Unilever 2011 Annual Report Download - page 11

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8
OUR BUSINESS MODEL
FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
VISION
Our vision is to double the size of Unilever
while reducing our environmental footprint.
The two elements of this are interlinked.
Our growth ambition is dependent
on operating sustainably. These two
aspects of the vision shape and form
our business model.
EXTERNAL CONTEXT
When we wrote in our previous report that 2011 would be
challenging, we could not have known how right that prediction
would be. The world has been through a year of almost
unprecedented turmoil and uncertainty, and is facing some
serious challenges. This in turn frames the way we must
manage our business and the issues we face.
Short-term economic pressures have dominated 2011, with
major instability in the Eurozone and a weak recovery by the
US economy. Stubbornly high unemployment in many
developed markets has created a continued squeeze on
consumer spending. Commodity prices have been volatile
and many have risen sharply. And the operating environment
in emerging markets has seen increasing focus from
competitors who all know that business success depends on
driving growth in these markets.
2011 also saw a tragic series of natural disasters, from the
earthquake and tsunami in Japan to the famine in the Horn
of Africa. Each one required a response from us at a
humanitarian, employer and operational level.
Furthermore, the interdependent challenges of food security,
poverty reduction, sustainability of resources, climate change
and social and economic development have never been greater.
We believe that many of these factors will continue for the
medium term, and that this level of volatility and uncertainty
is the ‘new normal’. Our business model has been evolved as
a response to this operating environment, as we address the
prospect of another 2 billion people on the planet by 2050.
THE UNILEVER
SUSTAINABLE
LIVING PLAN
In order to live within the natural limits of the planet there
is no option but to decouple growth from social and
environmental impact. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan
(USLP) sets out our path to achieving this. It includes around 60
targets and embraces all aspects of our own operations, going
beyond them to the entire lifecycle of our products. Innovation
and technology will be key to achieving our goals. Equally
important will be our ability to change consumer behaviour.
The USLP will result in three big outcomes:
1
We will help
billion
people impro
ve their health and well-being
h
We w
a
ill
tlve
he environmental footprint of our products
1
We
0
will
0
source
%
of agricultural r
aw materials sustainably
Report of the Directors About Unilever
Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2011