Planet & Society

The world has never had a clearer view of the social and environmental challenges that face us all.

The need for action has never been greater.

And we know we have a big role to play. We’re a company of brands and people with a clear purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace.

In 2010, we launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), setting out to prove that sustainability and successful business performance are linked.

Over the ten years of the USLP, the world has changed. The issues that inspired us to act have become mainstream. Stakeholders no longer see sustainability commitments as a nice-to-have – they rightly expect them as a minimum.

We’ve learnt a lot along the way. And while we haven't always got everything right, we believe we've stayed true to our ambition to be leaders in sustainability; driven by our core beliefs that brands with purpose grow; companies with purpose last; and people with purpose thrive.

We're more certain than ever that the course we're on is the right one – for us, and for the world. And armed with the experience of our USLP, we are setting out to create a movement in which our suppliers, customers and consumers are all part of building a better future.

Now we want to push our business – and the way business is done – further than ever before. Our Unilever Compass corporate strategy sets out how we'll make that ambition a reality.

The Unilever Compass puts serving our stakeholders at the heart of everything we do.

It reinforces the non-negotiable importance of respect for human rights. And it sets out ambitious programmes of action to tackle the most critical issues of our time, harnessing the full scale and impact of our brands and going further and faster through stretching time-bound targets that drive positive change.

We will act to improve the health of the planet. Taking climate action. Protecting and regenerating nature. And creating a waste-free world.

We will contribute to a fairer, more socially inclusive world. Focusing on equity, diversity and inclusion in everything we do. Galvanising our business to actively raise living standards, and preparing people for the future of work.

At the same time, we will improve the health and well-being of individuals. Our brands will be at the heart of this work – as they have been throughout our existence.

We know this will make a huge difference. But we also know that the biggest challenges call for action that goes beyond the changes that one business can make alone.

Some of the biggest opportunities for positive impact are in our value chain and the societies we connect with. So we must use the full size and scale of Unilever to influence the business practices and policies of people we work with, and in economies where we operate.

Because for all of us who want to see a fairer, more socially inclusive world, and a healthy planet, the message is clear: there's no time to waste. Let's act.

Explore our strategies and learn how we’re acting on the issues affecting our planet and our society.

Take action yourself and help us achieve our vision.