Unilever factories, offices, R&D facilities, data centers, warehouses and distribution centers across five continents now run on 100% renewable electricity.
The company explained that its transition to renewable electricity has been delivered through supporting the development of local renewable energy markets, with 38% of its grid electricity supplied through corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and green electricity tariffs. Unilever has purchased Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)—openly-traded certificates linked to renewable electricity generation—where it has not been feasible to do this.
Sam Kimmins, Head of RE100 at The Climate Group, said, "Congratulations to Unilever—achieving 100% renewable electricity across five continents means the company is quickly advancing on its RE100 goal as it works to become a 'carbon neutral' company by 2030. 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."
Marc Engel, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Unilever, said, "The climate emergency is one of the most urgent challenges we’re all facing. Our team has worked hard to secure renewable energy contracts for our sites across five continents, accelerating the delivery of our 100% renewable energy targets. Of course, there is more work to do, but we hope that today’s announcement will inspire further action elsewhere and help to prove that it is possible to combat the climate crisis and hold global warming at 1.5 degrees celsius. Renewable is doable."