Unilever
- Unilever has proven the business case for operating sustainably, according to its chief marketer Keith Weed.
- The company's sustainable brands are outpacing its other brands and delivering 70% of its growth, he told Business Insider at Davos.
- The company still has work to do in meeting its goal of having 100% of its agricultural products sourced sustainably by 2020, though.
Operating sustainably is not just good for the planet. Unilever has proven it's also good for business, said Keith Weed, the company's chief marketing and communications officer.
Unilever's sustainable brands are growing 46% faster than its other brands and delivering 70% of its growth, Weed said in an interview with Nicholas Carlson, global editor in chief of Business Insider and INSIDER at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"It's no longer a nice to have," Weed said. "We've proven the business case for it. People used to ask, 'What's the business case?' I always say, 'I'd love to see the business case for the alternative.'"
Read more: At Davos, P&G's Marc Pritchard says consumers expect brands to be a force for good
Weed said when he came into the role nine years ago, he set out to make sustainability part of everyone's job. He actually shut down the corporate social responsibility department so it wouldn't be siloed off in one area.
Unilever has made progress toward its sustainability goals that it set in 2010, when it called for having all its agricultural products sourced sustainably by 2020. Then, 7% of products were sourced that way. Now that figure is up to 65%.
"We still have some to go but what's good about setting these targets is it aligns everyone in the business [and] outside the business as well," Weed said.
Unilever also is preparing for the eventuality of a carbon tax by applying a shadow carbon tax to its operations.
Unilever has been at the forefront of purpose-driven marketing
Brands like Nike and Gillette are now making headlines for taking positions on social issues, but purpose-driven marketing has always been part of Unilever's approach, Weed said.
"So look at Axe, look at the work we're doing around masculinity and bullying; and Dove and Ben & Jerry's and Vaseline, it's having a point of view in that you have your supporters and lovers and your detractors as well," Weed said. "We have a UK brand, Marmite - its line is, literally, are you a lover or a hater. I think brands need to have a point of view that's relevant to the brand. That's why you see pushback at times when a brand looks like it's buying a badge."