Unilever expertise helped Choithrams recycle 47,341 kg of waste in 2015 in a renewed agreement whereby the focus remains on water, energy and waste generation reduction
Dubai - Unilever, one of the world's leading FMCG companies and manufacturer of iconic brands such as Lipton and Lifebuoy, has announced the renewal of its partnership with retail chain Choithrams, which operates over 37 stores in the United Arab Emirates. The announcement, which coincides with the World Environment Day, sees Unilever and Choithrams continue collaborating towards environmental sustainability through reduced water, waste energy use.
The partnership between the two companies is now in its third year. Knowledge transfer from Unilever has seen Choithrams recycle 47,341 kg of waste in 2015 alone. Unilever has also advised on energy saving initiatives, with Choithrams facilities now equipped with occupancy and motion sensors to reduce energy use. Sky dome lights and solar panels are also reducing the chain's environmental footprint.
The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan calls for growing Unilever's business, while reducing its environmental footprint and increasing its positive social impact. The plan delivers growth for Unilever's brands while creating savings through cost avoidance by reducing the environmental impact of its operations.
"Partnerships with key retailers such as Choithrams are essential to advancing our goal of business growth coupled with a reduction in environmental impact. We are embodying our environmental footprint across our value chain - all the way from sourcing to consumption. Success can only be triggered by working closely with retail partners to change consumer behaviour. It is also part of our agenda to get our retailers to adopt the same principle as us - to be environment friendly - in order to achieve their environmental targets. Unilever's partnerships play a very large role in helping us create value and benefit the environment on a global scale," said Gaurav Rustagi, Unilever's Country Director in UAE and Oman.
The partnership will also see Unilever audit Choithrams' facilities to advise on sustainability projects that reduce environmental footprint while generating long term savings. The Unilever team will assist Choithrams in replicating successful environmentally friendly projects in Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain, and Oman while also helping design a green store in Dubai's Green Community.
"Unilever, is entirely cognizant that sustainability is good for business. We are committed to tackling the twin challenges of climate change and the depletion of natural resources, while also empowering communities. Not only are these strategic goals beneficial for our extended audiences but also make good business sense. Prosperous communities and economies are crucial to long-term brand growth," Rustagi added.
The partnership sees Choithrams play a leading role in educating consumers as well on products that save substantial volumes of water in modern household appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers.
"It is part of our responsibility as industry leaders to implore these teachings to our consumers and I would call for other retailers, distributers and manufacturers to really get behind this and push a sustainability drive" said Dinesh Pagarani, Choithrams Director.
Consumer behaviour changes will be catalysed through an ambitious rewards scheme at Choithrams supermarkets. In particular, the two brands celebrated World Environmental Day through in-store activations across 15 Choithrams branches where consumers were rewarded for environmental conscientiousness.
Choithrams customers spending over AED 25 on any Unilever Water Saving products will be eligible for prizes including washing machines and DEWA bills subsidies ranging from AED 50 to 500 based on a lucky draw.
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About Unilever:
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers on any given day. It has more than 169,000 employees and generated sales of €53.3 billion in 2015. Over half of the company's footprint is in developing and emerging markets (58% in 2015). With more than 400 brands found in homes across the world, its portfolio includes, Dove, Lux, Sunsilk, Knorr, Domestos, Lipton, Wall's ice cream, Magnum and Omo.
Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) aims to double the size of the business whilst reducing environmental footprint and increasing positive social impact. Its three goals are:
· Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being
· Decoupling their growth from their environmental impact
· source 100% of our raw material from sustainable sources and enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020
Unilever was ranked number one in its sector in the 2015 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In the FTSE4Good Index Series, it attained a top environmental score of 5. It led the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the GlobeScan/SustainAbility annual survey for the fifth year running, and in 2015 was ranked the most sustainable food and beverage company in Oxfam's Behind the Brands Scorecard.
Unilever has been named in LinkedIn's Top 3 most sought-after employers across all sectors.
For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com. For more information on the USLP: www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/
For media questions, please contact:
Shatha Alkhatib
Corporate Communications, Unilever Gulf
Shatha.alkhatib@unilever.com
+971562168776
© Press Release 2016
