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Introduction to Unilever

No matter who you are, or where in the world you are, the chances are that our products
are a familiar part of your daily routine. Every day, around the world, people reach for
Unilever products.

Unilever today
Our brands are trusted everywhere and, by listening to the people who buy them, we've
grown into one of the world's most successful consumer goods companies. In fact, 150
million times a day, someone somewhere chooses a Unilever product.

Look in your kitchen, or on the bathroom shelf, and you're bound to see one of our well-
known brands. We create, market and distribute the products that people choose to feed
their families and keep themselves and their homes clean and fresh.

People's lives are changing fast. As the way we all live and work evolves, our needs and
tastes change too. At Unilever we aim to help people in their daily lives. So we keep
developing new products, improving tried and tested brands and promoting better, more
efficient ways of working.

We have a portfolio of brands that are popular across the globe - as well as regional
products and local varieties of famous-name goods. This diversity comes from two of our
key strengths:

• Strong roots in local markets and first-hand knowledge of the local culture.
• World-class business expertise applied internationally to serve consumers
everywhere.

Focusing on performance and productivity, we encourage our people to develop new


ideas and put fresh approaches into practice. Hand in hand with this is a strong sense of
responsibility to the communities we serve. We don't only measure success in financial
terms; how we achieve results is important too. We work hard to conduct our business
with integrity - respecting our employees, our consumers and the environment around us.

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of fast-moving consumer goods. Here are
some recent highlights from our three global divisions - Foods, home care and personal
care.

Foods

• The acquisition of Bestfoods in 2000 brought us leadership in the culinary


category. Knorr is now our biggest brand, with €2.3 billion sales in over 100
countries and a product range covering soups, bouillons, sauces, noodles and
complete meals.
• We are the number one producer of frozen foods in Europe, under the Findus
brand in Italy, Bird's Eye in the UK and Iglo in other European countries.
• We are the category leader in margarine and spreads in most European countries
and North America, with brands such as Becel (the Netherlands), Flora (UK) and
Take Control (US). We have met consumer demand for healthy foods by
launching pro.active, a spread which contains ingredients that can help reduce
cholesterol levels.
• In the branded olive oil category we are a leader, the most important brand being
Bertolli. Appealing to consumers' taste for Mediterranean food, we have launched
Bertolli pasta sauces and dressings.
• We are the world's leading ice cream producer, with brands such as Algida and
Wall's in Europe, and Ben & Jerry's in the United States. Innovations such as
Magnum snack-sizes and Cornetto miniature and multi-packs have sparked
progress.
• We are the largest seller of packet tea in the world through our Lipton and Brooke
Bond brands.

Home & personal care

• We lead the home care market in much of the world, which includes cleansing
and hygiene products.
• Many of our home care products are market leaders including Brilhante, Cif,
Comfort, Domestos, Omo, Skip and Snuggle.
• Within the personal care market, we are global leaders in products for skin
cleansing, deodorants and antiperspirants.
• Our global core brands in the personal care market are Axe, Dove, Lux, Pond's,
Rexona and Sunsilk.

Our vision
Unilever products touch the lives of over 2 billion people every day – whether that's
through feeling great because they've got shiny hair and a brilliant smile, keeping their
homes fresh and clean, or by enjoying a great cup of tea, satisfying meal or healthy
snack.

A clear direction
The four pillars of our vision set out the long term direction for the company – where we
want to go and how we are going to get there:

• We work to create a better future every day


• We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and
services that are good for them and good for others.
• We will inspire people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a big
difference for the world.
• We will develop new ways of doing business that will allow us to double the size
of our company while reducing our environmental impact.

We've always believed in the power of our brands to improve the quality of people’s lives
and in doing the right thing. As our business grows, so do our responsibilities. We
recognise that global challenges such as climate change concern us all. Considering the
wider impact of our actions is embedded in our values and is a fundamental part of who
we are.

Our Mission
In the last five years, we have built our business by focusing on our brands, streamlining
how we work, and improving our insight into the evolving needs and tastes of consumers.
Now we are taking the next step in simplification - by aligning ourselves around a clear
common mission.

We recognise that the world in which we operate is changing.


Consumers are increasingly bringing their views as citizens into their buying decisions,
demanding more from the companies behind the brands. They want companies and
brands they trust.

Unilever embraces these new expectations. Our heritage of good governance, product
quality and long experience of working with communities gives us a strong base.We aim
to build on this by taking the next step in transparency and accountability. We will stand
visibly as Unilever, behind our products and everything we do, everywhere.

Every day 150 million people in over 150 countries choose our products. Already, most
of our brands give the benefits of feeling good, looking good and getting more out of life.
Bertolli, for example, conjures up the Italian zest for life and Becel/Flora keeps hearts
healthy. Sunsilk helps you feel happier because your hair looks great. Our laundry brand,
Omo, encourages children to get dirty so they can experience more of life.
In the future, our brands will do even more to add vitality to life. Our vitality mission will
focus our brands on meeting consumer needs arising from the biggest issues around the
world today – ageing populations, urbanisation, changing diets and lifestyles.

We see growing consumer need for:

• a healthy lifestyle
• more variety, quality, taste and enjoyment
• time, as an increasingly precious commodity
• helping people to feel good, look good and get more out of life will enable us to
meet these needs and expand our business.

Unilever is in a unique position to understand the interrelationships between nutrition,


hygiene and personal care. We can do this thanks to our strong science capability and
our locally rooted consumer insight. It is by bringing all this together that we can strive to
contribute to quality of life and wellbeing - adding vitality to life.

The long-term success of our business is intimately interconnected with the vitality of the
environment and the communities in which we operate. The environment provides us
with our raw materials and the ingredients we need to make our products. Healthy,
prosperous communities provide us with a healthy, growing consumer base.

Purpose & principles


Our corporate purpose states that to succeed requires "the highest standards of corporate
behaviour towards everyone we work with, the communities we touch, and the
environment on which we have an impact."

Always working with integrity


Conducting our operations with integrity and with respect for the many people,
organisations and environments our business touches has always been at the heart of our
corporate responsibility.

Positive impact

We aim to make a positive impact in many ways: through our brands, our commercial
operations and relationships, through voluntary contributions, and through the various
other ways in which we engage with society.

Continuous commitment

We’re also committed to continuously improving the way we manage our environmental
impacts and are working towards our longer-term goal of developing a sustainable
business.
Setting out our aspirations

Our corporate purpose sets out our aspirations in running our business. It’s underpinned
by our code of business Principles which describes the operational standards that
everyone at Unilever follows, wherever they are in the world. The code also supports our
approach to governance and corporate responsibility.

Working with others

We want to work with suppliers who have values similar to ours and work to the same
standards as we do.

Unilever Bangladesh receives prestigious


Global Award
21/10/2010 : Unilever Bangladesh Ltd (UBL) has won the prestigious Unilever Compass
into Action (CIA) Award at the Senior Leadership event on October 21st in London

Unilever Bangladesh receives prestigious Global Award

Unilever Bangladesh Ltd (UBL) has won the prestigious Unilever Compass into Action
(CIA) Award at the Senior Leadership event on October 21st in London.

The Global Unilever Compass Awards, introduced for the first time in 2010, recognizes
the outstanding achievement of Unilever operating companies in sustainable delivery on
The Compass - Unilever’s new global vision and strategy.

The award for overall winner was presented to Unilever Bangladesh (UBL) amongst the
numerous contenders within Unilever, for outstanding achievement across all areas of
The Compass and consistent all-round performance. Rakesh Mohan, Chairman and
Managing Director, Unilever Bangladesh received the award from Paul Polman, CEO,
Unilever at the grand event in London witnessed by leaders across the Unilever world.

As overall winner, Unilever Bangladesh received a €10,000 prize cheque which the
Company would hand over to the Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital, the Company-sponsored
hospital ship that delivers healthcare to people in the remote inaccessible chars of
northern Bangladesh.

Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, formed in 1973 as Lever Brothers Bangladesh Ltd, with a
39.25% stake of Govt of Bangladesh, is the largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods
company in Home and Personal Care and Foods,constantly introducing new and world-
class products for the Bangladeshi consumers and adding vitality to their lives.Over 90%
of the country’s households use one or more of Unilever products. The Company
hasmarket leadership in 7 out of the 8 categories in which it operates.

Over the last few decades, Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. has been actively involved in
community development through its CSR initiatives. The Lifebuoy Frendship Hospital,
SSKS School for underprivileged children, Fair & Lovely Foundation and numerous
other initiatives in the area of Education, Health, Women’s Empowerment and disaster
relief have reinforced the Company’s belief of ‘Doing Well by Doing Good’.

Chief Executive Officer


Paul earned a BBA/BA from the University of Groningen, Netherlands, in 1977 and an
MA in economics and MBA in finance/international marketing from the University of
Cincinnati in 1979.

Paul began his career at Procter & Gamble in 1979, with finance assignments in Belgium,
the Netherlands and France, leading to associate finance director. He subsequently held a
variety of senior positions within the company including category manager and
marketing director France, vice-president and general manager Iberia, vice-president and
managing director UK, and president Global Fabric Care. He was appointed group
president Europe and officer of the Procter & Gamble Company in 2001.

Prior to joining Unilever, Paul was chief financial officer of Nestlé S.A. from January
2006 as well as executive vice president for the Americas from February 2008.

Paul serves as President of the Kilimanjaro Blind trust and Chairman of Perkins
International Advisory Board. He is a member of the European Round Table, The
International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, the Swiss American
Chamber of Commerce and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
On the Board of the Consumer Goods Forum he co-chairs the Board Strategy and also the
Sustainability Committees. He is a Trustee of both the Leverhulme Trust and Asia House,
a former board member of Alcon and, since February 2010, a non-executive director of
The Dow Chemical Company.

Recognised by Investor Magazine as chief financial officer of the year 2007, Paul
received the Carl Lidner award from the University of Cincinnati in 2006 and was the
WSJ/CNBC European Business Leader of the Year 2003. He has been awarded honorary
degrees from the Universities of Northumbria, Newcastle, UK, in 2000 and the
University of Cincinnati, USA, in 2009.

Married with three children, Paul’s interests include reading, marathon running, and
mountaineering, but his main passion is for his role in running the Kilimanjaro Bli
Paul Polman – Chief Executive Officer
Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, was appointed an Executive Director to the
Boards of Unilever PLC and Unilever NV in October 2008, the first time an external
candidate was chosen for the role.

Jean-Marc Huët - Chief Financial Officer


Jean-Marc Huët joined Unilever in February 2010 as Chief Financial Officer.

Professor Geneviève Berger – Chief Research &


Development Officer
Geneviève Berger was educated in physics and medicine, and holds three doctorates: a
PhD in Physics, a PhD in Human Biology and a Medical Doctorate.
Douglas Anderson Baillie – President of Western
Europe
Douglas Baillie is a British national, born (1955) and educated in Zimbabwe. Doug
graduated from the University of Natal with majors in Business Finance, Marketing and
Business Administration and joined Unilever South Africa in 1978.

Harish Manwani – President, Asia Africa


Harish Manwani is an honours graduate from Mumbai University and has a master's
degree in management studies. He also attended the Advanced Management Program at
the Harvard Business School.

Sandy Ogg – Chief HR Officer


Sandy was born in Norfolk, Virginia, US in 1954. He was educated at the US Coast
Guard Academy, George Washington University and Northwestern University and
enjoyed a wide-ranging career in leadership development and change management before
joining Unilever in 2003.

Michael B. Polk – President Global Foods, Home &


Personal Care
Mike Polk joined Unilever in 2003 following 16 years at Kraft where he held a variety of
leadership positions. He is a graduate of Cornell University and has an M.B.A. from
Harvard Business School.

Pier Luigi Sigismondi


Pier Luigi Sigismondi was appointed Chief Supply Chain Officer and a member of the
Unilever Executive in September 2009. An Italian national, he holds a Masters in
Industrial & Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta,
Georgia.

Keith Weed - Chief Marketing and Communication


Officer
Keith Weed began his career with Michelin and joined Unilever in 1983, moving on to
senior positions in France and the USA and global roles. He holds a first-class degree in
engineering from the University of Liverpool.

Alan Johnson - Chief Auditor


Alan Johnson was born in London in 1955. He joined Unilever in 1975 as a finance
trainee. He is a chartered certified accountant and a member of the British Institute of
Management.
Charles Nichols - Group Controller
Charles Nichols was born in the UK in 1961. He has a degree in chemistry from Jesus
College, Oxford and is a fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants.

Stephen Williams – General Counsel and Chief Legal


Officer
Steve Williams was admitted as a solicitor and a member of the Law Society in April
1972.

Our People
In many respects, we think of Unilever Bangladesh as a community, rather than an
organisation. This community is shaped and led by its people, who operate creatively
within a framework of shared values and business goals.

Staying connected
Because our people are fundamental to the way we do business, they’re at the centre of
everything we do. Their professional fulfilment, their work/life balance, their ability to
contribute equally as part of a diverse workforce… these are all issues to which we give
priority.
Growth

We grow as a company by growing our people. This insight is behind all our efforts to
keep our people fulfilled and committed. It’s also why we stay connected with – and
connect together – our employees around the world, conducting surveys and ‘pulse
checks’ which then feed into the future direction of our business.

Our Logo
Our new identity expresses the vitality at the heart of our brands, our people and our
values. Each icon within it represents an aspect of our business, showing that we add
vitality in everything we do.

Our approach
This section summarises Unilever’s sustainability objectives and activities, explaining
why this area has become such a focus for the business.

Our approach

Unilever’s approach to sustainability prioritises business benefits as well as ethical


principles. More than ever, the business is seeing clear evidence that sustainability can
drive growth. Whether it’s by stimulating the innovation pipeline, providing customers
with sustainability expertise, or winning the hearts of principled consumers, sustainability
is helping us win.

As you scroll through the following pages, you’ll find case studies demonstrating how the
business is helping improve hygiene and well-being, promote sustainable agriculture,
fight climate change, conserve water, re-think packaging and drive up eco-efficiency in
manufacturing.
You’ll also find out about how Unilever is supporting economic development in
developing and emerging markets: making products accessible to the lowest-income
consumers, sharing technology and best practice, and promoting high standards of
corporate governance.

Our stakeholders

Sustainability affects the entire community of stakeholders that surrounds Unilever. So


this section also describes how Unilever collaborates with customers on sustainability,
encourages suppliers to meet the highest-possible standards, looks after the well-being of
employees and helps local communities thrive.

Of course, we can’t promote high standards more widely unless we exemplify


impeccable governance ourselves. As described later in this section, our Code of
Business Principles requires us to act with total transparency, openness and integrity
around the world, staying out of politics and upholding human rights.

For proof that we’re moving in the right direction, you only have to look at the different
kinds of external recognition we receive.

For instance, we’re the only company to have been named food industry category leader
in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes for eleven years in a row. Sustainable
Asset Management has named us a Sector Leader, while also awarding us with a Gold
Class distinction. We’ve been included in the FTSE4Good Index, and have achieved a
score of 88% in the latest Carbon Disclosure Project survey.

If you want to explore sustainability at Unilever in more depth, our full Sustainable
Development Report is available on

Product innovations
We use our knowledge and imagination to translate science into products that meet a
range of consumer needs. In this section you can find examples of this work.

Clean clothes, less water


Rinsing clothes is the most water- and time-consuming part of hand washing. How are
we helping?
Smoother, straighter hair
There’s a good reason why Sunsilk is the number one hair care brand in Asia, Latin
American and the Middle East, and the fastest-growing in Europe - tip-targeting
technology.

Intelligent deodorant
Our Rexona deodorant uses body-responsive micro-capsule technology that kicks in
when it’s needed most, giving people the confidence to face the day's more stressful
situations.

Our economic impacts on society


Our business generates wealth and creates jobs in the communities where we operate.

Impacts & opportunities

Employees, governments, investors and many others benefit economically from our
activities. A growing opportunity is to meet the needs of low-income consumers in
developing and emerging markets. Whether it is through new distribution channels, using
smaller formats or creating new products, we are trying to develop business models to
reach the poorest members of society. We work to raise the skills and productivity of
these people so they can increase their incomes and improve their standard of living. As
part of our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (launched in November 2010), we have set
ourselves a bold new target for enhancing livelihoods: By 2020 we will enhance the
livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people as we grow our business.

Our economic impacts


Our business generates wealth by adding value to the raw materials we purchase, as we
manufacture products to exacting standards and market them to consumers.

Despite the worst recession in decades our business has been resilient and we have made
good progress. We sell everyday products such as toothpaste and soap, which people
continue to use even in difficult times. Growth was broad-based across markets and
categories. Our volumes picked up and market shares improved through the year. By the
end of the year we were growing volume share in two-thirds of our business, compared
with only one-third a year earlier. We have taken action to ensure that our prices stay
competitive and, where appropriate, we have adjusted prices to reflect easing commodity
costs, just as we took necessary increases in 2008.

We generated an operating profit of €5 020 million and sales of €39 823 million in 2009.

Out of this sales income (turnover), we spent more than €28.5 billion with suppliers of
goods and services while our own operations created €11.3 billion in value added. Our
employees gained the largest share, earning €5.2 billion of the total. The providers of
capital who finance our operations gained the second-largest share from dividends paid,
with €959 million going to governments in corporation tax.

Customers & suppliers


We aim to manage our sustainability issues across our entire value chain. This involves
working closely with our customers and our suppliers.

Issues & our approach

The past few years have seen many of our large international customers taking a
strong stance on sustainability issues, with some ambitious targets in areas such as energy
use, greenhouse gas emissions and waste. We continue to assess our suppliers against the
Unilever Supplier Code and where applicable, the Unilever Sustainable Agriculture
Code. We are working with our peers to create a common approach to supplier
assessment.

Suppliers
Ensuring compliance with our Supplier and Sustainable Agriculture Codes.

Supplier Code
We source raw materials and packaging from more than 10 000 suppliers, and non-
production goods and services from up to 100 000. Managing this supply chain and
achieving responsible sourcing standards is inevitably a complex task.

In October 2010, we published a revised Unilever's Supplier Code (formerly known as


the Unilever Business Partner Code). The Code provides the framework through which
we set out our approach and our responsible sourcing requirements. It is founded in local
laws and internationally accepted norms, to which we request our suppliers’ adherence.
The Code addresses the key areas of health and safety at work, business ethics, labour
standards, consumer safety and the environment.

The revised Code provides greater clarity on our expectations of our suppliers in the areas
of freedom of association, collective bargaining, bribery and corruption. The revision also
seeks to extend the sphere of influence of the Code by requiring our direct suppliers to
ensure that their direct suppliers also adhere to its principles.

Supplier assurance

We communicate the Code to our direct suppliers and request assurance that management
systems are in place to ensure compliance with its principles. We may request further
verification from suppliers in the form of self assessments or site audits to identify if
operational practices meet the Code’s requirements. Should they not do so, we then seek
agreement with our suppliers to undertake the necessary actions to achieve compliance.

This work is a continuous process, and we rely on collaboration with our suppliers to
make it possible. We also work with industry peers and use the SEDEX platform to
deploy a common approach to supplier assessments that is recognised across our
industry. In doing so, the principle of mutual recognition is possible and our suppliers
may exchange their assessments with other customers.

Employees
Winning with people

It is vital we have people with the right talent, skills and creativity. To ensure our
long-term prosperity, we want everyone to be healthy, motivated and committed. As part
of our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (launched in November 2010), we have set
ourselves bold new targets for creating a better workplace: Reduce workplace injuries
and accidents; improve employee health and nutrition; reduce employee travel; reduce
energy consumption in our offices; reduce office waste; and, increase sustainable
sourcing of office materials.

Swot Analysis Of Unilever Company


SWOT has a long history as a tool of strategic and marketing analysis. No one knows
who first invented SWOT analysis. It has features in strategy textbooks since at least
1972 and can now be found in textbooks on marketing and any other business disciplines.
It advocates say that it can be used to gauge the degree of “fit” between the organisation’s
strategies and its environment, and to suggest ways in which the organisation can profit
from strengths and opportunities and shield itself against weaknesses and threats (Adams,
2005). However, SWOT has come under criticism recently. Because it is so simple, both
students and managers have a tendency to use it without a great deal of thought, so that
the results are often useless. Another problem is that SWOT, having been conceived in
simpler times, does not cope very well with some of the subtler aspects of modern
strategic theory, such as trade-offs (De Witt and Meyer, 1998).

Strengths

Determine an organisation’s

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strong points. This should be from both internal and external customers. A strength is a
“resource advantage relative to competitors and the needs of the markets a firm serves or
expects to serve”. It is a distinctive competence when it gives the firm a comparative
advantage in the marketplace. Strengths arise from the resources and competencies
available to the firm.

Weaknesses

Determine an organisation’s weaknesses, not only from its point of view, but also more
importantly, from customers. Although it may be difficult for an organisation to
acknowledge its weaknesses it is best to handle the bitter reality without procrastination.
A weakness is a “limitation or deficiency in one or more resources or competencies
relative to competitors that impedes a firm’s effective performance”.

Opportunities

Another major factor is to determine how organisations can continue to grow within the
marketplace. After all, opportunities are everywhere, such as the changes in technology,
government policy,...
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