CEO of Unilever Australia & New Zealand (ANZ), Nicky Sparshott, says the company’s B Corporation certification is a “tremendous milestone” and will “turbocharge” its focus on sustainability across the business.
B Corp certification is run by B Lab and only awarded to companies that demonstrate verifiable positive impact through policies and practices across five areas – governance, workers, communities, customers, and the environment.
It was an 18 month process for Unilever ANZ. The company has 900 employees in the region, source from more than 1800 suppliers, and have three factories which produce 70 per cent of what it sells locally. Its manufacturing facilities have been run on 100 per cent renewable electricity since 2020.
“On any given day, millions of Aussie and Kiwi households use our products – we have both a responsibility and an opportunity to use our scale as a force for good. We’re thrilled to achieve B Corp Certification, as both a validation of the actions we’ve implemented across Australia and New Zealand, and a motivator to strive even further,” Sparshott said.
The certification process examines a company’s entire operations and requires the business to make a legal commitment by changing their corporate governance approach to be accountable to all stakeholders.
Certified businesses must also exhibit transparency by allowing information about their performance measured against B Lab’s standards to be publicly available on their B Corp profile on B Lab’s website.
CEO of B Lab Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, Andrew Davies, said, “When businesses of the size and scale of Unilever ANZ certify, it shows just how much the idea of business delivering positive impact on people and planet has grown.
“Its 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.”
Sparshott said the efforts by Unilever ANZ were done under the company’s global sustainable business strategy called The Compass, which includes:
- fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce with gender parity across management;
- pioneering flexible work with a four-day work week trial in New Zealand;
- switching to 100% renewable electricity to power its operations;
- reimagining packaging to reduce plastic waste;
- collaborating with farmers on Regenerative Agricultural Principles; and
- driving strong employee engagement around Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).
Unilever also released its Future Food strategy in late 2020, with commitments to a healthier and more sustainable global food system.
Nicky Sparshott (Image: Unilever ANZ)
Sparshott said Unilever’s purpose – to make sustainable living commonplace – was based on the fact that “without a healthy planet and society, we cannot have a healthy business”, and to achieve that, collaboration is key.
“From the suppliers who provide us 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,” Sparshott said.
The B Corp Certification requires ongoing disclosure from Unilever ANZ to maintain its credentials.
Sparshott said the certification makes the business stronger, attracting talented jobseekers that are seeking out meaningful work, as well as partnering with other organisation that prioritise ESG and appealing to increasing educated, and discerning consumers.
“While we already hold ourselves accountable to our own ambitious targets, achieving Certification 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 likeminded organisations along the way. We’re already planning how we can turbocharge our positive impact and look forward to sharing our journey with Australians and New Zealanders as we go,” Sparshott said.
