Wednesday 2 September 2020

Unilever to eliminate fossil fuels in cleaning products by 2030

Consumer goods giant Unilever will replace 100% of the carbon derived from fossil fuels in its cleaning and laundry products with renewable or recycled carbon by 2030.

The company says the move will transform the sustainability of cleaning and laundry brands, including OMO, Cif, Sunlight and Domestos.

Most cleaning and laundry products contain chemicals made from fossil fuel feedstocks, a non-renewable source of carbon.

The chemicals used in Unilever’s cleaning and laundry products make up 46% of their carbon footprint across their lifecycle and the shift away from fossil fuels is forecast to reduce the carbon footprint of the products by up to 20%.

The step is a component of the firm's 'Clean Future' programme, which aims to change the way products are created, manufactured and packaged.

The initiative is expected to help Unilever reach its pledge of net zero emissions from its products by 2039.

Peter ter Kulve, Unilever’s President of Home Care, explains: “Clean Future is our vision to radically overhaul our business. As an industry, we must break our dependence on fossil fuels, including as a raw material for our products.

"We must stop pumping carbon from under the ground when there is ample carbon on and above the ground if we can learn to utilise it at scale."