Lifebuoy Way of Life Annual Review 2008-9
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Towards universal handwashing with soap: Annual Review 2008/09 The state of Top 10 Changing behaviour handwashing with soap Hygiene Lessons of 1 billion people Dr Val Curtis by 2015 Lifebuoy way of life Annual Review 2008 - 2009 Lifebuoy aims to bring safety, security LIFEBUOY’S and health to five billion people around ON A MISSION the world, through the active promotion { of handwashing with soap. 02 03 Lifebuoy way of life Annual Review 2008 - 2009 Contents 6 Foreword - Opening statements from Paul Polman, Unilever CEO, and Ricardo Pimenta, Global Brand VP Unilever Health Brands 8 Our commitment to making a difference every day - Myriam Sidibe, Lifebuoy Global Social Mission Manager, introduces the Lifebuoy Social Mission 10 Lifebuoy - in brief - Some facts about the brand 12 Handwashing state of the world - A summary from Dr Val Curtis, Director of the Hygiene Centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine 14 A brand on a mission - Making a difference around the world 16 Hygiene promotion activations - Putting a spotlight on Lifebuoy country programmes 20 Capacity building and partnerships - How teamwork is shaping the future for handwashing 24 Advocacy - Keeping handwashing on the global and local agendas 28 Lifebuoy Way of Life - Tracking social and business impacts 30 Rewind and Recap - The Lifebuoy Top 10 hygiene and health lessons learned from 2008-2009 32 Our next steps - Anuj Rustagi, Lifebuoy Global Brand Director, outlines the Lifebuoy Way of Life Challenge 33 References 04 05 Lifebuoy way of life Annual Review 2008 - 2009 “I sincerely believe that businesses like Unilever can be a positive force for good Paul Polman, in the world and that such an approach is Unilever Chief in the interests of all our stakeholders – our Executive POSITIVE Officer investors, our consumers, our employees and the communities where we operate.” { Foreword from Ricardo Pimenta, Global Brand Vice President, Foreword { Unilever Health Brands Unilever’s mission is to meet the we use, such as water, packaging, growth every year in recent years, everyday needs of people around energy and raw materials, and the demonstrating its ability to offer an the world for nutrition, hygiene social and economic impacts of our invaluable response to the demands and personal care. We do this with brands in the countries where they of consumers in developing and products that help people feel good, are sold. emerging markets. look good and get more out of life – something which Lifebuoy has been Ever since the launch of its first This first Lifebuoy Social Mission doing for the past 114 years. soap products over 100 years ago, Annual Review is evidence of Lifebuoy has helped make a positive how seriously Lifebuoy takes its Every day around 160 million people difference to people’s health and commitments. The report provides in 150 countries choose our Unilever well-being in the developed and a review of our latest activities to brands to feed their families and to developing world. But preventable support the Lifebuoy social mission – clean themselves and their homes. diseases, resulting from poor hygiene a mission that is absolutely integral And every second, 91 families and sanitation, still pose a significant to the brand. choose a Lifebuoy product to deliver health challenge. Every year more on health and hygiene promises. than 3.5 million children still die Unsurprisingly, therefore, the social before the age of five because of and environmental impacts we have diarrhoea and acute respiratory on the world come largely from our infections. Encouraging people to brands, and Lifebuoy is at the centre change their habits – by washing of the positive social impacts that hands with soap before touching Unilever as a corporation can deliver. food and after going to the toilet – is This is why we are embedding essential, and central to all Lifebuoy sustainability thinking into the brand activities. day-to-day activities of our brand management and R&D teams. The What makes doing good sustainable Lifebuoy brand has been at the in the long run is the business forefront of the piloting of tools such benefits that Lifebuoy delivers year as Brand Imprint and social metrics. after year. It is one of the fastest- Both these tools are helping us think growing brands in our skin care more carefully about the resources business, recording double digit 06 07 Lifebuoy way of life Annual Review 2008 - 2009 Our commitment to making a difference every day By Dr Myriam Sidibe DrPH, Lifebuoy Global Social Mission Manager THE LIFEBUOY BRAND’S SOCIAL MISSION IS TO BRING SAFETY, SECURITY AND HEALTH TO FIVE BILLION PEOPLE THROUGH THE ACTIVE PROMOTION OF HANDWASHING WITH SOAP. AND WHILE OUR PRODUCTS ALREADY PROVIDE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WITH ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE HYGIENE, AS THE WORLD’S LEADING HEALTH SOAP, WE KNOW THERE IS MORE THE BRAND CAN DO. Through the Lifebuoy brand’s social mission programmes we aim to make a difference in people’s day-to-day lives – spreading positive hygiene messages through hygiene promotion activities. The projects instigated by our country teams are already making a difference and helping to save lives. The resources we provide to complement those supplied by the public sector are vital to ensure that we continue reaching people who need our help the most. Our commitment to the Lifebuoy social mission is evident in the steps we have taken towards making handwashing with soap central to the brand’s marketing efforts. I AM CONFIDENT THAT THE LIFEBUOY TEAMS, TOGETHER WITH OUR PARTNERS, CAN CONTINUE TO BUILD ON OUR WORK IN This report gives an overview of the work THE FUTURE, TO MAKE A LASTING IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH Lifebuoy has done in 2008 and 2009, partnering Lifebuoy together with public and private sector AROUND THE WORLD. partners around the world, who share the brand’s commitment to promoting health and hygiene. Without these important partnerships it would not be possible to share our messages on such a large scale. Before joining the Lifebuoy team, I worked for non-governmental organisations and in the public sector, and have lived in more than 20 countries around the world. I sought a platform from which I could make a real impact to people’s lives. I believe that Lifebuoy and Unilever as a corporation offers this platform, with clear, tangible deliverables that are relevant both for business and social benefits. Visiting some of the Lifebuoy brand’s social mission programmes in India, Indonesia and Vietnam has made me realise that we have already achieved so much, thanks to the right support and gives me the confidence that we can achieve a lot more. The commitment of our Key: Lifebuoy teams across the world is exceptional and unique. Countries where Lifebuoy was sold in 2009 08 09 Lifebuoy way of life Annual Review 2008 - 2009 LIFEBUOY - • LAUNCHED IN THE UK IN 1894, Lifebuoy is one of Unilever’s oldest • The Lifebuoy Clinical Trial in 2007/8 demonstrated that by following brands, and has championed a message of health through hygiene for the Lifebuoy Way (washing hands at 5 key occasions during the day), more than a century episodes of diarrhoea in target children reduced by 25% and target children had 40% less days off school due to illness, compared with the • One of Unilever’s founders, William Lever, launched the Lifebuoy brand control group. to help bring affordable hygiene to Victorian England at a time when epidemics of typhoid, smallpox, cholera and diphtheria were a • Lifebuoy branded hygiene promotion activations, such as Swasthya constant threat. Chetna in India, Berbagi Sehat in Indonesia and Germ Fighters in Sri Lanka have educated over 125 million people about the importance of • Today Lifebuoy products are sold in more than 34 countries in Asia and handwashing with soap. Africa, and every second 91 families buy a Lifebuoy product, trusting the Lifebuoy brand for their family’s health. * ACNielsen Scantrack and Retail Index Skin Cleansing Brand Volume Sales 12 months to August 2009 • Lifebuoy was the world’s first health soap when it was launched in 1894, and it is still the world’s no.1 selling germ protection soap today*. 10 11 Lifebuoy way of life Annual Review 2008 - 2009 Handwashing state of the World A report from Dr Val Curtis, Director of the Hygiene Centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine AVERAGE CHILD DEVELOPMENT THE GRAPH ON THE RIGHT TELLS LAXMI’S DEVELOPMENT A VERY SHORT LIFE STORY. IT BEGINS WITH LAXMI’S BIRTH, IN A VILLAGE IN RURAL ANDHRA PRADESH ON THE SOUTH-EASTERN COAST OF INDIA. A HAPPY CHILD, LAXMI GROWS WELL UNTIL HER FIFTH MONTH WHEN SHE FALLS ILL WITH DIARRHOEA AND A BAD COUGH. SHE RECOVERS BUT AT NINE MONTHS CATCHES A RESPIRATORY INFECTION THAT TURNS INTO PNEUMONIA. Though it takes her family a while to gather together thought to reduce diarrhoea risk by up to 50%2-4. And in CHANGING BEHAVIOUR the money for medicine, she is eventually cured. But the last few years we have learned that handwashing because of repeated diarrhoea and respiratory illnesses, can do even more. It protects from respiratory infection, Handwashing behaviour is learned early in life, is highly Laxmi is malnourished, leaving her vulnerable to reducing risk by an estimated 23%5 and a study in habitual, and is influenced by local cultural norms16 – so infections. Pakistan saw handwashing halve the risk of pneumonia by what everyone else is doing. Given the difficulty of infections6. It protects against pandemic flu7, SARS8, shifting established habits, we’ve found that we need encourage handwashing in health care facilities trachoma9, and parasitic worm infections10.