Unilever on road to 100% sustainable sourcing

Unilever Brazil bought certificates that cover 5000 tonnes of sustainable soy oil, mainly for use in North and South America and specifically in dressings and margarine products. It aims to stimulate farmers to move their agricultural practices towards the RTRS criteria. At the moment only one company has received certification. Global production in soy oil is around 40 million tonnes and the company buys around 1%.

Pier Luigi Sigismondi, chief supply chain officer Unilever said, "Certification is an essential first step towards sustainably grown soy and sourcing sustainably grown soy will help the company meet the environmental commitments of its Sustainable Living Plan. That's why this first batch is so significant, both for the RTRS and the company.

"We can't change agricultural practices across the world overnight, but by working closely with others - suppliers, farmers, NGOs, and other businesses - we can begin to precipitate change."

Sustainable sourcing is an important part of its Sustainable Living Plan. It has set three goals to achieve by 2020 - halve the environmental footprint of its products, help more than one billion people take action to improve their health and well-being and source 100 percent of its agricultural raw materials sustainably. This milestone supports the commitment to sustainably source all its soy beans by 2014 and all soy oils by 2020.

For an overview of the sustainable sourcing commitments in the plan, go to www.sustainable-living.unilever.com/the-plan/sustainable-sourcing/