What's Anglo-Dutch and sold in every supermarket?... Unilever. The consumer packaged goods beast is dual-headquartered in London and Rotterdam — but its Axe body spray, Dollar Shave Club, and Dove soap are products without borders. Unilever doubled down on its global citizen-ness by pledging to cut the amount of virgin plastic it creates in half by 2025.
Sustainability. So hot right now... But former Unilever CEO Paul Polman was the trendsetter. Way back in 2010, he envisioned all its teas (including Lipton and a bunch others owned by Unilever) to be sustainably sourced by 2020 — fair working conditions, bribe-free deals, and environmentally safe processes. Now here comes the big BUT:
Sustainability is not anti-profit... There isn't necessarily a trade-off. Check out Unilever's Vermont-quisitions: Ben & Jerry's and Seventh Generation. Both build Earth-friendliness into their business models — and their mission-oriented brands let Unilever charge a higher price. Unilever's CEO believes its anti-plastic pledge will be pro-spending among the Millennials and Gen-Z who hold companies to higher standards.