Unilever ANZ – Certified B Corporation

Unilever Australia and New Zealand is part of the B Corporation community, a growing network of organisations committed to meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Here we explain why this is such an important achievement and what it means for us.

What is a B Corp?

The B stands for ‘benefit for all’. Once an organisation becomes a B Corp, they join a movement of more than 8,500 businesses worldwide that aim to lead systems change to support an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy for all.

The certification is independently administered by a non-profit organisation called B Lab which measures the verifiable positive impact a company is having through its policies and practices across five areas – governance, workers, communities, customers and the environment.

The actions Unilever ANZ is taking under our Sustainability strategy were integral to our successful certification, reinforcing that our purpose-led, future-fit business model drives superior performance.

Why did Unilever ANZ set out to become a B Corp?

On any given day, millions of Aussie and Kiwi households use our products, so we have both a responsibility and an opportunity to use our scale as a force for good.

To realise our purpose of making sustainable living commonplace, we have to work collaboratively. From the suppliers who provide us with essential ingredients and materials, to our team members, the partners that sell our products and the people who enjoy them every day – we want to create a coalition of the passionate and willing, to galvanise a stronger, more inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy for all.

We want to mobilise organisations across the world

Andrew Davies, CEO of B Lab Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, says: “When organisations of the size and scale of Unilever Australia & New Zealand certify, it shows just how much the idea of business delivering positive impact on people and planet has grown. Their certification sends a powerful signal that will further advance change in the consumer goods sector and our broader global economic system.

“We need more businesses of all sizes to step up and be accountable, and B Corp Certification is one powerful way to do that. It comes with a significant burden of greater transparency and requires continuous improvement to maintain the certification over time. It’s a credit to the team at Unilever ANZ that they have been willing and able to achieve this with such a large, complex business.”

What’s next for Unilever ANZ?

We’re proud of the progress we’ve made but there’s still much more to be done. Being a Certified B Corp adds an extra layer of accountability and encourages us to be even more transparent. We want to share our learnings and equally we want to learn from other like-minded organisations along the way. We’re consistently looking at how we can turbocharge our positive impact and look forward to sharing our journey as we go.