Polytechnic University of the Philippines

College of Communications
Department of Advertising and Public Relations
Sta. Mesa Manila

PR Case Study: Unilever Makes

Sustainability Business as Usual

BAPR 4 1S

GROUP 6
Rheinalyn Samonte
Alyssa Revatoris
Sheila Calda
Aimee Teng
Camille Adriano
April Burgos

Table of Contents
I.

Appreciation of the Situation

a. Context of the Case
b. Viewpoint

II.

Objectives
a. General Objective
b. Strategic Objective
c. Behavioral Objective

III. Areas of Consideration

IV. Action Plan
a. Executions
V. Budget Plan
VI. Media Scheduling
VII. Results and Conclusion

I.

Appreciation of the situation

The purpose of Unilever is to make sustainable living a commonplace. They are

developing new business practices that grow their company and communities, meeting
peoples desire for more sustainable products and creating a brighter future. The
Unilever Sustainable Living plan help double the size of their business while reducing
their environmental footprint and increasing their positive social impact.
With Unilevers plans on starting a fourth plant in China they are considering the
opportunities and threats of this project. China with its 1,401,586,609 population
currently ranks as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. This year, Chinas
carbon dioxide emission is about 8286892 or 24.65% of the total carbon dioxide
emission of the world according to World Resources Institute.

a. Context of the Case

Unilever Head Office, China September 2015

b. Viewpoint
Unilever China In-house PR department

II. Objectives
General Objective
To create a sustainable program that decreases the emission of
carbon dioxide
Strategic Objective
a. Change Unilevers delivery trucks specifically in China, into solar
powered trucks

Behavioral Objectives
a. New solar powered trucks that decreases emission of carbon dioxide
b. Better alternative for delivering products across China

III. Areas of Consideration

China: cooperation of the local governments (Hefei, Sichuan and Tianjin)
on the project

Management of Unilever: commitment on supporting the project

IV. Action Plan

Launch the solar-powered delivery trucks in Unilever plants in
China
AVP for Unilevers solar-powered delivery trucks in China
Press Release and Print ads for solar-powered trucks

V. Media Scheduling
Programs
Audio-Visual
Presentation
Press Release

Print ad

Oct
2015

Nov
2015

Dec
2015

Jan
2016

Feb
2016

Mar
2016

VI. Budget
The budget for this PR plan is 15 million.

Budget

Print Ads; 3% Press Release; 2%

Solar Powered Trucks; 95%

VII. Results and Conclusion

Better understanding about the importance of sustainability

A helpful alternative for delivering products across China

 Decrease in carbon dioxide emission of China

EXECUTIONS:
Audio-Visual Presentation Storyboard

Print Ad for the Solar-Powered Trucks

News Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
27 September, 2015
Contact: Unilever Head Office, China PR Department
Telephone: 365-4355
E-mail: unilever_sustainbilityproject@unilever.com
Website: www.unilever.com

Unilever: Sustainability Business as Usual

Shanghai China, September 27, 2015 Despite Unilevers implementation of various

environmentally friendly technologies to help different countries, the company discloses how
much carbon dioxide and hazardous waste its factories discharge around the world.
Unilever is but one example of best-practiced companies that have moved past the tacit
attention firms paid to green marketing in the 1990s and on to an emerging global movement
of sustainability-put simply, an enterprise doing well by doing good.
The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan sets out to decouple the companys growth from their
environmental impact, while at the same time increasing Unilevers positive social impact. The
plan has three big goals that by 2020 will enable them to: Help more than a billion people to
improve their health and well-being, halve the environmental footprint of their products and
source 100% of the companys agricultural raw materials sustainably and enhance the
livelihoods of people across their value chain.
The Unilevers main objective is to fund a project that will help decrease the emission of carbon
dioxide in China. The kickoff is scheduled on October 1, 2015.

QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION

1. What stakeholders are served by sustainability efforts?
-

Sustainability provides long term solutions to the community

2. What are the advantages to the organization itself by investing in

sustainability? What are potential downsides of not doing so?

A company that has a positive reputation has a competitive advantage. It uses

their resources more efficiently and it enhances their relationships with
customers, suppliers and communities.
Helping nations wrestle with poverty, water scarcity and the effects of climate
change is vital to staying competitive in coming decades.
Numbers for return-on-sustainability-investment show stronger financial
performance nearly universally for sustainability-focused firms within any given
competitive set.
The downsides of not engaging with sustainability efforts can cause damage to
the companys reputation for poor labor and environmental practices to the
companys stock price

3. How could a firm potentially measure the profit impact of its

sustainability strategies?
- A firm/ company can potentially measure the profit impact of its sustainability
strategies through the companys continuous swelling of profit/ investments and
positive improvement of reputation.