Enhancing livelihoods

Our business generates wealth and creates jobs in the communities where we operate.

Supporting economic development

Employees, governments, investors and many others benefit economically from our activities. A growing opportunity for us is to meet the needs of low-income consumers in emerging markets. Whether it is through new distribution channels, using smaller, more affordable formats or creating new products, we are trying to develop business models to reach new consumers. We seek to raise the skills and

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productivity of the farmers and small businesses we work with so they can increase their incomes and improve their standard of living. As part of our Sustainable Living Plan we have set the following target: by 2020 we will enhance the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people as we grow our business.

2.3.3.1 Smallholder farmers

Our goal is to link 500 000 smallholder farmers into our supply network. We will help to improve their agricultural practices and thus enable them to supply into global markets at competitive prices. By doing so we will improve the quality of their livelihoods.

Meeting our target

We already work with 100 000 smallholders and we are in a good position to understand their challenges.

We also have a unique overview of the global supply situation. This means we can approach smallholders with an authoritative judgment on the economic viability of increasing their production – and the practical tools to help them achieve it.

Working with partners in local and national governments, academia, and NGOs is critical to this. With their help, we can provide training, access to markets, equipment, and other practical aids to increase the yields and income of smallholders.

In Kenya, for example, where our Lipton brand is the country’s largest buyer of smallholder-produced tea, we began a project in 2006 with the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), training growers at farmer field schools with a specific emphasis on sustainability.

By 2008, average profit had increased by between 5-15%, and 38 000 participants had achieved Rainforest Alliance certification for their crops. The KTDA plans to expand the program to 500 000 farmers by 2013.

Where we are now

We have bought from smallholders for decades, providing a market for tea, cassava, spices, fruit and vegetables and other ingredients, often for farmers whose holdings are close to our estates or factories.

Recently we have been working with partners to boost productivity for groups of smallholders further afield.

In South Africa’s Eastern Cape, we are part of a public-private partnership involving government agencies and academics aimed at developing sustainable paprika production. In Ghana, Tanzania and Nigeria, we work with the Novella Partnership to support farmers who harvest Allanblackia seeds, which we use for oil.

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And we are working with Oxfam to explore ways of opening global supply chains to groups of smallholders in Azerbaijan, allowing them access to increased incomes, and thereby supporting their communities.

2.3.3.2 Micro-entrepreneurs

Shakti, our door-to-door selling operation in India, provides work to large numbers of people in poor rural communities. We will increase the number of Shakti entrepreneurs that we recruit, train and employ from 45 000 in 2010 to 75 000 in 2015.

We operate similar schemes in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam which we are also committed to expanding.

Meeting our target

Shakti, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘strength’, is a fitting name for the empowerment of the women who become Unilever distributors for their village. Known as Shakti Ammas (‘mothers’, a term of respect), these women gain self-esteem and a place in their society by selling good, affordable, essential products from a trusted brand. Crucially, they can earn enough to make a real difference to their lives – to be able to send their children to school, for example.

How it works:

• Working with local NGOs, Shakti executives visit villages to meet local self- help groups, and individuals within those groups who are keen to sell our products.

• With the help of micro-finance by local rural banks and self-help groups, Shakti entrepreneurs buy stock from our rural distributors at cost price.

• The distributors deliver stock directly to the Shakti entrepreneurs. They sell our products door-to-door to households in their village and nearby smaller villages, and keep the profit.

Where we are now

The mutual benefits to our business and local communities are clear:

• For Hindustan Unilever, the initiative has doubled the number of rural households it reaches

• For the Shakti entrepreneurs, earnings typically double their household income, and boost their sense of self-esteem.

Shakti is a proven model for taking a global brand into difficult terrain, such as India’s hilly North East States. With local partners we currently operate similar, smaller-scale operations in:

• Bangladesh – Aparajita

• Sri Lanka – Saubhagya

• Vietnam – Project Hope.

Our challenge now is to extend our geographical reach, and we are excited at the possibilities for taking the Shakti model worldwide.

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2.4 Unilever Philippines’ CSR

2.4.1 Environmental Sustainability

We aim to manage our business successfully and sustainably as a trusted corporate citizen around the world, respected for the value and standards by which we behave. As a responsible business, we seek to understand and manage our social, environmental and economic impacts, working in partnership with our suppliers, customers, with governments and NGOs, and increasingly with consumers who are at the heart of everything we do.

In living up to our vision of creating a better future every day, our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts finds its overarching mandate from the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDG) call for the business sector to align CSR initiatives and contribute to the achievement of the country’s MDG targets in the areas of Poverty, Education, Health and Environment.

In Unilever Philippines, we have focused our CSR on the Environment, Children’s Nutrition and Community Building.

Reducing Environmental Impact

Environment care is a primary concern on Unilever Philippines. The company is committed to the following:

1. Ensure that our operations do not pollute