PALMOILMAGAZINE, LONDON – Unilever, recognized as the custodian of popular brands like Marmite and Dove, convened its annual shareholders meeting amidst significant tension. Activists directly challenged the board of directors regarding Unilever’s impact on both humanity and the planet.
Despite being hailed as a pioneer in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, the recent decision to downsize targets and extend timelines faced staunch opposition.
Following recent changes in the executive leadership team, new development strategies were unveiled, with the primary aim to enhance shareholders’ profits following what was perceived as a ‘disappointing’ performance in previous years.
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Although 98% of shareholders expressed strong support for the new and revamped Climate Transition Action Plans during the meeting held on Wednesday (1/5/2024), the board of directors felt compelled to stand firm on their new strategies as shareholders expressed regret over the compromise to achieve sustainable development goals.
Prior to the commencement of the shareholders’ meeting, scores of demonstrators congregated outside the Hilton Bankside in London, brandishing posters emblazoned with slogans such as “Unilever: Stop Greenwashing” and “No Economy in a Dead Planet”. Inside the meeting room, activists from Greenpeace disrupted Chairman Ian Meakins’ speech and delivered a fervent address supported by 140,000 signatures, urging Unilever to curtail its usage of single-use plastics.
As Palmoilmagazine.com quoted from Dailymail, when security staffs secure the activists to get out, a female screamed out loud for her unsatisfaction to the CEO of Unilever, Hein Schumacher. She called him as “cheap plastic polluter” and demanded changes.
Many shareholders concerned about ESG aspects to climate change, consumers’ health, and the existence of Unilever in Russia. Even though the boards of directors insisted that the sustainability should be the main focus of the business, some activists from Friends of the Earth (FOE) mentioned if Unilever would qualify green-house gas (GHG) target that reaches 48% in 2030.
In the response, CEO Unilever, Hein Schumacher firmly said that the company is committed to sustainability and would shoe its credibility in it. But the activists still discussed about land use change by the companies that have related with Unilever, for instance, PT Astra Agro Lestari (AALI) in Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia.
In the response to the accusation, Schumacher claimed that AALI is not direct supplier from Unilever and Unilever itself did internal investigation about the issue. Boards of directors emphasized that they would get further investigation about the issue and confirm to get the people’s claims well.
The shareholders meeting in Unilever reflected that the pressure gets more from many parties, including environmental activists and shareholders themselves to the company so that it is responsible on the impacts for the people, environment in wider perspective. Though Unilever has done strategies to escalate EGS sectors, the strong pressures to get further changes and firm response to social and environmental issues, remain exist. (T2)
