Unilever hits carbon-saving milestone

18th May 2015 13:23

Unilever said on Monday that it has reached a new milestone of 1 million tonnes of CO2 savings since 2008 in its manufacturing network.Energy consumption has been reduced by 20% - the same energy used to run 40 factories or the equivalent in carbon of over 800,000 acres of forest in one year. This has also resulted in cost savings of €244m, the company said.Harnessing waste materials from the production of Marmite and Flora to generate low-carbon energy is just one of the ways Unilever has managed to cut carbon emissions."We're delighted to have hit this milestone in our CO2 reduction," said chief supply chain officer Pier Luigi."Across our supply chain we are increasingly turning to energy provided by wind, solar and biomass, converting heat from our manufacturing processes into power for our factories," he added.Speaking to BBC News ahead of a business climate summit that takes place in Paris this week, Unilever chief executive Paul Polman called on fellow executives to help create a "political licence" for politicians to promote clean energy.He said that governments must set clear CO2 targets to force low-carbon innovation."It's clear that, increasingly, the business community is aware of the costs of climate change. Momentum is swinging towards people realising that we need to take urgent action to stay below two degrees [increase in global average temperature]," Polman told BBC News.Three months ago, Unilever announced zero waste to landfill across its global factory network.