Unilever 2014 Annual Report Download - page 22

The ommttee mantans close scrutny of the mechansms
for complance wth the ode and ode Polces as ongong
complance s essental to promote and protect Unlever’s
values and standards, and hence the good reputaton of the
roup At each meetng the ommttee revews the completon
of nvestgatons nto non-complance wth the ode and ode
Polces and progress on tranng programmes as well as any
trends whch may emerge from reports of ode non-complance
Thrd partes’ complance wth the ode s essental for the
protecton of the reputaton of Unlever and ts brands Ths
was a prorty for the ommttee n 2014 and remans hgh
on ts agenda for 2015
LITIATION REVIEW
The hef Legal Offcer reports to the ommttee on ltgaton and
regulatory matters whch may have a reputatonal mpact ncludng
envronmental ssues, brbery and corrupton complance and
competton law complance For further nformaton on ‘legal
proceedngs’ please see note 20 on page 125
SAFETY
The ommttee revews a scorecard analyss of progress
on occupatonal safety and product safety and qualty at each
meetng These quarterly scorecards are complemented by
regular n-depth dscussons to reassure commttee members
that systems and processes reman robust
Occupatonal safety, partcularly road safety, remans a hgh
prorty for Unlever and the ommttee noted consderable
effort has been made to counter a slght dp n performance
at the begnnng of 2014
Havng dscussed Unlever’s polces and processes for product
safety, ncludng ncdent management, members consdered
that Unlever adopts a systematc approach that focuses
on preventon
UNILEVER SUSTAINABLE LIVIN PLAN
The USLP s at the heart of Unlever’s Vson to double the sze of ts
busness whle reducng ts envronmental footprnt and ncreasng
ts postve socal mpact By makng sustanablty ntegral to how
Unlever does busness, the USLP provdes the dfferentator n
Unlever’s busness model ven ts strategc mportance, the
ommttee montors progress on the USLP and revews any
potental rsks that could affect Unlever’s reputaton
One of the ommttee’s ongong prortes s to ensure that delvery
of the USLP s mantaned through approprate busness strateges
The USLP was launched at the end of 2010 and much has been
learned n mplementng the plan snce then In 2014 Unlever
revewed ts strategy and approach to focus ts attenton on the
areas that matter most to the busness and where ts contrbuton
can acheve the greatest mpact on socety
An mportant outcome of ths revew s the expanson of the
Enhancng Lvelhoods pllar of the USLP to embrace commtments
on farness n the workplace, opportuntes for women and nclusve
busness The promoton of human rghts s an mportant
component n these new commtments and the ommttee studed
the mplcatons of the UN udng Prncples on Human Rghts
It also welcomed the launch of Unlever’s new Responsble
Sourcng Polcy as a crucal step n promotng human rghts wth
Unlever’s supplers (see page 8)
The ommttee also dscussed Unlever’s ambtons to acheve
systemc change n areas that support ts busness prortes
Unlever has defned three areas where t has the scale and
resources to create transformatonal change It s deepenng
ts efforts to work towards elmnatng deforestaton from supply
chans champonng sustanable agrculture and the development
of smallholder farmers and mprovng hygene through
handwashng, safe drnkng water and santaton
FURTHER ITEMS
Other dscussons durng the year focused on obesty, progress on
alternatves to anmal testng and consumer confdence n the use
of chemcals The systems and processes n place for managng
ssues such as these were also scrutnsed as they are essental
n helpng to mantan Unlever’s good reputaton
EVALUATION OF THE ORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
OMMITTEE
As part of the external Board evaluaton carred out n 2014,
the Boards evaluated the performance of the ommttee
The ommttee also carred out an assessment of ts own
performance Each concluded that the ommttee s performng
effectvely The ommttee agreed that the structure of ts
meetngs and ts focus on prorty topcs were workng well and
should be contnued
Louse Fresco
harman of the orporate Responsblty ommttee
Laura ha
Further detals on the USLP can be found n Unlever’s onlne Sustanable
Lvng Report 2014 to be publshed n May 2015
wwwunlevercom/sustanable-lvng
59Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2014 Governance