Unilever - 20-F annual report 2019

Having served on the Board for five years, I am already well aware of Unilever’s reputation as a purpose-driven company, one founded on strong values, wonderful brands and a talented and committed workforce. It was an honour therefore to have been asked to become your Chairman in November 2019 and since then I have continued to work with the Board and the Unilever Leadership team to support the Group’s ambitions. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank my predecessor, Marijn Dekkers, for his strong leadership as Chairman and for his support in helping to ensure a seamless transition.

2019 Performance

Unilever delivered another year of positive value creation in 2019, driven by a continuing balance of underlying sales growth, improved profitability and strong cash generation.

Underlying sales growth fell slightly short of the company’s targeted range of 3-5%, which while disappointing, could be explained in part by a significant slowdown in some of Unilever’s high-growth markets. Some of these economic headwinds will continue throughout 2020, but clear plans are in place – which the Board has reviewed – to accelerate the rate of Unilever’s growth in 2020 and beyond.

Board composition and succession

The Board appointed Alan Jope to the role of CEO on 1 January 2019 and Alan was duly elected as an Executive Director at the 2019 AGMs. The Board fully endorses the strategy Alan has set out to ensure that Unilever is purpose-led and future-fit, a strategy that at its heart believes sustainable business drives superior performance, creating long-term value for our stakeholders.

I was delighted that you also elected Susan Kilsby as a Non-Executive Director at the 2019 AGMs in May, with her appointment taking effect on 1 August 2019. Susan has extensive Board experience as anon-executive in global consumer goods, financial and pharmaceutical sectors, and possesses deep international banking, financial and M&A experience.

Sadly, on 31 August 2019, Mary Ma, one of ourNon-Executive Directors, passed away after a short illness. Mary was a highly committed and capable Director who put her expertise and experience at the service of Unilever and is greatly missed.

Remuneration

During 2019 we continued to consult with shareholders on our Remuneration Policy, particularly for the Executive Directors, and set in motion the consultation process for implementing our Remuneration Policy in 2020.

With the aim of maintaining the high levels of support from shareholders at the 2019 AGMs for the implementation of our Remuneration Policy, we continued constructive engagement with both our investors and proxy voting agencies on how we intend to evolve the implementation of our Directors’ Remuneration Policy.

Corporate Governance

Recent revisions of Corporate Governance Codes applicable to Unilever expanded on the long-standing requirements for directors to remain mindful of the duties they have to consider the many stakeholders who have an interest in our business.

A particular stakeholder focus for the Board during the year was our workforce. As a result, NEDs conducted a number of workforce engagement events to assess employee sentiment. Four face-to-face events were held in Brazil and the UK, allowing for open discussions on issues important to our people. The Board believes that an open, authentic and agile culture at all levels of Unilever fuels personal and business growth. The Board will therefore continuously monitor the culture within the organisation, whether during Board visits, through workforce engagements or by continuing to engage regularly with the Unilever Leadership Executive and other Unilever managers. Further information on our engagement with Unilever’s employees can be found on page 48.

In 2019, we took further steps in our commitment to be at the forefront of good governance by cancelling the NV preference shares. We also initiated the termination of the depositary receipt structure for the NV ordinary shares which took effect on 28 June 2019.

Evaluation

Our Board evaluation in 2019 was externally facilitated and the results were discussed at the January 2020 Board meeting. The Board continues to operate in an effective manner overall, and reflecting on the lessons learnt by the Board in the previous year the Board agreed, in particular, in the evaluation discussions to maintain strong focus on organic growth, portfolio evolution, leadership talent, and organisation.

Each Board Committee also performed its own self-evaluation, agreeing areas where it could enhance its effectiveness further. These are described within each Committee Report.

Looking ahead

The Board fully supports the strategy Unilever is following, including the strategic review of the tea business, and is confident that everything possible is being done to help accelerate top-line growth in 2020. The Board’s confidence also derives from the high calibre of Unilever’s management. We look forward to working with Alan Jope and his team in helping to ensure Unilever remains a long-term, sustainable growth company.

During its various visits last year to Unilever’s operations, including in Brazil and the United States, the Board was able to witness first-hand the passion and commitment of Unilever’s hard-working employees. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank all of the 150,000 employees of Unilever for their efforts in 2019, and also acknowledge our appreciation for the continuing support of the Group’s shareholders.

How do you see the current state of the world and the impact on Unilever’s markets?

There’s no doubt that conditions are challenging right now. Sluggish economies and a high degree of geopolitical uncertainty are inevitably impacting consumer confidence and spending, which in turn is intensifying competition in the retail sector. However, Unilever has now been around for 90 years and so we are very accustomed to operating through downturns and periods of uncertainty like this, and indeed emerging stronger. Moreover, all our competitors – big and small – face the same challenges.

The key in this environment is to remain relevant to the consumers you serve. For us, that comes down to two things. First, earning trust by operating a responsible, multi-stakeholder business model. And second, harnessing advances in science and technology – and especially digital – in ways that allow us to reach and delight consumers in new and ever more inventive ways. We are firmly focused on both.

The recent outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) is clearly concerning and we are monitoring developments very closely. The safety and well-being of our people has been the overriding priority. We are also doing all we can to ensure business continuity and our teams are working tirelessly to help mitigate the risks. Inevitably, however, there will be an adverse impact on the business although the extent is not yet clear.

As you look back, how do you reflect on Unilever’s business performance in 2019?

It was a mixed performance. Our profitability was good with a healthy improvement in underlying operating margin, strong free cash flow delivery of more than €6.1 billion and cash flow from operating activities of€10.6 billion. This is important because our model is predicated on being able to re-invest in the long-term health of the business, while also paying out a competitive annual dividend.

On the flip side, growth is also a key driver of value creation and our underlying sales growth performance fell slightly short of expectations, at 2.9%, which was naturally disappointing. Turnover increased 2.0% to€52.0 billion. While growth was hindered by a marked slowdown in some of Unilever’s high growth markets like South Asia and West Africa, these markets all remain very attractive long-term prospects for us. We are

confident therefore of restoring underlying sales growth to Unilever’s 3-5% multi-year range.

What were the highlights for you of 2019?

A strong performance in the emerging markets – growing at over 5% – was an undoubted highlight. We also grew across each of our three global Divisions, which was encouraging and reflects the inherent strengths of our brands and our portfolio. Our Home Care Division had a particularly strong year, growing by more than 6%, driven by some great innovations and an intensifying focus around ‘green cleaning’. The performance of our recently acquired prestige beauty brands – which grew double-digit – was also a highlight, further establishing Unilever as an important player in this highly attractive and fast-growing segment of the market.

We have set out some very ambitious goals for Unilever. We want, for example, to be a global leader in sustainability; to be the world’s best marketing company; and to be an organisation that stands as a beacon for diversity and inclusion. Seeing Unilever recognised in 2019, therefore, as a leader in multiple external benchmarks, including the GlobeScan Sustainability Leaders Survey (for the ninth consecutive year); the World’s Most Effective Marketing Company; and as recipient of the prestigious Catalyst Award (for the company which has done most to accelerate the progress of women through workplace inclusion), were all special moments – as well as a spur to increase our efforts still further in these important areas.

Where do you feel the company could have done better?

In markets as dynamic and fast-moving as ours, speed is essential, both in seizing opportunities to meet changing consumer preferences but also in responding when our business is under competitive challenge. While we do this well on many occasions and in many parts of the world, we haven’t yet developed the consistency of response that I am looking for everywhere, and this was apparent in 2019. We made some important organisational changes during the year – including flattening our market structure under a newly created Chief Operating Officer position – which I am confident will help to make Unilever a faster and even more operationally effective business.

As far as our global Divisions are concerned, while it was an excellent year as mentioned for Home Care, our Beauty & Personal Care and Foods & Refreshment Divisions both fell short of expectation – with underlying sales growth at 2.6% and 1.5% respectively – and so this is where we will be looking to accelerate growth most specifically in 2020.

In the area of diversity, we reached an important milestone in 2019 on our journey to become a gender-balanced organisation. Our management population is now made up of just over 50% women. Pleasing as this is, the overall figure masks the fact we haven’t yet made the progress we want at the most senior levels of the company, where women are still under-represented. This is very much a job half-done therefore and something I intend to make a personal priority in 2020.

What steps are you taking to accelerate growth?

We’re doing a lot. I’ve already mentioned speed. There are two other areas I would highlight. First, we are putting a heightened level of focus around some proven growth fundamentals, which we are confident will accelerate our top-line performance. These include making our innovations even more impactful; building our presence in faster-growing retail channels, like e-commerce; ensuring that more and more of our brands have a clearly articulated purpose that resonate with consumers; and driving our savings programmes further to help fuel the many growth opportunities we have.

The second relates to our portfolio. We have made significant changes over recent years, acquiring businesses in new parts of the market and disposing of businesses such as Spreads. The overall effect has been to improve Unilever’s exposure to faster growing markets, those that offer better long-term prospects for value creation. We will continue that process, evaluating our portfolio rigorously against a range of exacting criteria. It is in that context that we have announced a strategic review of our global tea business, which has a large footprint in the slower growing black tea segment and a history of being dilutive to Unilever’s overall growth and margin. We will explore all options, with an open mind and with the intention of sharing the conclusions of the review by the middle of 2020.

How are you planning to take forward Unilever’s commitment to social and environmental sustainability?

Under the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) we have developed an enviable reputation for leadership on these issues. We now mean to build on that, not least because many of the challenges the world faces – like the climate crisis or growing inequality – are becoming ever more pressing.

We will do this by embedding sustainability in a new purpose-led, future-fit Unilever Compass strategy, and in two principal ways. First, we will continue to use our size and scale to help drive change through our extended value chain. A great example last year was the ambitious commitment we made to address the issue of plastic packaging by halving our use of virgin plastic and by helping to collect and process more plastic packaging than we sell, both by 2025.

Second, we will make our product brands even more prominent vehicles for driving social and environmental change. Many of our brands already do this, to great effect, but we now intend to make it an integral feature of every brand. We know that it works and that it also helps to drive growth. Last year, our most purposeful brands grew faster than the rest of the portfolio. Unilever’s brands touch the lives of two and a half billion people every day so the opportunity for us to influence behaviour and drive positive change is enormous.

I am very proud of all the women and men of Unilever – and the millions more we partner with throughout the value chain – who work so hard every day to bring these commitments to life and who are determined to show that Unilever can remain a force for good in the world.

Understanding people’s needs

Consumer preferences are constantly changing. To make sure we’re ahead of the curve, we listen for signals that predict the next ‘big thing’ using data and advanced analytics. In our 30 People Data Centres around the world, we analyse millions of enquiries our Consumer Carelines receive each year and the conversations about our brands online. The insights we get drive the innovation and marketing of our 400+ brands – and, above all, help us give people the products they want.

We know that people want healthier and more natural products for themselves and their families, with fewer chemicals. At the same time, concerns around waste, plastic and climate change are growing – consumers are looking foreco-friendly products that are easy to buy and use, yet still effective. Alongside concern for the planet, people are increasingly shopping through multiple channels and, in pursuit of convenience, buying more online.

So we’re continuing to make our products healthier and more sustainable, as we have done for years. This means innovating existing brands, developing new brands and sometimes adding to our portfolio through acquisitions. Here we explain how each of our three Divisions worked to meet consumer needs in 2019.

Beauty & Personal Care

We believe in beauty that cares for people, society and our planet.

Caring for people

Demand for more natural and holistic approaches to beauty and wellness continues to grow, and so too does our portfolio meeting these needs. Love Beauty and Planet, for example, which first launched in North America in 2018, is now widely available across Europe, Asia and Latin America. Consumers in Europe can now also enjoy Schmidt’s Naturals, a recently acquired US personal care brand. Many of our established brands are also offering more natural products. Lifebuoy now has soap bars with green tea, charcoal and sea minerals, and Signal toothpaste has a new Natural Elements range.

We’re also creating more effective products using ground-breaking innovations. In 2019, Rexona brought out a Clinical Protection range that’s three times stronger than ordinary antiperspirants and can last for over 96 hours. It’s now available in four markets. We expanded our therapeutics offering to consumers in 2019, by acquiring Fluocaril and Parogencyl, well-known oral care brands endorsed by health professionals which are sold primarily in pharmacies in France and Spain.

Our prestige brands continue to meet the growing demand for premium beauty. In 2019, we added two new brands to our portfolio: Garancia, a French derma-cosmetic brand offering 38 premium facial and body skincare products, and Tatcha, a leading prestige skincare brand in North America, which is inspired by Japanese beauty rituals.

Consumers are increasingly looking for personalised experiences and products. All Things Hair, our online resource for hair inspiration and styling tips, now gives US consumers personalised recommendations based on digital consultations using AI. And St Ives launched a face mist range with fragrance designed to boost mood, with a marketing campaign delivering audio messaging relevant to the time of day.

Caring for society

Our Beauty & Personal Care brands are taking a stand and acting on social issues all over the world. Take Sunsilk, our haircare brand, which is on a mission to open up possibilities for young women. Its Together We Rock movement is designed to inspire women between 16 and 24 to support each other and feel more able to pursue their dreams. Meanwhile, Dove launched project #ShowUs to shatter beauty stereotypes by building the world’s largest photo library created by women and non-binary people – in partnership with Getty Images, Girlgaze and women everywhere. More than 5,000 images are already in the library, presenting a more inclusive vision of beauty to advertisers and media of all types.

CLEAR introduced a cutting-edge resilience programme, the Resilience Bootcamp, aimed at helping young people overcome social anxiety and unlock their full potential. And Dove Men+Care and Promundo are working together to improve men’s access to and uptake of paternity leave.

Caring for our planet

Plastic is a growing concern for consumers, and we’re working hard to make our products use less, better or no plastic. Dove, for example, announced ambitious plans for doing all three across its product range, including moving to 100% recycled bottles by the end of 2019 (see page 44 for more details). All Things Hair successfully piloted refill stations for shampoo and conditioner in the Philippines, and Signal launched our first sustainable bamboo toothbrush. We pioneered a new technology which has made our black TRESemmé and Axe bottles recyclable in most markets. At the World Economic Forum, we announced that six of our brands – Dove, Rexona, Axe, Love Beauty and Planet, REN Skincare and Signal – will begin to use the new global Loop system by TerraCycle, for refilling and reusing containers.

We’re creating products that are better for the planet in other ways. We’ve brought out a new ‘no-rinse’ conditioner in the US, the good stuff, which saves 420 litres of water per bottle. And after certifying Dove as cruelty-free in 2018, animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has now certified three more of our brands: Love Beauty and Planet, St Ives and Simple.

There’s still much to do as we expand our portfolio of eco-friendly products. But we are taking steps in the right direction.

Foods & Refreshment

We have a responsibility to make brands that not only taste and feel good, but that are a force for good.

Our new state-of-the art Global Foods Innovation Centre located at Wageningen University in the Netherlands – the leading global agri-food research hub – is helping us to quicken the pace of innovation to improve the health of both people and the planet. Through our partnerships in this ‘Silicon Valley of food’ and around the world, we’re encouraging the wider food chain to become healthier and more sustainable, faster.

Plant-based foods

In 2019, we stepped up the availability of our plant-based products including Magnum Vegan, Ben & Jerry’s Dairy-free, Cornetto Vegan, Hellmann’s Vegan Mayonnaise and Sir Kensington’s Vegan range. To help improve biodiversity, Knorr joined forces with the World Wildlife Fund on a global campaign to promote Future 50 Foods, and offered new plant-based recipes to consumers around the world. We also partnered with Burger King to launch the new Rebel Whopper featuring vegan Vegetarian Butcher patties in more than 25 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Thanks in part to these efforts, investor network FAIRR ranked Unilever as among the best prepared companies for the shift towards plant-based proteins.

Better for people and the planet

This year, we further reduced the salt, sugar and calories in our products, and added even more fortified ingredients (see page 18 for more on this work). We also continued to increase the amount of sustainable ingredients in our brands: as of 2019, 98% of the key vegetables and herbs we buy (around 90% by volume) used in Knorr and other brands were sustainably sourced.

Reducing plastic packaging and food waste continues to be an important priority. We were the first major foods brand to introduce 100% recycled plastic packaging in Hellmann’s jars in Mexico and Bango bottles in Indonesia. Hellmann’s in the US has also committed to use recycled plastic materials for all its mayonnaise and mayonnaise plastic dressing containers by 2020. We were the first major ice cream brand to use compostable ice cream tubs in Italy and piloted the first ever ‘wrapperless’ ice cream on Solero multipacks. We also expanded our range of biodegradable teabags and introduced the first 100% recyclable Knorr soup pouches in Turkey.

Anytime, anywhere

We’re also making our brands more widely available. Our Unilever Food Solutions business – serving professional customers and restaurant operators – continued to grow, serving chefs around the world. IceCreamNow, our instant ice cream delivery service in partnership with a host of online delivery companies, expanded to 35 countries around the world.

Almost half of our Division’s sales are now in emerging markets, where we’re working to meet the needs of people at all income levels. In 2019, we saw more and more consumers buying our products in India, China, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Every brand a movement

Our mission goes beyond providing delicious, healthy and sustainable products – we want our brands to take a stance and real action on the things that really matter.

In 2019, Ben & Jerry’s continued their long tradition of climate activism, joining the youth-led climate strike in September. The brand also launched Justice ReMix’d to fight for criminal justice reform in the US, and continued to campaign for refugee and LGBTQ rights. Lipton Tea launched its global You.Me.Tea.Now campaign to combat loneliness by encouraging more quality connections in people’s daily lives.

Hellmann’s, with its Real Taste, Less Waste programme, has been running educational campaigns to rescue leftover food from being wasted. In Canada, for example, its Real Food Rescue project is redistributing surplus food to people in need, as well as encouraging consumers to reduce their own food waste and to recycle. And Unilever Food Solutions’ Fair Kitchens programme continued to inspire a new kitchen culture, where staff happiness is just as important as diners’ satisfaction.

Activities like these don’t just benefit people and the environment, they raise the profile of our brands among consumers. For instance, the markets in which Brooke Bond activated its campaign around mental health and disability grew faster than those where it was not activated in 2019. And in the wake of Knorr’s Future 50 Foods campaign in Belgium, we saw a 10% rise in sales.

Home Care

We want to make people’s homes a better world, and to make our world a better home.

Serving the changing consumer

People increasingly want cleaning products that are better for them, their home and the planet – without sacrificing quality or convenience. Across our R&D centres, including our Materials Innovation Factory at the University of Liverpool, we’re working with innovation partners to develop cutting-edge cleaning technologies. Our aim is to create a portfolio of brands that are sustainable by design – fit for a water-scarce, low-carbon world. This means more biodegradable products that are milder on skin while better at cleaning, and that use renewable or recycled ingredients. It also means more eco-friendly products with fewer chemicals, as well as more concentrated products that have a lower carbon footprint due to less water being transported.

Take the relaunch of Omo in Brazil which was one of the highlights of our year. This relaunch included the arrival of our new formulation of Omo Perfect Wash which is more compact, concentrated and effective, leaving no residue on clothes. Bottles now contain 15% recycled plastic, and the smaller box size for the same number of washes means a reduced carbon footprint. In 2019, we also introduced Seventh Generation’s Ultra Concentrated detergent: eight times more concentrated than the original formula, and in a 100% recycled bottle with an exact dose technology in the cap. And we rolled out Love Home and Planet in the US and China: plant-based, independently certified cruelty-free and vegan home care products, including a dry wash spray for clothes that helps minimise energy and water use.

In 2019, we rolled out other new packaging formats to help reduce our use of plastic, including refills. Cif ecorefill, for example, is a 10x concentrated cleaner made with 75% less plastic that consumers attach to their Cif spray bottles and dilute at home. This means they can use a single bottle for life. In Chile, people can get refills of Omo detergent and Quix dishwashing liquid from dispensers in electric tricycles that deliver in Santiago neighbourhoods. Quix, which launched in July, uses a world-first technology to create a new cleaning agent that is 100% biodegradable and renewable, while being ultra-mild on hands.

Making our world a better home

Our Home Care brands stepped up their purpose-led activities in 2019. Cif created clean-up campaigns both online and on the streets, leading neighbourhood activities across Italy, Poland, Hungary and Romania. Seventh Generation continued its campaign against climate change by working with the Sierra Club to increase the uptake of renewable energy across US cities. The brand also closed its US office to join the global climate strike in September and donated its advertising airtime

We’re innovating

within existing brands,

developing new brands

and adding to our

portfolio through

acquisition.

during the week to help amplify the movement’s message. And Domestos has built on its partnership with Unicef, which helped more than 11 million people (between 2012 and 2019) access better sanitation and hygiene.

Designing for channel

We’re working to make sure we’re offering our products to consumers in the right places. E-commerce is a key channel so we’re designing our products for home delivery – making sure our packaging fits through a letter box, for example. And we’re expanding our Home Care offerings for growing markets such as DIY stores and mid-sized professional cleaning firms. In Brazil, Omo continued to free people from doing their laundry with its Omo Express pick and wash service.

The Cif online engagement across Europe is just one example of how we’re using digital channels and content to reach more people in more places and better understand our consumers. There’s also Cleanipedia, our online resource for cleaning tips, which attracts over 63 million visitors per year. And in Brazil, Comfort sponsored a 13-part TV series encouraging people to get more from their clothes and support more sustainable fashion. By growing our digital marketing capacity, we’re sharing more relevant and meaningful content with consumers, having more conversations with them and using the insights we gather to enhance our activities and brands.

Innovations and activities like these are just some examples of how, in all three of our Divisions, we’re meeting changing consumer demands. To see how the divisions performed in the year, see pages 23 to 25.

The changing world of work

There are many facets to today’s evolving workplace. With automation and digital transformation, employees have opportunities to reinvent themselves and learn new skills. People want and need more flexibility from employers – freelance and remote working is on the rise, and jobs for life are increasingly rare. The combination of an ageing population and reduced retirement provision means that people are working for longer. And more and more people of every age want a meaningful job that chimes with their values.

As we make our business fit for growth now and in the future, there’s no more important place to start than with our own people. Put simply, the quality of our people and the quality of our business are one and the same.

The belief that people with purpose thrive is at the heart of our business strategy. So we’re creating a workplace and culture that will make it easier for our employees – all 150,000 of them around the world in factories, R&D labs, offices and tea plantations – to work in ways that suit their individual lives and values. Here we outline how we’re adapting to these changes, while ensuring a safe workplace and a future-fit culture.

Reshaping how we work

To meet people’s changing needs and continue to attract the best, we’re moving beyond traditional employment models and ways of working. In doing so, we need to make sure our people stay safe, healthy and fulfilled at work. In 2019, we’ve taken some big steps forward.

More flexible and agile working

Continuing to be an industry-leading business and employer means moving to faster, smarter ways of working at all levels of our company. So we’re evolving our culture to encourage more agility and accountability.

Our new Flex Experiences platform offers employees the chance to share their talent and experience with people on other teams and in other countries. Live in 20 business areas, so far it has reached over 40,000 people in more than 100 countries and unlocked over 100,000 hours of new career experiences and learning. We’re also changing how we manage performance – encouraging employees to set goals throughout the year to encourage more innovative, entrepreneurial ways of working.

In 2019, we had 30 agile teams on pilot projects around the business. So far, the results have been positive: working in this way not only improves people’s speed and agility but helps them to feel more engaged. So, we’ll be taking what we learn from these pilots to the wider business.

We believe that allowing people to work flexibly will help us continue to attract talented employees and future leaders – as well as people in the open talent economy such as contractors, consultants and independent project workers. It will also make us a more

inclusive employer – giving more options to people with disabilities, family commitments or other time pressures. By moving beyond the typical 9 to 5 employment model, we’re opening up, enhancing and future-proofing Unilever.

Lifelong learning

Learning is another critical aspect of people’s fulfilment and Unilever’s long-term commercial success. Ongoing learning is particularly important as we move to more digitally enabled and agile ways of working. We’re aiming to become an organisation where learning is baked into every role – and where relevant and effective training is available to people when they need and want it.

We’re using digital platforms to give people control of their own learning. In 2019, more than 54,000 employees used Degreed, our online learning platform which holds over two million pieces of content in a variety of formats and in 20 languages. And over 18,000 employees learned new digital skills like agile methods, data analytics and sustainability through our Power Up programme.

Digitalisation, automation and the changing world of work affect people in different ways, depending on their roles. We see it as our duty to make sure our people, wherever they work, are equipped for the future. In 2019, for example, we committed to working with the European Works Council on a Framework for the Future of Work. Every employee will be invited to draw up an upskilling, reskilling or an employability plan, so that they are ready to adapt to the changing shape of work in the years ahead. Where we make changes resulting in job losses, we ensure that our people are similarly equipped. For example, we put in place a major programme, including support for setting up small businesses, to ensure the people affected by automation in our tea plantations in Kericho, Kenya could successfully move from job to job.

Listening to our people

To continue to be an attractive employer, we need to understand how our employees experience Unilever every day – and, crucially, to turn these insights into action. So we gather real-time data on topical issues through monthly pulse surveys and other crowdsourcing tools. More than 22,000 people gave feedback in 2019.

Alongside this, we run a more extensive survey, UniVoice, once a year. This year, 82% of those invited to respond did so, reaching around 90,000 employees, including plantation workers, for the first time. Encouragingly, we saw improvements in our scores across the board. Overall engagement – the headline key metric in the survey – was up 2%, at 77%. Pride in Unilever (87%), our approach to diversity and inclusion (79%), business integrity (81%) and sustainability (77%) stood out as strengths. There was also a 10% increase in the number of people who believe Unilever cares about their wellbeing, to 73%. And 78% of our employees also said we have the right strategy to win.

The survey also highlighted areas to improve. For example, while our scores on how quickly we respond to changes in the market have improved, half of employees think our competitors are faster. Clearly this is a priority as we develop a growth culture, supported by more agile ways of working. Furthermore, one third of respondents were doubtful that anything would happen as a result of their feedback to the survey. To address this, we have asked the head of each business unit to review their own results and commit to a clear action plan.

As an external benchmark, we also look at how people rate us on Glassdoor, a jobs and recruitment site. December 2019 figures show that 84% would recommend us to a friend and 93% approve of our CEO. Our rating remains well above the site average.

Our people have opportunities at townhall meetings and webcasts to ask management about the financial and economic factors affecting our performance. At these regular events, the ULE discusses our quarterly performance and strategy, among other things.

Acting with integrity

One other essential aspect of listening to our employees is giving them a platform for reporting concerns around business integrity, such as anti-bribery and corruption which we simply do not tolerate. We have clearly defined principles around ethics and integrity (our Code Policies) that apply to all of our employees – and we communicate these each year through mandatory online training modules and a business integrity pledge.

We do all we can to help people feel comfortable and secure in reporting breaches of business integrity and offer a24-hour whistleblowing line over the phone or online. In 2019, we received 1,575 reports from whistleblowers. Of these, we closed 1,410 and confirmed 733 as breaches, which led to 413 people leaving the business. Please see page 33 for more on how we manage risks around business integrity.

82%

response rate to our

2019 UniVoice survey

Safety at work

The safety of our people and those who work with us is paramount. Our Total Recordable Frequency Rate (TRFR) was up in 2019 (1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019) to 0.76 accidents per million hours worked, from 0.69 in 2018. Our 2019 TRFR includes for the first time all

Creating positive change

Our impact on society starts, of course, with our contributions as an employer, taxpayer and buyer of goods and services – amounting to around €34 billion in 2019. But we both need and want to do more. Our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) gives us a framework to better the health, wellbeing and livelihoods of millions around the world. Progress against our key 2020 targets is on page 22, and we’re currently developing goals beyond 2020.

We can improve people’s lives directly through our products. We can create broader change by putting our influence and resources behind things that matter, often in partnership with others such as projects supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). And our household name brands are changing things for the better.

Better health and wellbeing

One of our big goals is to help more than one billion people improve their health and wellbeing by 2020. Many of our brands do this directly, while others do it through partnerships working to make it easier for people to live healthy lives.

Improving hygiene and sanitation

Around 2.3 billion people still have no access to basic sanitation, while 844 million are without safe drinking water. Diarrhoeal diseases are the third leading cause of child mortality globally and around half of the world’s population suffers from untreated tooth decay. We’re working hard to change these numbers. By the end of 2019, we’d reached 1.3 billion people through our activities to encourage behaviours like handwashing with soap and better oral care, and to create better access to clean toilets and safe drinking water.

Since 2010, for example, Lifebuoy has reached over 1 billion people in its efforts to improve handwashing habits, including 587 million through TV reach. We’re working in partnership with organisations such as Gavi to promote vaccination and handwashing, and the Power of Nutrition to give women in rural India advice through their mobile phones about their children’s health, including handwashing. In India, we opened two more Suvidha centres in partnership with HSBC to give people access to clean water, sanitation and laundry facilities bringing the total to three, with two more under development. And, both through its partnership with Unicef and the Cleaner Toilets Brighter Futures programme, Domestos is improving access to toilets for school children (see page 15).

Healthier eating

The world’s food system carries a double burden: almost two billion people are overweight, while 821 million people are malnourished. ‘Big food’ is seen by many as the problem. We’re determined to be part of the solution.

So we’re continuing to reduce the sugar, salt and saturated fats in our foods – 56% of our portfolio (out of our target of 60% by 2020)

meets our Highest Nutritional Standards based on globally recognised dietary recommendations. We’re also putting clearer nutrition labelling on our products. In 2019, 98% of our Foods & Refreshment portfolio had full nutrition labelling in line with our product labelling criteria (based on global sales from 1 April 2019 to 30 June 2019), and we’re working towards 100%. And, our brands are offering more fortified foods as part of our wider ambition to provide 200 billion servings by 2022 that contain at least one of the following key micronutrients: iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin A or D.

We believe that plant-based diets are essential for a sustainable food system and will be critical for slowing global heating. So we expanded our range of vegan and vegetarian options in 2019, including the newly acquired Vegetarian Butcher (see page 14 for more). And, through a three-year partnership with the World Wildlife Fund launched in 2019, Knorr is promoting 50 plant-based foods (see page 14).

Improving physical and mental health

We have a responsibility not just to help our employees improve their health and wellbeing (see page 16), but to encourage people everywhere to look after their physical and mental health. Dove’s Self-Esteem Project, for example, has reached over 60 million young people in 142 countries – including 21 million through a specially commissioned cartoon series designed to improve body confidence, which was aired in 12 markets. Lipton Tea launched its new Quality Connections programme in 2019, while Brooke Bond continues its campaign to break stereotypes around mental health and disability. And Clear, our anti-dandruff haircare brand, is tackling social anxiety and building young people’s resilience.

Enhancing livelihoods

Our activities touch the lives of millions, both directly and indirectly. We have a responsibility to protect their rights and help them live well.

Championing human rights

Our Responsible Sourcing Policy sets standards on human and labour rights for our suppliers. In 2019, 70% of our procurement spend was through suppliers meeting these requirements. We have due diligence procedures to identify human rights risks in the supply chain including third-party audits. We aim to support suppliers to find solutions to identified issues, especially where these affect workers’ human and labour rights.

To further embed a culture of respect and promote human rights, in 2019 we created and began to roll out an internal business and human rights training programme. We also carried out external, independent Human Rights Impact Assessments in Guatemala, Thailand and Turkey. We continued to partner with UN Women, publishing Implementation Guidance for the Global Safety Framework

We’re creating broad change by putting our influence and resources behind projects that support the UN SDGs.

and working with our tea suppliers in Kenya, Tanzania and India to improve women’s safety. And we continued to focus on the rights of migrant workers, including no payment of recruitment fees, by taking part in multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Consumer Goods Forum, Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment and Responsible Labour Initiative. We also published a full list of our tea suppliers in 21 countries to help consumers make more informed choices about the products they buy.

A fairer world for women

One of the most powerful ways to improve the livelihoods, health and wellbeing of everyone is to create more opportunities for women. So we’re investing in women across our value chain – employees, farmers, small retailers – giving them business opportunities and access to training, finance and technologies.

We put our influence as an advertiser behind the #Unstereotype initiative to encourage a move away from unhelpful portrayals of gender. Many of our brands are pushing for greater gender equality through their brand purpose and partnerships, such as Sunsilk and Girl Rising in Indonesia, Philippines and Argentina, Sunlight and UN Women in Indonesia, and TRESemmé and ICRW in the UK. We’re also continuing to partner with UN Women to improve the safety of women in agriculture, especially on our tea plantations.

More inclusive business

We want to unlock the potential of the millions around the world who help source, make and sell our products – growing our business and theirs. For example, through the CEO Partnership, we have projects in Kenya, India and Pakistan with credit and insurance providers such as Mastercard, AXA and Telenor to deliver digital credit and payment services to small retailers. And we continue to expand our Shakti programme, which gives women in rural communities in countries such as India and Nigeria the opportunity to earn an income by selling our brands.

Our work also extends to the smallholder farmers we depend on for key crops. For example, in Madagascar, Wall’s is working with NGOs to help families earn a sustainable living from vanilla farming. Across all our smallholder programmes, we’ve helped more than 793,000 smallholder farmers access initiatives aiming to improve agricultural practices.

Business needs a healthy world

To create the change needed to counter the rapid warming and degradation of the environment, we have to radically overhaul entire systems. Our activities (see pages 10 to 11) impact the environment, mainly through the use of water, energy and land as well as the production of waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Taking action on these issues is not only the right thing to do – it also helps our business as consumers choose brands which align with their values and concerns. Our Environmental Policy outlines our responsibilities to the environment and is, among other things, implemented through the USLP.

Our environmental targets were ground-breaking when we set them in 2010, because they considered the wider value chain, including consumer use. In some areas of the wider value chain, such as lessening consumer waste, we’ve made good progress – in others, such as reducing consumer greenhouse gas and water use, we haven’t done so well. This is disappointing, but we’re using what we’ve learned to refine our strategy. Having launched new goals for plastics in October 2019 (described below), we’re in the process of setting new sustainability goals for beyond 2020. These will both challenge us and, we hope, encourage others to act faster. As we’ve learnt from the last nine years of the USLP, partnerships are key.

Tackling climate change

This year we reaffirmed our science-based commitments through the UN’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign. We’re taking action across our value chain.

Reducing carbon emissions

We’ve made significant progress in our own operations. Reducing emissions means reducing energy. By the end of 2019 we had reduced energy from our factories by 29% per tonne of production compared to 2008, avoiding costs of around €733 million in the process. We continue to use an internal price on carbon to fund energy projects. See page 40 for more details. Since 2008 we’ve reduced CO2 emissions from energy per tonne of production by 65%. We’re also finding ways to replace fossil fuel energy with renewable energy. As of September 2019, 100% of our grid electricity was from renewables across five continents. And 24 manufacturing sites achieved carbon neutral status. We’re now using solar power in 20 countries and are pushing for regulatory changes to move more swiftly away from fossil fuels.

However, around 65% of our carbon footprint comes from consumers using our products. So halving our total emissions footprint depends on two main things: changes in consumer behaviour and renewable energy becoming more widely available. We’ve made some progress by influencing behaviour through product design, but we need to go faster. So we’re developing our products to use less carbon – introducing more concentrated liquids for example – and joining the RE100 global campaign for better access to renewable energy for all.

Where water is becoming scarcer, we’re developing products which use less water, while encouraging people to do laundry on shorter cycles.

Ending deforestation

In 2010, as a member of the Consumer Goods Forum, we committed to achieving zero net deforestation associated with our four most important deforestation risk commodities by 2020: paper and board, palm oil, beef and soy. For these commodities, we use additional verification on top of our existing sustainability certifications to address the environmental and social issues associated with these particular crops. Specifically, our accelerated activities will include: enhancing our efforts around traceability and transparency using advancements in technology; inclusion of smallholders in our value chain particularly in countries such as Indonesia to help them increase crop productivity and diversify income; and simplifying our approach to sourcing.

Despite our efforts over the past decade, commodity-driven deforestation remains a serious challenge in many parts of the world. We cannot solve deforestation without wholesale transformation of supply chains towards more sustainable models of production. This is why we are working with governments, other businesses, civil society and local communities to tackle the causes of deforestation.

Rethinking plastic

While plastic does have a role to play in the economy, it does not belong in the environment. Its impact has rightly become a huge concern. With consumer expectations and legislation changing fast, we have to rethink both the design of our products and our business model to build a circular economy – one where we not only use less plastic, but where the plastic we do use can be reused, recycled or composted.

Since 2010, our total waste footprint per consumer use has reduced by 32% – partly through better product design and recycling infrastructure. But we need to do more, and more quickly. So in October 2019, we announced a new ambition to halve the use of virgin plastic in our packaging by 2025 and to collect and process more plastic packaging than we sell by 2025. This will mean exploring new product designs that use more refills, recycled materials, or no plastic at all. And it will mean continuing to invest in infrastructure – expanding our partnerships with waste management companies like Veolia and with household recycling services like Wecyclers in Nigeria.

We’re already making progress. In 2019, nine of our brands registered their interest in participating in a pilot of the TerraCycle Loop refill and reuse scheme in the US and France, with five already launched on the platform. And, we’re bringing more recycled plastic into more of our product packaging, while exploring other options such as glass jars for Knorr soups and sustainable paper for Carte d’Or ice creams.

100%

grid electricity from

renewables on 5 continents

Innovation with others, plays a big part. For example, we’re working with Ioniqa, a Dutch start-up, to develop a technology that breaks down plastic to make it more recyclable. And we’re investing in solutions – through Circulate Capital’s Ocean Fund, for example, which is working to reduce plastic pollution in South and South East Asia.

Protecting nature through sustainable sourcing

We use many different raw materials to make our products. Sustainable sourcing and sustainable agriculture are vital to maintaining the supply of these natural resources while also feeding the world’s growing population.

Our Sustainable Agriculture Code lays out standards for the suppliers of our biggest commodities such as palm oil, soy, paper and board – as well as crops such as sugar, tea and vegetables – to farm in ways that sustain the soil, use less water and fertiliser, protect biodiversity and improve people’s livelihoods. In 2010 we set a target to source all our raw materials sustainably. 62% of all agricultural raw materials were sustainably sourced in 2019, compared to 14% in 2010. For the 12 key ingredients that make up around two-thirds of our total volume of agricultural raw materials, 88% were sustainably sourced.

Pushing for system change

The radical changes needed can only be made through co-operation – across borders and between boardroom tables. So we’re working closely with organisations such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to push towards a circular economy. And we’re lending our voice to calls for connected approaches, such as the Nature Based Solutions Manifesto for natural solutions to climate change. We are all in this together, and we still have much to do.

See page 22 for details on our progress against key USLP targets and pages 40 to 45 for more on how we manage risks and opportunities from climate change and plastic packaging.

The changing world of our customers

We partner with 25 million retail sales outlets in our distribution chain in over 100 countries, with 60% in developing and emerging markets. We work closely with our customers to grow both their sales and ours while spreading the positive impact of our purpose-led brands. This could mean collaborating on a new product launch or purpose campaign, or recommending the right range of products based on our consumer insights.

The retail world is changing fast. People no longer just shop in one place – they’re using a variety of channels, both online and off, and expect a seamless experience throughout. In developing and emerging markets, we’re seeing a move towards e-commerceand convenience stores – and in the developed world, towards these as well as discount channels. So, it’s becoming even more important to adopt a successful multi-channel approach – offering the right products at the right prices in the right places.

Reinventing retail

We’re evolving how we sell to make sure we have the right presence in growing channels such as health & beauty, out of home and e-commerce. We’re also partnering with small and larger retailers to create more growth opportunities.

Growing e-commerce

The forecast for globale-commerce growth was 20% for 2019. Unilever’s e-commerce sales grew 30%, accounting for 6% of our turnover (including sales to consumers both by Unilever and by retailers via their e-commerce platforms). While this pace is fast compared to the market, we need to go faster, partnering with customers who share our aim to grow acrosse-commerce channels. This year we worked closely with Alibaba, JD.com and other online retailers as part of the one-day Double 11 Chinese shopping gala. Among other things, this involved an interactive on- and offline shopping experience promoting premium products such as Love Home and Planet and Lux botanical shower gels.

We’re also partnering with large retailers like Tesco, Carrefour and Walmart on omnichannel – across channel – sales models to make sure they reach consumers, however they choose to buy. Our aim is to build a balanced e-commerce model that includes e-commerce retailers, bricks and mortar online sales, and direct-to-consumer businesses.

Partnering for growth

Supporting our big box retail partners to develop better in-store experiences and more digital options is a key part of our approach. We’re partnering with retailers such as Woolworths (Australia) and Target (US) to create more inspiring shopping experiences through more personalised and effective promotions – developing a new in-store experience for Target’s beauty offering, for example. And we’re creating joint business plans, for example with Coles (Australia) we’ve developed our offer of protein, low calorie, vegan and natural ice creams to focus on these high-growth markets.

Empowering small retailers

Digitising the sales value chain so that small retailers can order our products 24/7 is key to building direct relationships, providing growth opportunities for us and our customers.

In Indonesia for example, we’ve introduced a self-ordering smartphone app and phone ordering option for small stores. In Brazil, we’ve developed a small retailer e-commerce platform for buying our products, and have 200,000 registered stores so far. And in India, we launched the Shikar app so that traders can place orders without waiting for distributors to visit their stores. We’re also exploring new finance models such as micro-credit partnerships – with Mastercard in Kenya and Telenor in Pakistan – that help smaller retailers access loans to buy stock (see page 18).

Selling with purpose

We work with our customers to make our brands with purpose more visible – wherever shoppers are. We want to engage consumers on all shopping channels to inspire them to buy, consume and act more sustainably – which also leads to more sales and income for our customers. One way we do this is by bringing our brands to life in stores. We’ve partnered with Walmart in the US and Puregold in the Philippines, for example, to educate people on recycling and plastics reduction to help drive behavioural change through Unilever brands.

Part of selling with purpose is expanding our reach through last-mile and micro distribution models. Programmes like Shakti, through which more than 100,000 women are selling direct to homes and in villages in rural areas of 5 countries, and I’m Wall’s, which has created new livelihoods for thousands of micro-entrepreneurs in over 20 countries, are helping us expand our reach and make a difference to people’s lives. For more on small-scale retailer programmes see page 18.

We’re also making a difference to the planet through a raft of initiatives to reduce and reuse plastics in stores. We’re trialling refill stations with customers in the US and Europe, for example, and are working to expand these programmes. For more on how we’re tackling plastic packaging, see page 19.

25m

retail sales outlets in our distribution chain

Fitter for the future

Alongside working with our customers to help them become more fit for the future, we’re adapting our own ways of working. By becoming more integrated and digital, we’re finding ways to make our operations smarter and quicker. We’re assessing and refining our key processes and are using AI to become more efficient and effective with our customers – for example, through more dynamic resource planning and better promotion.

By relentlessly focusing on customers, consumers and channels, we can make sure our distribution platforms are primed for the evolving shopping habits of people all over the world.

Our performance in 2019

We delivered underlying sales growth of 2.9%, balanced between price and volume. As we announced in our sales update in December, this means that we fell slightly short of delivering within our multi-year range of 3-5%.

Our underlying sales growth was driven by a strong overall performance in our emerging markets, up 5.3% and with a good balance between volume and price. Our businesses in South East Asia, particularly Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, performed well, as did North Asia. Latin America returned to growth and our Brazilian business also grew well, in an environment which is improving but remains challenging. These gains were, however, offset by difficulties in other emerging markets, including an economic slowdown in South Asia and tough trading conditions in West Africa and the Middle East.

Delivering strong growth continues to challenge us in developed markets, where we see low consumer confidence and a deflationary retail environment. Sales growth in our European business decreased by 0.6%, while in North America we saw modest growth, helped by a good performance in Deodorants and some good momentum in the second half from Dressings.

In our Divisions, Beauty & Personal Care grew

2.6%, led by strong, double-digit growth from Prestige. Deodorants and Skin Care performed well, but growth was weak in Hair Care. It was another good year for Home Care, growing by 6.1% with strong contributions from Fabric Solutions, Fabric Sensations and Home & Hygiene. Foods & Refreshment delivered growth of 1.5%, in a year which saw subdued demand for black tea, and a significant slowdown in the European ice cream market.

Our bottom-line performance was good, with underlying operating margin progressing 50 basis points to 19.1%. The improvement was driven by higher gross margins, a result of strong delivery from our 5S savings programme. In addition, free cash flow was up €0.7 billion to €6.1 billion, thanks to an improvement in underlying operating profit.

Purpose-led performance

As well as expecting consistent financial returns, shareholders today are increasingly interested in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects of business that are so essential to delivering value. Our long-term commitment to ESG is encapsulated in the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. Our focus and progress on becoming a more sustainable business helped us once again come top of our sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2019.

We’re more determined than ever to show that our purposeful approach to business fuels strong performance. The numbers prove it – over the last few years we’ve seen significantly higher growth from our brands with purpose.

2.9%

underlying sales growth in 2019

That’s why we’re working to ensure that each of our brands has a clear purpose. As well as our brands taking a stand on issues, we’re setting bold goals and taking action on the many environmental and social challenges faced by society, such as plastic and climate change. See page 19 for more.

Accelerating our growth

As we strengthen our foundations to deliver long-term superior value, accelerating growth is our top priority. We’re doing this by evolving our portfolio of brands to higher growth segments. This means renovating our existing brands to meet emerging trends, creating new brands (such as Love Home and Planet), and making acquisitions in fast-growing segments like plant-based foods and prestige beauty. Over the last five years we’ve acquired over 30 businesses, including nine in 2019. In January 2020 we announced that we will be conducting a strategic review of our global tea business as we continue to evolve our portfolio to higher growth spaces.

Many of our recent acquisitions are growing in double digits, including our Prestige portfolio, Seventh Generation and Sir Kensington’s. However, some, such as Blueair, haven’t performed as expected in recent years. The aquisition of Horlicks is likely to complete in the first half of 2020.

We’re also capitalising on market potential. With 60% of our business in developing and emerging markets, we have an unmatched footprint in high-growth markets. In 2019, 19 of our emerging markets delivered more than €100 million in turnover, with 17 delivering more than €500 million. We’re also building a strong presence in markets of the future, such as Ethiopia and Myanmar. The key to winning in many of these places – and indeed in all our markets – is digitising our route to market and having a strong presence in channels such as e-commerce, as discussed on page 20.

Sustainable growth is fuelled by our savings initiatives. We have an everyday commitment to running the business efficiently, using savings to invest in growth areas of the future and in better products and brands. This, in turn, increases our margins. Our three main savings programmes – ZBB, 5S and our Change Programme – have delivered over €6 billion of savings since 2017.

Transforming for success

Our new leadership team is driving our transformation for future success: cementing purpose at the heart of our business strategy, while simplifying our organisational structure. To help us shape a faster, more responsive business, we’ve reinstated the Chief Operating Officer role and simplified our structures in Europe, South East Asia and Australasia. These actions are all part of building a culture of growth at Unilever: becoming a more agile organisation that makes smarter decisions faster, and with consumers and customers front of mind – see pages 14 and 20 for more.

The transformation is underpinned by technology, which is making a difference at every stage of our operations. It’s helping to improve our sourcing of raw materials, for example we’re exploring the potential of AI to calculate ideal harvest times and increase productivity at our tea plantations in Kenya. And it’s creating new efficiencies in our manufacturing operations – at the end of 2019, 31 of our sites were streaming live data using a ‘digital twin’, which tracks physical conditions and uses machine learning to analyse data and optimise processes, reducing both waste and energy used. We plan to connect another 40 sites in 2020.

We’re also building digital relationships with our customers and creating better, more cost-effective models of service – for more on this, see page 20. We’re getting even closer to consumers by using advanced analytics to understand trends on social channels and through our Consumer Carelines. The insights we gain are enabling us to be in the right places at the right times with the right products. Digital activities like these make our investments more effective, help us develop more powerful innovation capabilities and ensure we are more responsive to consumer trends.

In summary, we are focused on accelerating growth while continuously transforming our organisation to be future-fit. Our purpose-led business model remains key to delivering superior long-term value.

>€6bn

cost savings since 2017