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PROJECT SUNLIGHT: INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING INTRODUCTION

MAKING SUSTAINABLE LIVING UNDERSTOOD, EASY, DESIRABLE, REWARDING AND A HABIT

In 2011 we published for the first time our own showing instead that it can in fact generate model for effective behaviour change called significant savings in household energy and Unilever’s Five Levers for Change1. It is based on food bills. CONTENTS what we have learned over the years devising As everyone knows, one way to reduce behaviour change programmes to change environmental impacts or improve health hygiene habits, working with brands such as and wellbeing on a mass scale is through Lifebuoy soap and Signal toothpaste. large numbers of people taking small actions FACING THE WORLD’S It also draws on decades of research and together which add up to make a big difference. CHALLENGES 3 insights by behaviour change experts inside and This idea and the phrase ‘small actions, big outside the company. We decided to share this difference’ have been part of our vision for practical tool because we believe its principles some years. can equally be applied to sustainable behaviour We also know that such is the connectivity pUBLIC ATTITUDES TO change and in the hope that, by making them between individuals which the internet and SUSTAINABILITY 5 available to a wider audience, this approach social networks provide, that for any activity could be used by others. to stand any chance of becoming a mass Since then we have tried out a number of movement of people, it has to be social approaches to inspiring sustainable living with by design. CHILDREN AS AGENTS our employees and consumers to learn more That’s why we believe there has never been a OF CHANGE about how people can be encouraged to make better time to inspire people to create a better 7 sustainable choices that are understandable, future. The challenge for us has been how to easy, aspirational, rewarding and habitual. inspire the mainstream majority of people to These range from small studies such as the want to live more sustainably, not just active pROjECT SUNLIGHT Unilever Sustain Ability Challenge2 involving consumers who are already persuaded of the 12 households in the UK in 2012-13, to more need to do so, and turn aspiration into action. 8 substantial research in the home using logger This booklet sets out the context, research and technology to ascertain actual behaviour as thinking behind Unilever’s new approach to opposed to reported behaviour in areas such as this challenge, Project Sunlight, and the next handwashing and brushing teeth. The Sustain steps we are taking on our journey towards our Ability Challenge successfully overturned ambitious goal of making sustainable living perceptions that sustainable living costs more, commonplace.

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 22 FACING THE WORLD’SCHALLENGES

THE NEED FOR ACTION HAS NEVER BEEN GREATER. By 2030, the world’s BUSINESS AND THE pUBLIC HAVE TO RISE TO THE population will rise CHALLENGE from 7 billion to over 8 billion 7 BILLION 8 SOURCE UN; WORLD BANK BILLION

The world faces enormous challenges. world’s population will rise to over While significant progress has been made 8 billion6, demand for food will increase demand for food will 7 8 in reducing poverty and improving health, by 50% , for energy by 50% and for increase by 50% 9 many of the Millennium Development water by 30% . SOURCE: FAO Goals (MDGs) are not on track to be met by FOOD Governments have so far failed to 50% 2015. Today, nearly 800 million people do introduce global agreements to address not have access to safe drinking water, these growing resource demands or curb 6.9 million children under 5 die each year climate change. The Doha Development from preventable disease, 2 million of them Agenda, which has the potential to take an from diarrhoea and pneumonia, and 870 estimated 144 million out of poverty10, has 3 million still go to bed hungry . still not been concluded 12 years after the demand for energy The world is consuming natural resources World Trade Organisation began the Doha by 50% at the rate of 1.5 planets and, unless we Round in 2001. SOURCE: IEA ENERGY change course, by 2030 even two planets The UN Framework Convention on Climate 50% 4 would not be enough . The effects of Change has yet to sign a comprehensive climate change are becoming daily more global agreement after 17 years of evident as countries around the world discussion with the prospect of a legally experience extreme weather events, from binding agreement pushed back to 2015 severe droughts in the United States, and not due to take effect until 2020. Australia and Africa to extraordinary and for water by 30% floods in China, Brazil, Pakistan and Meanwhile carbon dioxide emissions from SOURCE: IFPRI 11 Central Europe, to tornadoes and typhoons fossil fuels reached record levels in 2012 in the United States and the Philippines. and, for the first time in human history, WATER the concentration of climate-warming 30% Our planet is facing what has been carbon dioxide in the atmosphere passed 5 described as a ‘perf ect storm’ of increased the milestone level of 400 parts per demand and resource scarcity. By 2030, the million (ppm)12. If people continue to emit

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 33 greenhouse gases at current rates, the 2⁰C together to take a proactive approach to global warming threshold could be breached addressing these issues over the coming within 30 years. The resulting rise in sea decades. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SUSTAINABLE LIVING? levels, heatwaves, droughts and extreme We are not alone in having this optimistic weather conditions would create food view of the future. It is also the view Sustainable living means living well and living shortages, mass economic migration and of, among others, the World Business within the means of the planet. By ‘living well’ we 13 put millions of lives at risk . Council for Sustainable Development, are describing a standard of living where people whose Vision 2050: The New Agenda for have access to and the ability to afford education, The urgency of now Business14, a collaborative effort by 29 healthcare, mobility, the basics of food, water, energy and shelter, and consumer goods. By ‘living The need for action has never been greater. leading international companies, envisages within the means of the planet’ we mean living Governments alone cannot provide solutions, a future in which sustainable living becomes in such a way that this standard of living can be so business and the public also have to rise mainstream after 2020 and before 2050 sustained with the available natural resources and to the challenge. It is also a view shared by Jonathon Porritt, without further harm to biodiversity, climate and the legendary environmental campaigner, As a global company whose products are other eco-systems. used over two billion times a day in over half whose book The World We Made imagines a the households on the planet, we have a sustainable world in 2050 and the journey responsibility to take a leadership role in co- that was taken to achieve it. creating a world where everyone can live well To get there businesses like ours not only and within the natural limits of our planet – have to make their own operating practices what we call sustainable living. sustainable, but also have to stimulate shifts For some people the idea that it is possible in consumption, and help to shape public for 9 billion people to live sustainably by policy and market transformation. 2050 – what WWF describes as ‘one planet It also means people modifying their living’ – may seem utopian, considering how consumption behaviour. Done at scale, this far removed it appears from today’s realities has the potential to make a big difference and the social, economic and environmental to social and environmental impacts. For challenges the world faces. example, in the UK, an estimated 75% of However, we believe that achieving this greenhouse gas emissions are influenced vision is possible, providing leaders from directly or indirectly by consumers, according governments, business, civil society and to the Sustainable Consumption Institute at ordinary members of the public work the University of Manchester.15

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 44 pUBLIC ATTITUDES TO SUSTAINABILITY

MAKING SUSTAINABLE LIVING Today, most consumers are aware of and The majority of people (around two-thirds in concerned about sustainability. This holds true markets such as the US) can be described as COMMONpLACE BYTURNING GOOD all over the world, even if specific local concerns ‘middle greens’ – neither ‘active greens’, nor INTENTIONS INTO pOSITIVE ACTION vary. For example, 95% of European consumers ‘green rejectors’.19 say protecting the environment is an important So the challenge facing Unilever in considering 16 personal concern. how best to make sustainable living commonplace However, as a society, we’ve been much less is how can we shrink this ‘mainstream middle’ and successful in converting concern into action. expand the ranks of the conscious consumer? How Around two-thirds say they want to make the world can we turn good intentions into positive action? a better place, a percentage that has changed little To make something mainstream means creating 17 over the past five years. Over the same period, the a new social norm. Given the urgency of climate number of people who can be described as ‘active change, we have to consider not just how we help greens’ or ‘conscientious consumers’ has also people take small incremental steps towards remained about the same. living more sustainably but how can we achieve There are even signs that public concern about the a paradigm shift in people’s approach to life environment is waning, particularly as economic such that a sustainable lifestyle is seen to be pressures dominate daily life for many consumers. aspirational? 18 A 2013 Globescan study found concerns about Using our Five Levers for Change model, we looked environmental issues were at an all-time low. at the major barriers that prevent people from Asked how serious they considered pollution, taking action, the prime motivations that make species loss, vehicle emissions, fresh water them want to change their behaviour, and the shortages, and climate change to be, fewer people triggers that could act as a catalyst for change. considered them “very serious” than at any time since tracking began 20 years ago.

Super greens 16% Middle greens 66% Green rejectors 18%

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 55 Barriers Motivators O While there is a range of small barriers THE W RLD Research conducted by The Futures that discourage people from taking specific Company since 2008 shows that when actions, such as confusion caused by the people are asked what their main motivation proliferation of eco-labels or perceptions that WOR is for wanting to live sustainably, three products that are better for the environment OUR LD motivations consistently come top, year after work less well, the major barriers that need year and in every region of the world. These to be overcome are more to do with people’s are personal and family health, wanting to distance and detachment from the issues. preserve the world for grandchildren and People often feel an emotional detachment future generations, and a sense of social WORL responsibility. and physical distance from sustainability MY D issues, either because they believe the What falls into ‘my world’ is not static, scale of the issue is beyond their power to however; a new perspective can bring a make a difference or because the problem distant issue much closer to home. For is physically or geographically remote. This example, the lens of parenthood can lead applies to climate change, for example, parents to feel an emotional connection with where cause and effect is not very tangible. children on the other side of the world.20 For most people this is an issue that relates to ‘the world’ rather than ‘my world’. Triggers For sustainability concerns to be made real, There are moments in our lives which cause ways need to be found to shift ‘the world’ us to reflect on our values and purpose issues into a ‘my world’ mindset, relating to in life, such as getting married, having a home and family. baby, moving house, starting a new job or Another major barrier is the visual and starting retirement. People are far more verbal language around sustainability, which open to change in these ‘transition zones’, tends to focus on problems, catastrophe because their habits are in flux.21 If we are and the need to make personal sacrifices. to be successful in inspiring people to adopt Powerful images of damage to the planet, new or different behaviours to live more species under threat and social disaster sustainably, the scope for doing so is likely to have been accompanied by dire warnings be greater at these times. of the consequences of inaction. Instead of inspiring people to live sustainably, it’s not surprising they have been turned off.

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 66 CHILDREN AS AGENTS pIVOTAL MOMENTS FOR MAKING pOSITIVE LIFESTYLE CHANGES Having first child Planning a family/ Getting married OF CHANGE getting pregnant or starting a long- 1 2 3 term relationship Based on these insights we developed the milestones provide pivotal moments for making hypothesis that wanting to give children a better positive lifestyle changes. Parents in all four future could be not only the motivation for countries taking part in the research say that the the mainstream majority to want to live more birth of their first child was the most important sustainably but also the inspiration and catalyst for wanting to change their behaviour. When your for them to take action. first child is born, you start thinking for the first In August 2013 Unilever conducted qualitative time about the future in terms of someone else’s and quantitative research through Edelman life, not just your own, causing you to reflect on Berland to put this hypothesis to the test.22 what sort of world you are bringing your child A total of 4,000 parents and 4,000 children into and what you can do to give him or her the aged 8-12 in the UK, USA, India and Indonesia best possible start in life. Starting first full- Celebrating Seeing child go were interviewed. This showed that children do time job/career child’s first to school for the indeed have the potential to inspire parents to parents learn sustainable lessons from their birthday first time children and are encouraged by them to act. 4 5 6 change their lifestyles to live more sustainably for a number of reasons. Being born is not the only way children influence their parents to go green. 7 out of 10 parents say Children provide the inspiration to cause they have started to live in a greener way when parents to see the world in a more positive, asked or encouraged by their children to do more ‘anything is possible’ way. 9 out of 10 parents to protect the environment. As children grow up say their children’s natural optimism and and go to school, they bring home knowledge and enthusiasm inspires them to want to make behaviours they have been taught in class. 8 out the world a better place. Children, parents of 10 parents say how much they have learned believe, are better at seeing the possibilities for from their children about the environment in this way, with 70% saying they are surprised at a brighter future than adults, who tend to see Setting up first Leaving school/ Seeing child the problems, so children have a way of helping how much children know and care about the environment. home university become a parents see things differently. Somewhere in the teenager transition from childhood to adulthood people 7 8 9 lose that sunny optimism and belief that anything parents and children would both like to do is possible. Children also bring a new visual and more to improve and protect the environment verbal language to sustainability, making it easier together. Over 70% of parents say taking part in for people to be inspired by what’s possible. activities that protect or care for the environment is a fun way to spend time with their children, Children have the potential to cause parents while nearly two-thirds of children say they would to reappraise their values and lifestyles. There be prepared to spend less time on their computer are moments in adult life that open your eyes to or cellphone if they could spend more time with seeing the world in a different way. Child-related their parents improving the environment.

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 77 pROjECTSUNLIGHT

MOTIVATING MILLIONS TO LIVE See the possibilities n Smarter Greener Living – which helps families change their household habits to reduce energy and waste, and The first step in what Unilever hopes will eventually become SUSTAINABLY TOCREATE A conserve water in the home a global movement is to inspire people to see the world BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR CHILDREN differently. We have commissioned a short film which we n Food for Life– which enc ourages people to buy food that hope will encourage people to believe we can have the future is sustainably grown, reduce food waste and help children we want for our children if we all play our part. Directed receive a nutritious school meal who would otherwise by Academy award-winning director Errol Morris, the film go without. These insights have influenced the thinking behind Project premiered on www.projectsunlight.com and YouTube on As the initiative develops, other actions will be added related Sunlight, a new initiative by Unilever which aims to motivate 20 November 2013, Universal Children’s Day. to these causes. millions of people to live sustainably by inspiring them to It features couples expecting their first child who are create a better future for children. The initiative starts in concerned about the world they are bringing their child into Join the movement 5 countries in November 2013: Brazil, UK, USA, India but who are inspired to believe they can make the world a As people join and start doing small actions, they can see and Indonesia. better place for their children by joining with others who how many others have done ‘acts of sunlight’ and view the The premise of Project Sunlight is that while there are huge share their optimism. cumulative impact of their collective efforts. social and environmental issues facing the world, there are In 2013 Unilever’s Dove brand produced a short film called Unilever has over two million followers on Facebook who are also many innovations in science, technology and healthcare, ‘Sketches’ which has become the most watched brand film being encouraged to join Project Sunlight. Although Project many of them accelerated by social media and a globally on YouTube. We hope this film will also, over time, enjoy a Sunlight has its own website, because it is social by design, connected world. Project Sunlight aims to change the high level of interest and discussion in social media and people can join it from a number of social platforms, where conversation about sustainability from one of problem and other forums paralysis to possibility and empowerment. they will be able to share stories, images and data. For people to move from good intentions to action, Unilever Do small actions believes there is a three-part process they have to go through. People who watch the film and feel inspired by its message They have to: are provided with a choice of actions they can do to give their n see the possibilities about sustainability issues, not the children, other children and the planet a better future. The problems, and connect with them on a personal and actions fall into three categories where Unilever as a company emotional level and Unilever’s product brands are already committed to n act by doing small actions, starting with things that are making a big difference: easy, fun and social to do n Billion Better Lives – which brings together the social n join and feel part of a bigger community of people and be missions and campaigns of brands like Lifebuoy, Dove able to see the big difference we can all make together. and Omo to help children live beyond their 5th birthday, improve the self-esteem of millions of girls and ensure every child has the right to a healthy and happy childhood

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 88 Growing the movement its hygiene education programmes, well on the way to its target of 1 billion. Project Sunlight is an attempt to stimulate WHAT’S IN A NAME – what Unilever sees as a growing community n Dove, whose Self-Esteem Project helps WHY pROjECT SUNLIGHT? of people who want to make the world a better millions of girls to improve their self-esteem place for children and who believe sustainable through education programmes. Its target is Unilever chose the name Project Sunlight for three reasons: living is possible if we all work together each to reach 15 million girls by 2015. day to do small actions that add up to make a n Omo, Persil and Surf, whose low- Sunlight epitomises the sense of possibility and optimism big difference. temperature wash detergents help families which is the essence of Unilever’s approach and the It is founded on the belief that such is the cut their utility bills and CO2 emissions. I way children inspire us to see the future in terms of urgency of climate change, the unacceptability We aim to reach 400 million people with possibilities not problems. of child hunger, preventable disease and lack products and tools that help them reduce of sanitation, and the possibility for people to their greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. As a tribute to our founder, William Lever, whose connect with each other, that there has never n Lipton, Magnum and Knorr, whose audacious vision 130 years ago to ‘make cleanliness been a better time to make the world a brighter 2 commitment to sustainably grown commonplace’ with Sunlight soap inspired Unilever’s place for children. ingredients, is helping farmers around the equally ambitious purpose today: to make sustainable living Its goal is nothing less than a world where world to grow better crops and improve the commonplace. William Lever also built a model village near everyone has enough food to eat and no child lives of small farmers. 36% of Unilever’s Liverpool called Port Sunlight, to show it was possible to provide goes to bed hungry; every child lives to their agricultural ingredients come from factory workers with good living standards and run a profitable fifth birthday and has the right to a healthy and sustainable sources. Our goal is 100% by company. Today Unilever is building Project Sunlight because we happy childhood; every home has enough water 2020. We aim to improve the livelihoods of at want to show it is possible for everyone to live well and within the to drink, wash, cook and clean; every household least half a million smallholder farmers by limits of the planet – sustainable living. recycles whatever it can; everybody has the 2020. So far we have trained around 450,000 means and motivation to eat healthily; and every tea farmers in sustainable practices. Sunlight is critical to life on Earth and will be key to person can enjoy life while protecting the planet 3 producing the world’s future renewable energy needs. for future generations. The first step As Peter Diamandis, the American engineer and X Prize founder points out: “We are on a planet that is bathed with Project Sunlight brings together the social and This is just the first step on the journey. We do 5,000 times more energy than we use in a year. 16 terrawatts environmental missions of leading Unilever not believe we can catalyse a sustainable living of energy hit the Earth every 8 minutes.” At the same time, with brands and the activities of the Unilever movement on our own. We see Project Sunlight the cost of solar energy coming down and retailers like IKEA Foundation into a single, global movement. as our contribution to creating a zeitgeist that now selling solar panels, solar energy is becoming within These include: will lead to more and more people wanting affordable reach. n Lifebuoy, whose mission is to help more to live sustainably and, eventually, to this children reach their fifth birthday by teaching becoming a new social norm. millions of adults and children to wash It will involve successes and failures along their hands with soap after going to the the way. We encourage other companies and toilet and before eating. This is one of the groups of people to join us on this journey. The most effective and low-cost ways to prevent shift in mindset and behaviour that is needed diseases like pneumonia and diarrhoea, to move from living in a material world to living which cause the deaths of over two million in a sustainable one will take years and a lot of children under five every year. Since 2010 hard work. But there’s never been a better time Lifebuoy has reached 119 million people with to make the world a brighter place.

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 99 Handwashing with Lifebuoy UNILEVER’S ExpERIENCE IN HELpING pARENTS AND CHILDREN soap at key moments of CHANGE BEHAVIOUR the day can reduce diarrhoea among primary schoolchildren by up to Unilever has a long tradition of working with parents that brushing day and night with fluoride toothpaste and educators to help them improve the health and can cut tooth decay by up to 50% compared to wellbeing of children by adopting positive behaviours brushing once. that last them a lifetime. The ‘Pablo and Oliver’ programme run by Signal and 25% Dove, our largest personal care brand, is helping Pepsodent toothpaste shows the fun times a father millions of young people improve their self- and son can have when brushing their teeth at night, esteem through mother and daughter educational recognising the positive role fathers can play in programmes. The Dove Self-Esteem Project provides passing on good habits to children. parents and teachers with toolkits and discussion Dove has developed a new four hour badge guides to help them encourage young people and programme in partnership with the World Association When children wash their hands girls in particular to feel confident about their looks of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts with input from the with Lifebuoy, school absence can and realise their potential. world’s leading experts in the development of be reduced by up to Lifebuoy soap has run education programmes for non-formal education on body confidence. over 100 years to encourage washing hands with But learning is not only one way. Children taught to soap after going to the toilet and before eating food. wash hands with soap or brush teeth with toothpaste This is not just about selling more soap. Each year 40% at school often take what they have learned in the over 2 million children under the age of five die from classroom home. diarrhoeal disease and pneumonia. Handwashing with soap can reduce diarrhoea by up to 45%, This inter-generational learning was highlighted in pneumonia by up to 25% and school absence by a field study Unilever conducted in Uganda in 2007 up 40%. using motion sensors inside bars of Lifebuoy soap. This showed that parents of children being taught Making habits stick to wash their hands with soap at school, started washing their hands with soap more often at home Brushing teeth day and night Telling children to wash their hands with soap is while their children were at school. one thing. Making the habit stick is another. Using with flouride toothpaste, Unilever’s Five Levers for Change behaviour change A clinical study we conducted in Mumbai in 2007-08 compared to brushing model, Lifebuoy has developed a 21 day programme not only showed a 25% reduction in diarrhoea among only once a day, can cut using wallcharts and stickers to keep a daily tally primary school children but a 30% reduction among tooth decay by up to of handwashing behaviour. These are completed their families, showing the extent to which school with the help of parents to reinforce and recognise based interventions can be scaled to involve the good behaviour. whole family. 50% We used the same behaviour change model to help parents encourage children to brush their teeth at night, not just during the day. Clinical data shows

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 1010 HARNESSING THE pOWER OF DIGITAL: CONNECTING pEOpLE’S ASpIRATION FOR A BETTER FUTURE AND EVERYDAY CONSUMpTION 2.5 billion HABITS VIA SOCIAL DIGITAL MEDIA people, over a third of the world’s population, The potential for creating a social movement of As these examples show, many mass movements are now connected via the internet. people committed to living sustainably has never organised through social media are protest been greater. Nearly 2.5 billion people, over a movements, demonstrating against injustice third of the world’s population, are now connected or opposing regimes. But a growing number to each other via the internet, more than half of are about positive change. Change.org, which them via mobile phones. describes itself as ‘the world’s petition platform’ 228million Over 1.5 billion people – one in four people on has gathered 200 million signatures. 2 billion the planet - now participate in social networks, people participate in Earth Day. The challenge Twitter users including 1.1 billion active Facebook users, for companies like Unilever is how to harness the 1 billion YouTube viewers, 359 million Google+ positive relationships enjoyed with consumers 1billion users and 228 million who have taken to Twitter. and channel them into consumer movements for You Tube users positive change. Together they have helped to galvanise people, organise their activities and broadcast their For most companies the biggest force will come 1.1billion actions to the world. A US survey23 shows that, from making individual brands movements for are active Facebook users compared to the general population, mothers social change. Many Unilever brands are already of young children and expectant mothers are doing this. Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t just make 20% more likely to use social media, 57% more delicious ice-cream with Fairtrade ingredients, it 359million connected to people on Facebook and much more fights for social causes such as peace and justice. likely to share information. Its 7 million fans on Facebook like what Ben & Google+ users Jerry’s stand for, not just what they make. At the same time, women are also much more likely to adopt sustainable living behaviours than Lifebuoy, whose mission is to reach a billion people across Asia, Africa and Latin America Mothers of young children men. For example, Americans interviewed by with life-saving handwashing behaviour change and expectant mothers are and Ogilvy Earth for their 2011 Mainstream Green study19 showed that 85% see women as more education, is enlisting its supporters in achieving involved than men in the green movement. its ambition. More than 200 million people in over 100 countries took part in Global Handwashing 20% 57% Digital technology is allowing people to create Day in 2012, with 3 million making a specific more likely to use more connected to large communities of interest, share information pledge to help a child reach their fifth birthday social media people on Facebook faster and drive to action sooner. We have on Facebook. To those who use it, Lifebuoy is no seen this with movements like Occupy Wall longer just soap; it’s a movement to improve lives. Street, the Arab Spring and Istanbul’s Gezi Park demonstrations. These use Facebook to organise, YouTube to show the world what they are doing and Twitter to communicate their progress.

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 1111 pROjECT SUNLIGHT AND UNILEVER’S LEVERS FOR CHANGE HOW pROjECT SUNLIGHT WILL AppLY THEM FIVE LEVERS FOR CHANGE MAKE IT UNDERSTOOD People know that their activities contribute to global warming and climate This lever raises awareness and change but feel that global issues such as climate change are extrinsic, encourages acceptance distant and difficult to relate to their everyday lives. People also care about their family’s health and diet and know that their buying choices have an Do people know about the behaviour? impact (eg. via Fairtrade). What they find difficult is connecting their small Do they believe it’s relevant to them? action to the difference it can make in the world. Project Sunlight makes sustainability accessible for people by making it intrinsic, emotional and relevant to their world not ‘the world’

MAKE IT EASY Project Sunlight’s digital hub – www.projectsunlight.com – offers lots This lever is about convenience and of easy, everyday, small actions people can do, from simple household confidence activities to making more sustainable shopping choices. Do people know what to do and feel People can reach www.projectsunlight.com via a variety of social platforms confident doing it? Can they see it fitting they use every day, such as Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. into their lives

MAKE IT DESIRABLE People want to live sustainably because they want to ‘do the right thing’ and This lever is about self and society be a role model for their children. Will this new behaviour fit with actual or They will be able to see that there are lots of others who have joined aspirational self-image? Project Sunlight, giving them a feeling of doing what others do, following society’s norms. Does it fit with how they relate to others or want to? Celebrities getting involved will enable people to feel they are emulating the BARRIERS: Only 3 in 10 parents say that barriers such as lifestyles of people they respect or aspire to be like lack of time, lack of information or expense prevent them from living sustainably. The major barriers are perceived MAKE IT REWARDING They will have the personal satisfaction of feeling they are doing things relevance to ‘my world’ and emotional and physical This lever demonstrates the proof and that are good for their children, good for others and good for the planet. detachment from ‘the world’ issues payoff At a more pragmatic level, some actions will produce financial savings MOTIVATORS: Creating a better future for children is one Do people know when they are doing the (eg. saving money from reduced hot water use) and others will provide of the top 3 motivations people give for wanting to live behaviour right? Do they get some sort product related rewards (eg coupons at www.recyclebank.com) more sustainable lifestyles and 3 in 4 parents say it is their of reward for doing it? main motivation TRIGGERS:Major lif e events are key to changing lifestyles. MAKE IT A HABIT 7 out of 10 parents say they learn about the environment from children Having a first child is the event most likely to trigger a This lever is about reinforcing and who are taught about it at school, so inter-generational learning will change in lifestyle with 9 out of 10 parents of children aged reminding reinforce the need to make it a habit 8-12 saying that they were motivated to make a change Children are also influential in encouraging families to adopt healthy eating when their first child arrived. Once people have made a change, what can we do to help them keep doing it? and hygiene habits, both because parents want to set a good example and because children bring home what they have learnt at school.

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 1212 UNILEVER AND SUSTAINABLE LIVING UNILEVER SUSTAINABLE LIVING pLAN

Unilever makes many of the world’s favourite brands, such as Lipton, Dove, Knorr, 2010 was also the year we announced our blueprint for reducing our environmental Magnum, Axe, Surf and many others. Our products meet people’s everyday social needs footprint and increasing our positive social impacts - the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. such as washing, cooking and cleaning and, because they are used two billion times a day This has three ambitious goals, all to be achieved by 2020: in over half the households on the planet, they make small but important differences to n To help more than a billion people take action to improve their health and wellbeing the quality of people’s lives. n To halve the environmental footprint of our products across the value chain, not just Our heritage and purpose those relating to manufacturing or that are within our direct control Our 19th century founders were businessmen with a social conscience who believed it n To source 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably was possible to do well by doing good. Our Dutch founders built the world’s first factories to make margarine, a cheaper alternative to butter, enabling ordinary people to afford By the end of 2012, two years in to our 10 year plan, we had: essential daily fats. n Reached 224 million people with safe drinking water and behaviour change Our British founder, William Lever, produced Sunlight and Lifebuoy soap, bringing hygiene programmes. These are helping to reduce diarrhoeal and respiratory disease through to millions at a time when cholera and dysentery were widespread in Victorian slums. He handwashing with soap, improving oral health, and improving self-esteem among did it by setting his company an inspiring and audacious purpose – to make cleanliness young people commonplace – and by using advertising and marketing to create a culture where being n Reduced greenhouse gases by 6% across the value chain clean was desirable. Over time this became the new social norm. n Sourced 36% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably, training around At Unilever, we have set ourselves a new purpose which draws on our founders’ vision and 450,000 smallholder farmers in the process pioneering purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace. We want to create a culture Our approach to helping consumers improve their health and well-being and reduce where living sustainably is desirable and achievable, where sustainable lifestyles are the their environmental footprint involves a combination of product innovation and new social norm. behaviour change. Because our products help improve the quality of people’s lives, we believe that the Examples of product innovation include developing foods that contain less salt and most scalable and sustainable way we can make a difference to society is through our saturated fat, but taste just as good if not better; concentrated and compacted detergents brands and how we do business. It means the more we grow, the bigger the difference which reduce greenhouse gases by up to half but clean laundry just as well; a fabric we can make. But we cannot do this without regard for the environmental impacts of our conditioner that enables clothes washed by hand to be rinsed in one bucket of water products. That’s why in 2010 we set ourselves the ambitious goal of doubling the size of instead of three; and dry shampoos which reduce greenhouse gases by around 90% our business, whilst reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive compared to washing hair with heated water. social impacts. However, technology alone will not be enough to help us reach our target of halving our By putting sustainability at the heart of our business model, we aim to demonstrate how environmental footprint. This can only be achieved through a combination of structural our approach contributes to a virtuous circle of growth: the more our products meet social change leading to less carbon intensive energy provision, in-home changes such as needs and help people live sustainably, the more popular our brands become and the installing low-flow showerheads and eco-efficient boilers, and changes in consumers’ more we grow. And the more efficient we are at managing resources, such as energy and household habits . raw materials, the more we lower our costs, reduce risks to our business and can invest in sustainable innovation and brands.

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING projectSunlight 1313 SOURCES OF INFORMATION

1 Inspiring Sustainable Living: Unilever’s Five Levers for Change http://www.unilever.com/images/slp_5-Levers-for- Change_tcm13-276807.pdf 2 Unilever’s Sustain Ability Challenge http://www.unilever.co.uk/sustainable-living/sustain-ability/index. aspx?name=hubfeature&item=2 3 Millennium Development Goals Report 2013 http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/report-2013/mdg-report- 2013-english.pdf 4 WWF Living Planet Report 2012 http://www.wwf.or.jp/activities/lib/lpr/WWF_LPRsm_2012.pdf 5 UK Government Office of Science http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/goscience/docs/p/perfect-storm-paper.pdf 6 UNDP http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Documentation/pdf/WPP2012_HIGHLIGHTS.pdf 7 FAO, Crop Prospects and Food Situation, 3, July 2008 8 IEA, World Energy Outlook 2008 9 IFPRI 10 Eveline Herfkens, Executive Coordinator for the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, Cancun, 2003. “A pro-poor Doha Round could increase global income by as much as $520 billion and lift an additional 144 million people out of poverty”. 11 International Energy Agency Report Re-drawing the Energy Climate Map, IEA, 2013. The IEA Report says climate change could pass a critical level if the world waits until 2020 for the planned comprehensive UN deal to cut emissions. 12 Data published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography on 10 May 2013. Source The Guardian, 10 May 2013 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/ may/10/carbon-dioxide-highest-level-greenhouse-gas 13 IPCC Climate Change Report 2013: http://www.climatechange2013.org/ 14 WBCSD, Vision 2050: The New Agenda for Business http://www.wbcsd.org/vision2050.aspx 15 Consumers, Business and Climate Change, Munasinghe M., Dasgupta P.,Southerton D., Bows A., McMeekin A. http://www.sci.manchester.ac.uk/uploads/copenhagenpaper.pdf 16 European Commission (2011), Special Eurobarometer 365: Attitudes of European citizens towards the environment, conducted by TNS Opinion on behalf of Directorate-General for the Environment 17 The Futures Company Global SEE Monitor 2008-2012 18 GlobeScan Radar (2013), http://www.globescan.com/commentary-and-analysis/press-releases/press-releases- 2013/98-press-releases-2013/261-environmental-concerns-at-record-lows-global-poll.html 19 Ogilvy Earth, Mainstream Green (2011) https://assets.ogilvy.com/truffles_email/ogilvyearth/Mainstream_Green.pdf 20 Flamingo International, 2009 21 New rules, new game: communication tactics for climate change, Futerra, http://www.futerra.co.uk/downloads/ NewRules_NwGame.pdf 22 How children inspire sustainable living, Edelman Berland for Unilever, August 2013 23 BabyCenter 21st Century Mom Insights Series, 2013 Social Mom Report, April 2013 http://www. babycentersolutions.com./docs/BabyCenter_2013_Social_Media_Marketers_Handbook_US.pdf

Produced by: Unilever Communications, Brand and Sustainable Business Teams Written by: Richard Aldwinckle Designed by: www.theayres.co.uk

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