Unilever 2015 Annual Report Download - page 9

28 bllon
people lve n water-stressed regons –
a rsk to Unlever’s growth because our
products contrbute sgnfcantly to domestc
water usage But there’s also a busness
opportunty to meet people’s needs better
Q What changes have
there been to the external
envronment that more
broadly mpact Unlever
A Last year saw a heghtenng of the
knd of global challenges that have sadly
become all too famlar n recent years
From clmate-related dsasters to the
mpact of mass mgraton, from escalatng
regonal conflcts to the ongong Eurozone
crss, the world remans a fragle and
uncertan place For a company lke ours,
operatng n more than 190 countres
around the world, these ssues often place
us on the front lne n dealng wth the
consequences, whch s why our busness
model calls on us to be an actve
contrbutor n fndng solutons
The trust n busness generally to play ts
part n solvng today’s challenges was
undermned ths year by some hgh-profle
corporate scandals These remnd us of
both the need for busness models that
make a postve contrbuton to socety and
of the mportance of reportng mpacts
transparently across the value chan – only
that wll buld trust These are hallmarks
of the USLP, whch s servng us well
On a postve note, the year saw world
leaders endorse the UN Sustanable
Development oals (SDs) and an
ambtous deal on reducng clmate change
at OP21 (see page 24) These provde the
framework for eradcatng poverty and for
delverng more sustanable and equtable
forms of growth There s no busness case
for endurng poverty and ths agenda s key
to the long-term success of any company
Unlever played an mportant role n the
process leadng up to the adopton of these
agreements, whch algn wth the USLP
and our vson of a farer world for all
Q What went well for
Unlever n 2015
A Most pleasng was the broad-based
nature of our growth – across all maor
categores, ncludng Foods, whch I called
out as a prorty last year We are steadly
reapng the benefts of havng created four
global categores – whch brng scale to our
operatons and nnovatons – and of adoptng
sharper strateges for each category
In Personal are that has meant growng
core brands, lke Dove and Axe, whle
further buldng our very attractve premum
busness In Home are, the focus s on
mprovng proftablty n laundry whle
scalng up our fast-growng household
cleanng busness In Refreshment, we
commtted to ncrease the cash contrbuton
from ce cream, whle acceleratng growth
n tea And n Foods, the focus has been on
acceleratng growth whle mantanng a
healthy cash flow Though there s more
to do, we made good progress aganst all
these strategc obectves n 2015
UNILEVER OMPLETED YET ANOTHER YEAR
OF ROWTH AHEAD OF ITS MARKETS IN
2015 AND ONTINUED TO DRIVE LONTERM
RETURNS FOR SHAREHOLDERS
Our leadershp n makng sustanable lvng
the foundaton of our busness receved
resoundng vndcaton from a number
of poltcal and socal developments on a
global scale Paul Polman, hef Executve
Offcer, answers the key questons
about 2015
Q How would you summarse
the year for Unlever
A Our long-term ambton s to have
consstent, compettve, proftable and
responsble growth – year n and year
out Ths s ncreasngly dffcult n today’s
volatle envronment, charactersed by
low growth, geopoltcal challenges and
the ncreasng effects of clmate change
Despte ths, we delvered another year
of top and bottom lne growth – wth sold
underlyng sales growth of 41% Ths
consstency has been establshed over
the last seven years and s of growng
mportance to nvestors lookng for
consstency n a world of escalatng change
and ncreasngly volatle markets
The further deepenng of the Unlever
Sustanable Lvng Plan (USLP) n 2015
and ts commtment to reducng our
envronmental footprnt and ncreasng
our postve socal mpact helped to
ensure that growth was responsble
LOBAL ISSUE  SAVIN WATER
WE PROVIDE LAUNDRY PRODUTS OMBININ
EXELLENT RESULTS WITH LESS WATER
OUR USLP TARET IS TO HALVE THE WATER
ASSOIATED WITH THE ONSUMER USE OF
OUR PRODUTS BY 2020
We provde access to bllons of ltres of
safe water through our Puret and Qnyuan
brands, mprovng the lves of mllons
of people
BY 2020 WATER
ABSTRATION BY
OUR FATORIES
WILL BE BELOW
2008 LEVELS
6Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2015Strategic Report
HIEF EXEUTIVE OFFIER’S REVIEW