Unilever Climate & Nature Fund - Unilever
Unilever Climate & Nature Fund | Unilever
Animal-derived products, such as dairy, are a key ingredient for many of our brands. Methane emissions from agriculture, mostly from ruminant digestion and manure, are now equivalent to 42% of human-caused methane emissions. That’s why we are seeking to shift to non-animal-derived product and ingredient replacements.
In 2022, sales from our non-dairy, plant-based ice cream represented 8% of the turnover in our Ice Cream Business Group, appealing to consumers beyond those who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. We hope that investments and partnerships in non-animal-derived alternatives will help us to progress towards our target of reaching net zero emissions across our value chain by 2039 and achieve €1.5 billion of sales per annum from plant-based products in categories whose products are traditionally using animal-derived ingredients by 2025.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”