Unilever: Innovative mode for public welfare to safeguard ecological safety

Company Profile                              
 
Founded in 1929, Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. With 1.74million employees, 6 research centers and 270 production bases in the world, Unilever is committed to increasing our positive social impact with responsible attitude and creating brighter future for the world.
 
Unilever's history in China can be traced back to 90 years ago. Now the company has 1 R&D center and 7 production bases. Since its coming back to China in 1986, Unilever has created over 23,000 job opportunities, direct hiring more than 7,000 local employees.in 2011, the headquarter of Unilever Greater China has elevated to be the headquarter of Northern Asia, responsible for the business in China Mainland and Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.it promises to realize the sustainable development and success by working with customers, clients, suppliers and employees.
 
Challenges
 
Tibet is the “Source of rivers” and “the ecological source” for China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, and has a unique strategic role for safeguarding national ecological security. Tibet grassland covers area of 1.244 billion mu, more than half of which has severely degraded and 1/10 has obvious desertification. The total grassland that has deteriorated or cannot be grazed in Tibet has reached 170 million mu and direct economic losses caused by land desertification every year is about 860 million yuan.
 
As the world's largest consumer goods company, if Unilever can drive the upstream and downstream of supply chain practice the concept of "small action for different results" and participate in the activity, it will be good for Unilever to set up a responsible image and establish closer links with partners.
 
Solutions
 
Combining the sustainable development of business with the sustainability of public welfare projects and taking the advantage of brand to expand the influence of public welfare activities, is Unilever’s public welfare concept. For Unilever, the environmental protection is not a one-way activity, and only promoting responsible marketing to drive the upstream and downstream of supply chain to participate in can the environmental concept be widespread and thus inspire more people to pay attention to the ecological environment.
 
As early as in 2011, in the “Grass Planting in North Tibet” environmental project launched by China Environmental Protection Foundation, LUX, as the first Unilever brand to enter the Chinese market, planted 1000 mu of pasture for Gongga County in Tibet. In 2013, LUX launched “LUX·Green Hada Action” to help restore the decertified grass land in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by artificial planting grass, making contributions to protecting the plateau ecology.
 
In order to further expand the influence of “LUX•Green Hada Action” to call on more people to focus on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ecological crisis, Unilever works with RT-Mart, Carrefour, TESCO and other nine well-known retail enterprises to launch the environmental activity themed with “one person, one yuan and one square meter for the ten-thousand mu plant green plan in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau” in the thousands of commercial super stores covering more than 20 provinces throughout the country. tens of millions  consumers participated in the interaction. When they brought the specified bath products through retail channels during the activity, Unilever and retailers would donate a dollar for planting grassland in the Tibetan region.
 
 
 
Meanwhile, in order to let the consumers feel the real value of the activity, Unilever in collaboration with retailers put a square –meter turf and a square-meter sand in the supermarket. In addition, to draw attention from the public and attract them to participate in the activities, Unilever also worked with the largest travel agency in Tibetan region to hand out “come on, join LUX•Green Hada Action” brochure to 300000 tourists during July to December, 2013.
 
Achievements
 
Unilever uses innovative public welfare model to solve environmental problems, and realizes the localized sustainability strategy while driving the economic development of Tibetan area, obtaining widespread approval.
 
For the company, Unilever's innovation of public model significantly improved the company's brand image and market competitiveness. “LUX•Green Hada Action” not only sets up the responsible brand image in the consumers, but also virtually influences consumers’ buying behavior, indirectly bringing about changes in market supply and demand and promoting the commercial value of the brand. According to statistics, in 2013, during “LUX • Green Hada Action”, its bath cream sales realized the growth rate that is three times higher than the market average growth rate.
 
For society, with leading concept of sustainable development, the innovative public welfare model and continuous environmental actions, Unilever has realized the shared value and coordinated development of stakeholders.
 
On the one hand, “LUX • Green Hada Action” vigorously has promoted the recovery of the Tibetan ecological environment, promoted the economic development of the local and surrounding areas. Taken the blanc village in Tibet, the first donation site of “LUX • Green Hada Action” , as an example, the 1600 mu grassland planted two years ago has now begun to take effect, which brings direct profit of 78,000 yuan for 877 blanc villagers and created 8.76 million yuan income a year for the local herdsmen.
 
So far, “LUX • Green Hada Action” has donate 4100 mu grassland for Tibet accumulatively, which can absorb 17,958 tons of carbon dioxide a year on average. It is expected to complete the 5,000 mu pasture planting in Tibet in 2015, and it will absorb 45,000 tons of carbon dioxide every year, and will significantly reduce the risk of soil and water loss, and promote the Tibetan ecological restoration.
 
On the other hand, the activity drives the upstream and downstream enterprises and consumers of Unilever's supply chain to participate, which not only expands the scope of the spreading range of environmental and sustainable concept, attracts retailers and consumers to participate in environmental activities, and to assume the responsibility with environmental involvement enthusiasm, but also increases the retailer's own brand image. Taken Unilever's key customer RT-Mart for example, from June to August, 2013, the activity leverage RT-Mart’s national channels and system to spread the concept of  the ecological environment protection for Tibet and environmental and low carbon to five regions, 20 provinces, covering more than 200 stores and nearly thousands of consumers.
 
Prospect
 
In the future, Unilever will continue to fulfill its responsibility for society and environment and combine the sustainable development of society and the enterprise itself. Through more responsible practices, it will influence more stakeholders and drive all the society to pay attention to the environmental protection and sustainable development.