focuses on supporting communities

around our manufacturing operations to adopt good hygiene

practices. Till date, the programme has reached 29,201

people. This includes 7,820 school children and mothers who

have benefitted from our handwashing and oral hygiene

interventions. Over 21,000 beneficiaries have been impacted 9 10through Sanjivani and Ankur programmes and more than

16

1,000 families have benefitted

through installation of

215 sanitation units

under DTA.

HUL’s Swacch Aadat

Swacch Bharat in

partnership with

Prabhat implemented

the Swacchata Doot

programme wherein our

blue collared employees

reached out to their respective

communities as messengers of the three clean habits. The

pilot of the programme was immensely successful and the

programme will be launched on a full scale in 2016. To know

more about Swacchata Doot refer to page no. 03.

Prabhat’s water conservation programme

We also help to create capacities to conserve water through

HUL’s not-for-profit organisation Hindustan Unilever

Foundation with the help of our on-ground NGO partners and

community participation around our manufacturing locations.

Prabhat’s water conservation programme is currently

running across nine manufacturing locations.

Prabhat ‘Love of Reading Libraries’

Prabhat ‘Love of Reading Libraries’ programme has been

implemented in 102 schools around 26 HUL manufacturing

locations. Many schools in these areas did not have a library

earlier. The objective of this initiative is to encourage the

habit of reading in every child and give them the chance to

read a variety of books. In 2015, over 5,000 books were

‘Love of Reading

Libraries’ programme

implemented in 102

schools around 26

HUL manufacturing

locations

5,000>books were provided

through Prabhat's 'Love of

Reading Libraries' programme

provided to these libraries and our factory teams had the

first-hand experience of spreading this ‘love of reading’ by

leading the book donation drive in their respective locations.

9 HUL’s free mobile medical service camp near its Doom Dooma

Factory in Assam10

Ankur is a centre for special education for otherwise challenged

children at Doom Dooma in Assam


HUL received the

Sustainable Plus Gold Label

for FY 2015. This is based on

ESG (Environmental, Social,

Governance) analysis

conducted by CII’s Centre of

Excellence for Sustainable

Development (CESD).

Sustainable Plus was launched in 2012 to provide a

brand identity tool to companies in order to

communicate to various stakeholders that they are

sustainable, responsible and well governed as well as to

enable them to improve their sustainability performance.

Sustainable Plus is the world’s first and only corporate

sustainable label. It is based on comprehensive ESG

analysis of companies which helps them to measure

performance as well as identify risks that challenge

sustainability of their business.

This recognition reinforces our commitment to 'making

sustainable living commonplace'.

Documents

Unilever Sustainable Living Plan - India 2015 Progress ReportPDF