Unilever Takes on Environmental Stigmas in the Household

Nov 12, 2012 10:20 AM ET

What Do You Stand For?

Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan is full of aggressive environmental goals, one of which is to halve its environmental impact by 2020. But with more than two-thirds of the company's environmental impacts resulting from consumer use and disposal of products, it's clear Unilever can't achieve these goals alone.

After analyzing the results of new research conducted by partner The Futures Company, Unilever found that the main barrier to a more environmentally conscious lifestyle was that consumers believed living "green" would cost them more. To overcome this flawed perception, Unilever has selected 12 U.K. families to take part in the Sustain Ability Challenge. Over the next six months, these families will work with Unilever to eliminate major barriers to sustainable living, while in turn reducing household spending. Since Unilever found food waste to be the largest obstacle to sustainability and a chief hit to the wallet, the Challenge will first focus on behavioral change surrounding food in the home.

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