Unilever delays carbon transition plan while pledging greater environmental investments 

21 May 2024 --- Unilever is officially updating its Carbon Action Transition Plan (CTAP) to reflect a shift toward near-term measures that do not set unrealistically long-term goals. The new plan comes shortly after the corporation announced it will be axing a range of its plastic reduction targets.

The new CTAP includes spending targets in the lead-up to 2030, including €1 billion (US$1.09 billion) in climate, nature and waste reduction projects by 2030 — of which it had already spent and committed €300 million (US$326 million) by the end of 2023.  

The updates were supported by 97.5% of shareholders at its 2024 AGM meeting. 

“CTAP is really important because it enables us to understand where our emissions sit across our business and our value chain,” says Rebecca Marmot, chief sustainability officer at Unilever. “We’ve now got time-bound cost roadmaps that enable us to take action in each of the business groups. That means less exposure to volatility in the energy markets and more security of supply in key crops and commodities.”

Hundreds of millions will be invested in Unilever Indonesia.Remaining honest 
While Unilever received criticism from environmental groups for watering down its goals, others commended the company’s honesty in doing so publicly. 

“As we look to our long-term ambition of reaching net zero across our value chain, the challenges we’re facing are changing and our solutions need to change too,” reads a Unilever statement. 

“We’re entering an era which rightfully places more scrutiny on how and when corporate climate action happens and we need to evolve our strategy so that by 2030 we can achieve deep cuts in the emissions outside our direct control, while simultaneously growing our business.” 

The updated CTAP will become integral to how Unilever assesses its business performance, setting key short-term goals and “hard-wiring” the steps needed to reduce its emissions into planning and budget cycles. 

“We’ve worked with each of our business groups to develop time-bound cost roadmaps so that their targets and actions are embedded in their respective financial growth plans, and, as an extra incentive, we’re also linking rewards to the delivery of sustainability performance,” says the company. 

Innova Market Insights pegged “Honest Packaging” as a top trend for 2024, predicting that more companies would take measures to avoid greenwashing litigation as legislation tightens. 

New investments 
Over the next three years, Unilever will invest €150 million (US$163 million) in its manufacturing decarbonization program, focusing on the decarbonization of its thermal and electrical energy, increasing its use of renewable power and reducing refrigeration emissions. 

An additional €325 million (US$353 million) is being invested into Unilever’s oleochemicals facility in Indonesia, which will help it meet current and future demand for deforestation-free commodities. 

Since 2015, Unilever has reduced its operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 74%, largely through its transition to renewable electricity. 

Energy efficiency projects have saved Unilever over €1 billion (US$1.09 billion) since 2008, and its regenerative agriculture projects have helped to build more resilient supply chains, reducing emissions and costs in the process, it claims. 

Capitalizing with collaboration 
Many of the new targets Unilever says it cannot overcome without wider systems change. Within the updated CTAP, a range of dependencies is outlined on how the company will need to work with governments, regulators, industry and consumers to address barriers and drive innovation.

“Collaboration with key suppliers to accelerate climate action, with industry to find alternatives to chemical ingredients, with trade associations to align on our positions and with governments as we step up our advocacy will all help us to deliver our vision of a new era of sustainability leadership,” the company states. 

By more forcefully using its voice and convening power to address enablers and blockers of our progress, we believe we can move faster toward our goals and help accelerate the transition to net zero — while also driving success for our business.

“We can’t do this alone, we need others. Collaboration is at the heart of how we have approached sustainability so far — and that’s something I think we should keep on doing,” says Hein Schumacher, CEO of Unilever.

By Louis Gore-Langton