Rising populations, climate change, water
scarcity and unsustainable farming practices
are threatening food security. In developing
countries three out of four people depend on
agriculture for their livelihoods.
Half Unilever’s raw materials come from farms
or forests. That makes sustainable agriculture
a strategic priority for us. We have committed
to source all our agricultural raw materials
sustainably by 2020 and have already reached
48%. At the same time we will engage with at
least 500,000 smallholder farmers to improve
their livelihoods.
Our open-source Unilever Sustainable Agriculture
Code has not only been used by our own suppliers,
it has inspired and set a benchmark for other
companies and organisations, catalysing broader
change. We are also playing a leading role in transforming the tea industry, working with a
range of partners including Rainforest Alliance,
the Netherlands-based Sustainable Trade
Initiative (IDH) and Solidaridad.
Beyond tea we are working through multistakeholder
and
certification
bodies
to achieve
fundamental
change
in
farming
practices.