10 Years of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan

It’s been 10 years since we launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. How time flies, and what a relevant time to be having this anniversary - when Covid-19 is reaffirming the need to take sustainability.. to take caring for people and planet.. seriously.

The crises of social inequality and climate are just as urgent now as they were before the pandemic struck – and, like Covid-19, they will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable. We can’t put climate action on hold. We can’t tell the people who live in poverty to wait. We will tackle Covid-19, but we have to do it in a way that does not involve dropping the ball on our other collective challenges. And Covid-19 is showing us that the world can mobilise together. We must emerge from this crisis stronger and more resilient than we were before; ready to take decisive and definitive action to look after people and the planet.

This determination to look after people and the planet is precisely what Unilever set out as an ambition ten years ago. Bringing to the forefront our heritage of doing well by doing good - which dates back to our founders in the mid-1800s - the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan was a game changer for our business. A first of its kind in breadth, size, scope and ambition. It set out three big goals, underpinned by nine commitments and 50 time-bound targets spanning our social, environmental and economic performance across the value chain.

When we launched it, we had no clue how we might achieve all the goals we’d set ourselves – and we were honest in saying that we would need others to help us. Some we have met, some we have missed, but we are a better business for trying. It has required immense ingenuity, dedication and collaboration to get to where we are now. We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved. But we know that there is much more still to do. We’ll build on everything we’ve learned, we’ll do more of what has worked well and we will set ourselves new, more ambitious challenges. 

Thank you to everyone who’s walked with us on this journey.

#10YearsofUSLP