FDBusiness.com

Unilever has announced that more than 50 per cent of all of its factories have achieved the goal of sending no waste to landfill in 2012. This was achieved whilst the company reported annual sales of €51 billion – up from €40 billion when Unilever set out its new vision of doubling the size of its business whilst reducing its environmental impact.

Unilever has already reached the milestone of 100 per cent of sites sending zero waste to landfill in 18 countries. This achievement is equivalent to removing more than one million household bins of waste every year. The overall achievement is equivalent to removing more than one million household bins of waste every year.

Over 130 Unilever factories across the world, from Costa Rica to Japan, send no non-hazardous waste to landfill. A key driver for this achievement is the elimination of waste in the factories. Additionally waste is reduced, reused, recycled and recovered. Under its Sustainable Living Plan, Unilever announced that by 2020, total waste sent for disposal will be at or below 2008 levels – despite producing significantly higher volumes. Now, Unilever is stretching the original target even further by bringing the 2020 commitment five years forward. A total of 252 factories across the world will not send any non-hazardous waste to landfill by end of 2015.

Tony Dunnage, Group Environmental Engineering Manager, Unilever, says: “This is a significant achievement for Unilever as we make progress towards reaching our ambitious sustainability goals. It’s a great example of how we are putting our sustainability strategy into action – by decoupling the growth of our business from its environmental impact.”