1. Use of Life Cycle Assessment by Unilever Benefits and Consequences
P J McKeown
Safety and Environment Assurance Centre
Unilever
Life Cycle Assessment of Food Products
Technological Institute, Aarhus
8th February 2001
Unilever
SEAC

2. Outline of Presentation
Unilever - Who are they?
Unilever Environment Policy and Strategy
Life Cycle Assessment - supporting the strategy
Unilever
SEAC

3. Multinational organisation >275,000 employees
Unilever - Who are they?
Multinational organisation
>275,000 employees
Factories in >90 countries
Sales in over 150 Countries
Main product categories
Foods and Home and Personal Care Products
Unilever
SEAC

4. Unilever - Foods Brands
SEAC

5. Unilever Environment Policy
Unilever is committed to meeting the needs
of customers and consumers in an
environmentally sound and sustainable
manner, through continuous improvement
in environmental performance in all our
activities
Unilever
SEAC

6. Unilever Environment Policy
Measure and report environmental performance of manufacturing sites
Target setting - continuous improvement
EMS - all sites audited with improvement plans
Moving towards external accreditation - ISO 14001
Unilever
SEAC

7. Unilever Environment Strategy
Eco-efficiency in the supply chain
Eco-innovation in products and services
Sustainable Development Initiatives
Communication
Life Cycle Assessment helps to support the Strategy
Unilever
SEAC

8. Eco-efficiency in the Supply Chain
Historically - main focus of environmental improvements on own processes
LCA applied to many of our product systems
• Started in late 1980s
• Identify areas of significant environmental impact
• Quantify Unilever’s contribution to the total impact
• Broaden focus of environmental improvements
Unilever
SEAC

9. Example Product Systems Studied Using LCA
Frozen vegetables
Ice Cream
Tea
Tomato-based sauce
Margarine and spreads
Laundry products
Household cleaners
Shower gels
Toothpaste
Unilever
SEAC

10. Position of Unilever in Food Supply Chain
Primary Raw Material
Extraction
Agriculture
Raw Material
Processor
Unilever
Factory
Distribution/Retail
Network
Consumer
Unilever
SEAC

11. SEAC Frozen Vegetable Life Cycle FERTILISERS PESTICIDES DIESEL FUEL
LAND, WATER
GREENHOUSE GASES
RUN-OFF
LEACHATE
VEGETABLE AGRICULTURE
ENERGY
ELECTRICITY
NATURAL GAS
WATER
VEGETABLE PROCESSING FACTORY
WATER POLLUTION SOLID WASTE
PACKAGING
MATERIALS
REPACK PROCESS FOR PEAS
EMISSIONS
RESOURCES
ELECTRICITY
TRANSPORT
FUELS
FROZEN PRODUCT IN COLD STORE
DISTRIBUTION / RETAIL
FUELS
PACKAGING WASTE
CONSUMER TRANSPORT AND STORAGE
WATER
FUELS ELECTRICITY
Unilever
SEAC
ELECTRICITY NATURAL GAS
CONSUMER USE / WATER HEATING
PACKAGING WASTE

12. Outcome of Food LCA Studies
Many impacts occur both upstream and downstream of our operations
To achieve significant improvements and benefits for the environment a new approach was required:
• Engage in partnership with the supply chain
• Educate consumer
Unilever
SEAC

13. Eco-innovation in Products and Services
Awareness raising - product developers/marketing
Integrate eco-efficiency into design
Include environmental considerations in innovation awards
Improve understanding of consumer attitudes
Work in partnership with industry and retail trade
Unilever
SEAC

14. Integrate Eco-efficiency into Design
Use of existing tools to assess environmental impact of innovation projects
Development of a range of tools for use at decision points in Innovation Process Model
Pilot the use of eco-efficiency parameters to enhance creativity
Unilever
SEAC

15. Environmental Assessment Tools
Innovation Process Model
Decision gates
LAUNCH
Post
Launch
Evaln.
Launch
Prepn.
Ideas
Feasibility
Capability
Rollout
Full LCA
Screening LCA
Checklist/
Matrix
Environmental Assessment Tools
Unilever
SEAC

16. Making Tools Available
LCA - Currently “niche” application
Often seen as “time-consuming”, “expensive” ..
Life cycle approaches must be simplified and made available
Web tool being developed for product/process developers
Unilever
SEAC

17. LCA Web Tool
EXPERT / SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR (SEAC LCA)
Remote PC plus Web browser (e.g. IE5)
Create product templates, control panels, standard report formats, database maintenance and access control
Experts use system for LCA studies
Windows NT Server (Port Sunlight)
LCA Web application and tools (to create control panels and standard report formats)
Product System Templates, TEAM™ Software, Databases
Request submitted via WEB using standard Control Panel
Results returned via WEB in selected standard format
END USER (Trained)
Remote PC plus Web browser (e.g. IE5)
Unilever
SEAC

18. Sustainable Development Initiatives
Unilever committed to 3 sustainable development themes
• Sustainable Fisheries
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Clean Water Stewardship
Unilever
SEAC

19. Background to Sustainability - OBIA
Overall Business Impact Assessment (OBIA) - Unilever Imprint
LCA of Unilever’s Global Business
Convert to relevant potential environmental impacts
Scale using estimated total global potential environmental impacts
Compare with normalised economic value added (sales/global GDP)
Identify areas of potential un-sustainability
Unilever
SEAC

20. Unilever’s Contribution to Environmental Performance Indicators6
= sales as proportion of Global GDP 5
Bars = Unilever potential impact as proportion of estimated total global potential impact 4 3
environment
impact
more than 2
economic
value added 1
environment
impact
less than
economic
value added
solid waste
ozone depletion
energy
acidification
nutrification
global warming
photochemical smog
SEAC
Unilever

21. Sustainable Agriculture
The supply chain for over 2/3 of Unilever’s raw materials starts at farms or plantations
There are many problems associated with intensive agricultural systems
Loss of soil fertility
Reduction in biodiversity
Use of water (over 70% of global water abstraction used in agriculture)
Decline in quality of rural life

22. Sustainable Agriculture Pilot Projects
• Black leaf tea
• Peas
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Palm Oil
• Other oil seeds
Unilever
SEAC

23. LCA and Sustainable Agriculture
• LCA methodology applied to each sustainable agriculture pilot crop
• Provides understanding of environmental impacts across agricultural supply chains
• Places Agricultural stage in context with rest of supply chain
• Aids in the development of sustainability indicators
Unilever
SEAC

24. Approach to Sustainability Indicators
Produce high-yield crops while minimising losses during harvest and processing; increase nutritional quality while keeping the amount of inputs (e.g. fertilisers and pesticides) as low as possible
Ensure that soil fertility, water, biodiversity and air are not adversely affected
Use as many renewable resources as possible and minimise the use of non-renewables
Enable communities to protect and improve their well-being and environments

25. Sustainable Agriculture
Ten Key Indicators:
• Soil Fertility & Health
• Soil Loss
• Nutrients
• Pest Management
• Biodiversity
• Product Value
• Energy
• Water
• Social and Human Capital
• Local Economy
Unilever
SEAC

26. Clean Water Stewardship
Water is used in the supply chain of our ingredients
Water is used in Unilever factories
Water is a vital ingredient in many of our products
Consumers often need water to use our products

27. LCA and Clean Water Stewardship
• Water imprint undertaken based on OBIA approach
• Regional assessment is now being undertaken
• Based on Life Cycle approach across supply chain
Unilever
SEAC

28. • Corporate Environment Report • Unilever Internet Site
Communication and LCA
Internal
• Awareness Raising
• Innovation support
External
• Trade
• Regulators
• European Commission
• Industry
• Corporate Environment Report
• Unilever Internet Site
• Conferences, Presentations
• Brochures, publications
Unilever
SEAC

29. Individual Product LCA
Summary (1)
Individual Product LCA
Identify significant environmental aspects across the life cycle of products
Place Unilever contribution in context
Aid in Internal communication and awareness raising
Support for new product launch (PR)
Uptake of environmental aspects in product development/innovation (ecodesign)
Tool development to extend use of LCA to a wider audience (web)
Unilever
SEAC

30. Assessment of Unilever’s global environmental impact
Summary (2)
Strategic Level - LCA
Assessment of Unilever’s global environmental impact
Contributed to the initiation of the Sustainable Development projects
Life cycle approach is integral to certain aspects of the Sustainable Development projects
LCA as a tool and concept is a key, integral component of Unilever’s environmental strategy
Unilever
SEAC