Unilever to give talk on best practice sustainability communications

Unilever has received praise for its commitment to its sustainability pledge, known as the Sustainable Living Plan​, by which it is working to grow its business while decoupling its carbon footprint from the growth, and increasing its positive social impact.

The fast moving consumer goods company, which owns such brands as Dove and Axe (known as Lynx in the UK), will be represented by its head of investor relations, Andrew Stephen, in the talk that will take place at the IR Magazine Conference - UK & Ireland on October 27.​

Sustainability pays off: 30% stronger growth​

Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan commitment has proved popular with consumers: the personal care giant has reported 30% faster growth​ among those of its brands that have signed up to the pledge compared with those that haven’t.

“All the brands with strong purposes run 30% ahead of the others, so it is a huge number and a significant difference,” ​confirmed Unilever’s executive vice president of global marketing, Aline Santos.

Sustainability is fast becoming an essential area for investment for personal care brands, as millennial consumers in particular place brands’ ethical concern as one of their top criteria when choosing between products, according to Euromonitor International. It was recently picked out as one of the top four concerns by the firm among Asian consumers.​

The programme has also been awarded with various industry accolades, including best sustainability practice at the IR Magazine awards - Europe this year.

Talk topics ​

According to the event organisers, Unilever’s upcoming talk will include the following key focuses:

• Communicating long-term stability​ ‒ how to take the focus away from short-term fluctuations
• Integrating Environmental Social Governance​ (ESG) into established IR programs and coping with the surge in investor interest
• Telling your ESG story​ ‒ building your knowledge base and responding efficiently to questions
• Applying standard IR disciplines​ such as investor analysis, targeting and communications to sustainability and corporate governance issues
• Focusing on key issues​ that are material to the business and have the potential to affect long-term value creation.