Sustainable agriculture

Our agricultural supply chain

Agricultural crops make up two-thirds of our raw materials. Our business is linked to a complex network of thousands of smallholder farmers, large agri-businesses and third-party suppliers. We also buy ingredients from the agricultural commodity markets.

Security of supply is therefore a core business issue, especially when agricultural production is under threat from a number of factors, including changing weather patterns, water scarcity and unsustainable farming practices.

Unilever's aim

Our long-term aim is to buy all our agricultural raw materials from sustainable sources, so that:

• Farmers and farm workers can obtain an income they can live on and improve their living conditions

• Soil fertility is maintained and improved

• Water availability and quality are protected and enhanced

• Nature and biodiversity are protected and enhanced.

Our approach

Unilever sources a wide range of agricultural raw materials for its products. We have focused our efforts on those crops where we purchase significant volumes. This is where we have the greatest impact and also where we have the opportunity to make a difference.

We established our Sustainable Agriculture Programme over ten years ago. In that time we have developed detailed guidelines on what sustainable agriculture means for our key crops – what we call Good Agricultural Practice Guidelines.

Working in partnership with an external advisory board and expert agronomists, we based these Guidelines on 11 indicators including water, energy, pesticide use, biodiversity, social capital and animal welfare.

Sustainable tea

Lipton has committed to source the tea for all its tea bags from Rainforest Alliance Certified TM farms by 2015. We are working with Rainforest Alliance, an international environmental organisation, to ensure that all the farms we source from are certified.  Although the pledge was only announced in 2007, more than 30 estates have already achieved this certification, including Unilever's own estates in Kenya and Tanzania and third-party suppliers in India and Argentina. By the end of 2008 around 50% of Lipton Yellow Label and PG Tips tea sold in Western Europe came from Rainforest Alliance Certified TM farms.

Rainforest Alliance Certified Tea in Canada  In 2009, Unilever Canada announced that select tea gardens in Kericho, Kenya, which supply 50% of Red Rose and Salada tea are Rainforest Alliance Certified.  Rainforest alliance Certified farms meet standards for sustainabale farming that help protect the environment and the rights and welfare of workers, their families and communities. Red Rose and Salada are committed to sourcing all of its tea from Rainforest Alliance certified farms by 2015.  Already half of the tea in our tea bags in Canada comes from Rainforest Alliance Certified plantations.  By 2015 all of our Red Rose, Salada and Lipton tea bags will be 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified.