To build trust in the progress Unilever is making towards its sustainability performance goals, PwC UK works to independently assure its annual reporting.
Setting the scene
In 2020, Unilever launched its fully integrated corporate strategy called Compass. Central to this strategy is its ambition to be the global leader in sustainable business, and it has put in place company-wide sustainability commitments for all of its brands, as well as a set of performance measures reported annually to track progress.
While it’s not currently mandatory for companies to have their non-financial reporting externally assured, Unilever wants its customers, employees and investors to have confidence in the progress they are making, and asked PwC to independently verify the accuracy of the sustainability data generated across its global operations.
How we helped
Unilever is one the world's largest consumer goods companies, employing 127,000 people and operating 400 brand names in over 190 countries. While providing assurance for a company of this size can often prove challenging, when combined with the broad scope of sustainability performance measures Unilever tasked us with assuring, this year was particularly complex.
We worked to assure measures ranging from the amount of their ice cream products sold that meet WHO-aligned nutritional standards, to the amount of reusable plastic in their packaging. We assessed the amount of hazardous waste being generated in a number of their production facilities, through to the percentage change in greenhouse gas emissions from energy and refrigerant use across their operations. And, with support from colleagues across our global network, we conducted a combination of virtual and in person site audits of different Unilever production processes around the world including: ice cream in America; laundry detergent in Brazil; soap in Indonesia; and skin cleanser in South Africa.
By attending these sites, either in person or remotely, we were able to test the integrity of data that Unilever reported, challenging the methodologies used to provide an accurate picture of its sustainability reporting.
“Sustainability matters are increasingly important for all businesses, and critical to their success. At Unilever, we committed some time ago to report on sustainability performance across our business and, where possible, our extended value chain, and PwC’s independent assurance has been crucial to building confidence in the progress we’re making.”
Lysanne Gray
Executive Vice President, Sustainable Business, Unilever
Making a difference
Having conducted the site visits, and tested the performance, we were then able to produce our report for Unilever confirming the progress it is making in the various areas we assured. This report, when combined with the ones we have previously produced, demonstrates to Unilever's customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders the impact that efforts to improve the business’ sustainability is having.
As concerns over the level of corporate ‘greenwashing’ continue to grow, this type of regular independent assurance can help to build real confidence that companies are being transparent in their reporting and living up to their commitments.
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