Unilever Pressures Trade Groups to Align with Climate Commitments
Unilever has publicly committed to greater climate transparency from its trade associations, calling on them to align their policy positions with the company’s stated sustainability goals. The move comes as part of Unilever’s 2024 Climate Policy Engagement Review, a report that outlines how the FMCG giant plans to manage climate-related lobbying efforts across its global operations.
Published this week, the review identifies 28 trade associations as being “strategically important” to Unilever’s business, including influential bodies such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the Consumer Goods Forum, and BusinessEurope. Unilever assessed the lobbying positions of these organizations against its own climate policy framework to ensure consistency. The company found that, while most of its partners supported net-zero targets and climate action, six associations had “mixed” alignment, prompting Unilever to initiate “enhanced engagement.”
Unilever’s framework centers on science-based targets, support for carbon pricing, mandatory climate disclosure requirements, and the prioritization of nature-based solutions. These policy pillars reflect growing investor and consumer pressure to back climate statements with concrete action—particularly as regulatory scrutiny and supply chain emissions reporting intensify across Europe and North America.
The review notes that Unilever engaged nine trade associations that were previously assessed in 2022 as having mixed or misaligned climate stances. Improvements were observed in three of those groups, while discussions with others are ongoing. For the six currently flagged as “mixed,” Unilever says it will continue dialogue throughout 2024 and publish updates in its next annual review.
Trade associations play a pivotal role in shaping climate regulations and lobbying policymaking bodies. Divergences between corporate climate pledges and the lobbying efforts of affiliated organizations have come under increasing scrutiny. Unilever joins a rising cohort of multinationals—including Nestlé and IKEA—seeking to ensure that indirect lobbying activity reflects stated sustainability goals.
By raising the bar on transparency, Unilever aims to encourage other brands in the consumer goods sector to take stronger stances on climate governance while helping to shape a regulatory landscape that is conducive to long-term environmental targets. For FMCG companies navigating tightening environmental regulations, aligning lobbying practices with ESG commitments is becoming not just ethical, but strategic.