British Government and Unilever join forces to help world’s poor

Unilever and the Department for International Development (DFID) have formed a new partnership to create jobs, improve water and sanitation and develop sustainable supply chains in developing countries, Justine Greening said today.

The International Development Secretary will sign a joint letter of intent with Unilever’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman which commits both organisations to work together to improve the lives of millions of people in developing countries and help end dependency on aid.

The partnership is the first of its kind between a leading international business and the UK’s Department for International Development.

DFID and Unilever will launch a joint initiative to use new social business models to improve health, hygiene and livelihoods for 100 million people by 2025. They will also each contribute £5 million to a research and innovation programme focused on affordable sanitation and safe drinking water.

Justine Greening said:

“British businesses have the potential to make an enormous contribution to the fight against extreme poverty around the world. This partnership, the first of its kind, will combine our expertise and networks to help millions of the world’s poorest people find jobs, improve water and sanitation and, ultimately, end dependency on aid. This is not just good for the developing world, it is good for Britain. The frontier economies we will be working to improve are ultimately Britain’s future trading partners.”

Unilever, through its Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), aims to double the size of its business whilst reducing its environmental footprint and increasing positive social impact. Their products are sold in over 190 countries and more than half of the company’s presence is in developing and emerging markets. One element of this plan is their work facilitating hand-washing, sanitation and hygiene around the world.

CEO Paul Polman said:

“We’re committed to changing people’s lives around the world through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. This sets ambitious and measurable targets across our entire supply chain, such as empowering women, encouraging hand-washing to fight disease, and helping a billion people take action to improve their health and, well-being by 2020.

It’s only through partnerships that we can achieve real scale. By working collaboratively with our suppliers, NGOs and governments, we can make the biggest difference and go well beyond what’s possible in our own operations alone.”

The new partnership will have three main areas of focus:

• Improving the job prospects and economic empowerment of women and girls;
• Scaling up projects currently at the pilot stage using market-based solutions, particularly in water, sanitation and hygiene;
• Developing supply chain ecosystems for specific crops.

The new commitment follows the recent agreement between DFID, Unilever, the Wood Family Trust and Gatsby Foundation to co-invest in a major new tea plantation in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. The funding will boost the incomes of potentially more than 3,600 tea farmers spread throughout 27 villages.

DFID and Unilever have worked together in partnership with private sector and civil society organisations to achieve a number of common development goals. This includes continued work on the replacement for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, the Nutrition for Growth Summit in 2013 and improving water, sanitation and hygiene across the world.