Unilever to Set Climate-Change Plan before Shareholders

By Joe Hoppe

Unilever PLC said Monday that it will put its climate-change action plan to a shareholder vote, and will aim for zero emissions from its own operations by 2030.

The owner of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Hellmann's mayonnaise, said it will seek a nonbinding advisory vote on the company's emissions targets and plans to achieve them. It will share the plan in the first quarter of 2021 ahead of the annual general meeting on May 5, and the plan will be updated on a rolling basis.

The company said targets include eliminating greenhouse-gas emissions from its own operations by 2030, along with halving the overall carbon footprint of its products. The plans join an existing target of net zero emissions from sourcing to the point of sale by 2039, first announced June 15.

"We welcome this increased transparency and in the plan we present, we will be clear both about the areas in our direct control where we have a high degree of certainty of our route to net zero, as well as more challenging areas across our value chain where systemic solutions will be required to achieve our targets," Chief Executive Alan Jope said.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 14, 2020 02:35 ET (07:35 GMT)

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