TEA a POPULAR BEVERAGE U Journey to a Sustainable Future Contents
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TEA A POPULAR BEVERAGE u Journey to a Sustainable Future Contents Introduction >01 Our Consumers and Us >02 Sustainability and Unilever >03 “Reducing impacts all Sustainable Agriculture >04 along the supply chain means working with The Importance of Tea >05 many stakeholders Challenges for the and, we believe, Tea Supply Chain >06 sharing learning with Addressing the Issues >07 others. This is the only way that the whole Making Sustainability Happen >08 supply chain can become more Challenges for Kenya >09 sustainable.” Challenges for India >10 Antony Burgmans and Niall FitzGerald, Chairmen of Unilever Challenges for Tanzania >11 Indigenous Tree Planting >12 Fuelwood Cultivation >13 Integrated Pest Management >14 HIV/AIDS Programmes >15 Looking Forward >16 Sustainable Agriculture Indicators >17 Bibliography >19 Front Cover Design: Montage Illustrating Tea’s Journey from Bush to Cup Introduction > 01 Sandy Morrison Chair of the Unilever Sustainable Tea Initiative Since the mid-1990s, Unilever has promote further dialogue, this booklet worked with agricultural experts and outlines the approach which Unilever's NGOs (non-governmental organisations) supply chain is taking to safeguard our on sustainable development future tea supply, while promoting programmes for fish, water and good agricultural practices, ecological agriculture. This booklet focuses on the benefits and social responsibility. With Sustainable Agriculture Initiative for Tea. input from the SAAB we have After water, tea is the most popular developed two good practice guideline non-alcoholic beverage in the world publications (one for tea estates and the long appreciated for its unique ability to other for smallholder farmers). We refresh, relax and revive. Today, more recognise that our guidelines are not tea is drunk around the world than definitive but are a way forward - an coffee and carbonated soft drinks analysis of current knowledge. At the combined. By understanding the role same time, we appreciate that many that tea plays in peoples’ lives and tea growers - estate owners and creatively applying our consumer individual farmers - hold their own insights, we have become the world’s views and have also experimented with largest supplier of branded tea. Every improving practices towards sustainable year, consumers in more than 100 agriculture. We encourage all growers countries drink 177 billion cups of to help implement and improve upon Unilever tea. Unilever also has 130 years these good practice guidelines, as we experience of growing tea. In 2001 we believe they can give us all a stronger produced 72,000 tonnes from our own framework for future sustainable estates in India, Kenya and Tanzania. tea production. Unilever is developing and We will use these good practice continuously shares sustainable guidelines as part of our sourcing of farming practices across its own tea teas from our suppliers. Our immediate estates. We work with key stakeholders aim is to encourage our suppliers to use including the Unilever Sustainable these guidelines, and our ultimate aim Agriculture Advisory Board (SAAB) to is to support the creation of market establish good agricultural practice mechanisms that favour and encourage and the Tea Sourcing Partnership sustainable agriculture. (http://www.teasourcingpartnership.org.uk) To make this a credible and successful to meet our social responsibilities. journey we need your help and We will work with the Tea Industry collaboration. We invite you to generally to encourage wider participate with us on this journey. We application of sustainable tea practices. are always open for improvements and Our sustainability journey started out as suggestions. Please contact us via e-mail: a voyage of discovery. We have learned [email protected] a lot. To mark our progress and to Our Consumers and Us > 02 Unilever’s Corporate Purpose is to meet the everyday needs of people everywhere, to anticipate the aspirations of our consumers and customers and respond creatively and competitively with branded products and services, that raise the quality of life. Consumers are at the heart of Unilever’s Dove soap, Magnum ice cream and business. We bring our wealth of Knorr savoury products. Our knowledge and international expertise international Lipton tea brand is to the service of local enjoyed by consumers in over 100 consumers – a truly countries and we also have tea brands multi-local multinational. tailored to local consumer cultures and We provide an extensive tastes, including Brooke Bond, Red range of consumer Label, PG Tips, Bushells and Tchae. brands sold in over We believe that to succeed requires the 150 countries and have highest standards of corporate operations located in behaviour towards our employees, more than 90 countries business partners, consumers and the spanning every societies of the world in which we live. continent. Our proximity This is at the heart of Unilever’s Code of to local cultures enables Business Principles and our ongoing us to understand local quest for sustainable, profitable growth consumer needs and and long-term value creation for our to be responsive shareholders and employees. with branded product solutions. Applying our consumer insight in a relevant, creative and competitive way has been our success, making Unilever one of the largest consumer product businesses in the world. In 2001, we had a turnover of €52 billion and employed 265,000 people. Unilever’s range of consumer brands is divided into two main categories: Home and Personal Care, and Foods. Many of our brands are well known and are used everyday by consumers all over the world: including Lipton tea, Sustainability > 03 and Unilever Our consumers trust us to supply them with high-quality products that are produced in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Unilever relies heavily on the natural raw materials used in our products, such The key objectives of our three as vegetable oils, vegetables, tea and sustainability initiatives: fish. As well as being major buyers of Water: supporting these items on world markets, we are efforts to improve also involved in agriculture, both the conservation directly, through our own estates, and of clean water, and indirectly, via contract growers and understanding the open markets. It is therefore in our water imprint of our business interests to ensure sustainable activities, so that a sustainable supply of these materials. balance of human and ecosystem Our position in the market gives us needs may be achieved. some influence on how the materials are produced and considerable social Fish: encouraging responsibility to use our influence more sustainable wisely. We also have a clear obligation fishing practices to our shareholders, employees and and meeting our business partners, to ensure continued commitment to access to agricultural produce. buy all our fish from sustainable sources by 2005. Our consumers trust us to supply them with high-quality products that are Agriculture: produced in an environmentally and establishing socially responsible way. It is our sustainability responsibility to act as agents for our indicators, consumers ensuring their expectations appropriate measures are understood along the supply chain. and standards for We judge that Unilever’s Corporate our key raw material crops: peas, Purpose will only be achieved and spinach, tea, tomatoes and palm oil. maintained in the long term if our actions are determined by the broader principles of sustainable development: ensuring we meet the needs of today Spinach without jeopardising the ability of (frozen) future generations to meet their needs. 28% This means we must align our economic UNILEVER’S Peas goals with the social and environmental Black Tea SHARE OF (frozen) 16% 13% consequences of our work. KEY CROPS percentage of Since the mid-1990s, we have worked world volume with stakeholders in the area of sustainability, including scientists, environmental organisations, farmers Palm Oil Tomatoes and suppliers in pilot programmes for 7% 7% our three sustainability initiatives: fish, water and agriculture. > 04 Sustainable Agriculture Agriculture, which provides more than two thirds of the raw materials for Unilever’s branded products, is increasingly under environmental and social pressure. Globally, agriculture is under Unilever believes that sustainable environmental pressure. There is agriculture should support the following growing competition for available land, four principles: valuable land is being lost through soil • It should produce crops with high erosion and there is increasing yield and nutritional quality to agricultural impact on water supplies. meet existing and future needs, Mounting environmental and social while keeping resource input as pressures challenge our supply chain, low as possible. and growing consumer concerns about the food chain challenge our markets. • It must ensure that any adverse We are therefore working with a broad effects on soil fertility, water and range of sustainability stakeholders on a air quality, and biodiversity from Sustainable Agriculture Initiative. agricultural activities are minimised and positive contributions are This programme’s aim, which began in made where possible. 1998, is to develop guidelines for sustainable farming practice that will • It should optimise the use of ensure continued access for Unilever to renewable resources while key agricultural raw materials. In minimising the use of addition, for some crops, it is non-renewable resources.