Unilever 2000 Annual Report Download - page 6

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 6 of the 2000 Unilever annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 128

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128

Unilever Annual Report & Accounts and Form 20-F 2000
4showed good progress in leading brands but overall sales
were held back by a poor ice cream season and a decline
in the ‘tail’ brands. Africa and M iddle East sales grew by
3% , w ith operating profits up by 9% .
Sustainable development
We have made good progress in our commitment to
sustainable development. Our focus is on sustainable
agriculture, w ater stewardship and renew able marine stocks.
Early in 2001 we published our first Social Review. This sets
out Unilever’s approach to corporate social responsibility.
This is a companion document to our online Environment
Report which demonstrates continuing progress in reducing
our global environmental impact.
The Unilever team
2000 was a year of enormous effort by our people
throughout the organisation. Without their commitment,
the substantial progress described here would not have
been achieved. Our thanks are due to all of them.
Throughout its history, Unilever has successfully adapted to
change. However, today the intensity and pace of change
are unprecedented. In the last year w e have done much to
improve the quality of the leadership team. This has involved
significant changes to the composition of the top team and
how it works together. We have radically adjusted the
remuneration of our managers which is now sharply
directed towards variable reward for delivery of grow th
and shareholder value. We are committed to building
a team with a passion for growth and winning.
The way ahead
In 2001, we w ill continue to meet the milestones outlined
in our Path to Grow th strategy. We expect to see increased
momentum in the growth of our leading brands and to
continue to expand profit margins. Our divestment
programme will both reduce borrowings and further
simplify our business. We confidently reaffirm our strong
commitment to the objective of sustainable low double
digit earnings growth.
Antony Burgmans and Niall FitzGerald
Chairmen of Unilever
Report of the Directors
Chairmen’s statement