2011 24% of agricultural raw materials sustainably sourced 64% of our palm oil now sourced sustainably 48 million people reached with Lifebuoy soap handwashing programmes 100% of our electricity purchased in Europe now from renewable sources Over 90% of our leading spreads contain less than 1/3 saturated fat 35 million people have gained access to safe drinking water from Pureit since 2005
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2010- By the end of the year we reached our 2010 target for palm oil by sourcing over 30% of our global needs sustainably. Over 20% of our tea was purchased from Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM farms
In November 2010, we launched our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. The Plan contains over 50 targets that will help more than one billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, halve the environmental footprint of the making and use of our products and source 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020 In October 2010, Unilever was listed in the top 10% of the CDP FTSE 350 companies  Named sustainability sector leader in Dow Jones Sustainability Index for twelfth consecutive year
In July 2010, Unilever was named 'Company of the Year' by the UK's Business in the Community (BITC) for demonstrating a real depth of understanding on sustainability issues and consumer engagement right across the business and through its brands Launched our sustainable paper and board policy and target in July 2010. This commits us to work with suppliers to source 75% of our paper and board packaging from sustainably managed forests or from recycled material by 2015 and source 100% by 2020 In June 2010, Unilever was ranked top of the FTSE Carbon Strategy Index
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2009Launched ambitious new vision to double the size of our business while reducing our overall environmental impact across the entire value chain 15% of the tea we use globally is sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms 15% of our palm oil is now from certified sustainable sources via GreenPalm certificates 44% of products in our food portfolio are in line with internationally accepted guidelines for saturated and trans fat, sugar and salt New 'Heart Age' tool attracted around 1.5 million people to assess their cardiovascular risk factors  Launched global 'Brush Day and Night' campaign with FDI World Dental Federation
Named food industry sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes for the 11th year running – the only company ever to have achieved this Lifebuoy soap promoted Global Handwashing Day 2009 in 23 countries, reaching millions of people Purchased around 430 000 climate-friendly HC refrigerant ice cream cabinets over the period 2004–2009 Reduced the environmental impacts of our manufacturing operations for our three key performance indicators of CO2 from energy, water use and total waste Reached the top third of a reference group of 21 consumer goods companies for total shareholder return Recognised as 'best practice' company in the Natural Value Initiative's Ecosystem Services Benchmark
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2008Committed to source all our palm oil from certified sustainable sources by 2015 Purchased first batch of certified sustainable palm oil in November Around 50% of the tea for Lipton Yellow Label and PG Tips tea bags in Western Europe was sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms Lifebuoy co-founded the first-ever Global Handwashing Day Lifebuoy's Swasthya Chetna hygiene education campaign reached 120 million people in nearly 51 000 villages in India over the period 2002–2008 Signal/Pepsodent/Close Up toothpaste brands reached more than 44 million children in school-based oral hygiene programmes over the period 1996–2008 Named food industry category leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes for the tenth year running – the only company ever to have achieved this
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2007Nutrition Enhancement Programme completed Lipton sustainable tea partnership with Rainforest Alliance launched Independent study on the impacts of our South Africa business completed PROGRESS, a foods sector industry partnership on supplier standards, launched with Unilever as a founding member
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2006Brand Imprint methodology piloted Choices nutrition labelling launched Shakti – our rural sales initiative in India – reaches 100 000 villages through 30 000 entrepreneurs Round Table on Responsible Soy Association established
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2005Nutrition Enhancement Programme begins 56% of our fish used in Europe from sustainable sources Joint research published with Oxfam on the links between wealth creation and poverty reduction
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2000Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Board established Project Shakti launched in India to increase rural distribution and help create women entrepreneurs First social report published
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1996Fish sustainability initiative sets long-term goal of sustainable sourcing Marine Stewardship Council co-founded with WWF First environmental report published containing eco-efficiency indicators
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1935- During the Great Depression Unilever produces soap flakes and powders to make washing easier, and also fortifies margarines with vitamins A & D
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1926Lever Brothers launches its Clean Hands campaign to educate children about dirt and germs and to encourage them to wash their hands "before breakfast, before dinner and after school" Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie join to create Unilever
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1905- Lever Brothers and Van den Bergh and Jurgens – the forerunners of Unilever – take hygiene and nutrition to the developing world
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1884- Lever & Co starts producing Sunlight soap with the mission "to make cleanliness commonplace; to lessen the work for women; to foster health and contribute to personal attractiveness that life may be more enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use our products".
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