Unilever has taken another step towards its goal of carbon neutrality by 2030 after announcing that its facilities are now powered by 100% renewable electricity across five continents.
The transition has supported the development of local renewable energy markets, with 38% supplied through Power Purchase Arrangements and green electricity tariffs.
Where it has not been feasible to do this, Unilever has purchased Renewable Energy Certificates – openly-traded certificates linked to renewable electricity generation.
“Our team have worked hard to secure renewable energy contracts for our sites across five continents, accelerating the delivery of our 100% renewable energy targets,“ Unilever chief supply chain officer, Marc Engel, said.
“Of course, there is more work to do, but we hope to help prove that it is possible to combat the climate crisis and hold global warming at 1.C. Renewable is doable.“
The firm said that it has worked with partners around the world to generate renewable electricity at its own sites, with solar power in use at Unilever facilities in 18 countries.
Factories, offices, research and development facilities, data centres, warehouses and distribution centres are all powered by 100% renewable electricity.
Moreover, Unilever's investments in energy efficiency programmes have led to a 28% energy consumption reduction and a halving of carbon emissions per tonne of production since 2008.
Achieving 100% renewable electricity across five continents means the company is quickly advancing as it works to become a 'carbon neutral' company by 2030, said Sam Kimmins, head of RE100 at The Climate Group.
Through its membership of RE100, global companies like Unilever are sending a strong demand signal to the few markets where renewables remain harder to access.
They want to be able to source renewable electricity locally at an affordable price – and they want to do that now.“
