Unilever Cleaners

2020: The plan to invest 1 billion euros in strategy development "The net future"

The Unilever company, producer of convenience goods, announced on September 3, 2020 plans by 2030 to replace in compoundings of the cleaners and funds for washing of 100% of the carbon received from fossil fuel with the carbon received from renewable or secondary sources. Strategy "The net future" is intended to change the principles of sustainable development of such brands as Domestos, Cif, Glorix, Omo and Sunlight. It will become the next step of Unilever on the way to achievement of zero level of carbon emissions from production and use of products by 2039 (the company announced this purpose in June, 2020 earlier).

According to Unilever, the company invests 1 billion euros in strategy development "The net future" which is continuation of initiatives of fund of Climate and Nature company with similar investment volume. The fund will help to finance researches in the field of biotechnologies, use of CO2, low-carbon chemistry, biodegradable and water-conservation structures and also reduction of use of primary plastic. The fund will serve mainly the purpose of creation of products of Unilever, available at the price.

The initiative is a crucial element of the program developed by division of Unilever on production of goods of household chemicals for the purpose of cardinal change of a method of creation, production and packaging of the cleaners and means for washing released by the company. The feature of this strategy consists in the aspiration of Unilever to implement the principles of economy of a closed loop both in packaging solutions, and in compoundings.

As you know, the chemicals used as a part of cleaners and means for washing are the main sources of carbon emissions in categories of means of household chemicals.

"The net future is the strategy of cardinal conversions in our business — Peter Ter Kulve, the global president of category of means of household chemicals of Unilever told. — In our industry we can put an end to dependence on the fossil types of fuel including used as raw materials for products. We should stop extracting carbon from the earth when on the earth and over its surface there are its alternative sources and to learn to use it commercially. For the last months we observed unprecedented demand for our cleaners, and we very much are proud of the fact that we can make a contribution to protection of the population in fight against COVID-19 pandemic. But on it it is impossible to stop. We are not able to afford to forget about ecological crises which our planet — our house faces. Environmental pollution. Destruction of the native habitat. Inevitable climatic problems. It is our general house, and we are obliged to protect it".

Domestos ECO

In Russia within an initiative "The net future" Unilever already created a number of products:

• Line of cleaners of the Cif "Force of nature" brand with the sparing formula on the basis of acetic acid, mainly with components of natural origin;
• Line of universal Domestos ECO cleaners on the basis of citric acid which do not contain chlorine, phosphates, parabens and aggressive substances and at the same time save the efficiency in processing of surfaces.

"Our goods of household chemicals in Russia are issued at the enterprise using 100% of wind energy and producing zero waste on burial, and are delivered in bottles, for 100% suitable for processing", - the marketing director of category of means of household chemicals of Unilever in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus told Anastasius Knorre.

Cif "Force of nature"

Within strategy "The net future" the company already implements projects in the industry of household chemicals worldwide. So, the calcinated soda is key ingredient of laundry detergents, but it is produced using a large number of the energy received from fossil fuel. For this reason Unilever cooperates with the Tuticorin Alkali Chemicals (TAC) company located in the south of India and Carbon Clean Solutions (CCSL) company. They became pioneers in the field of catching of CO2 from own production processes before this gas reaches the atmosphere, and in uses of collected CO2 as raw materials for production of the calcinated soda.

In Slovakia the company cooperates with Evonik Industries, the expert in the field of biotechnologies, for the purpose of development of monosaccharides, renewable and biodegradable surfactants which are already used in means for washing of ware of Sunlight in Chile and in Vietnam. Unilever hopes to expand use of both technologies and to develop them.

To implement a problem of decrease in a carbon trace from product compoundings, it is necessary to diversify carbon sources which are used by Unilever. The company calls the approach "A carbon palette" (Carbon Rainbow). His idea is that non-renewable sources ("black" carbon) will be replaced with the carbon collected from CO2 air ("violet" carbon), received from plants and the biological method ("green" carbon) selected from seaweed ("blue" carbon) and recovered from waste, such as plastic ("gray" carbon).

Unilever invests 1 billion euros in development of new strategy "The net future"

Diversification of sources of carbon takes the central place in strategy "The net future". This method of search of sources of carbon will be based on environmental impact assessment and will be performed in parallel with the industry programs of Unilever aimed at finding eco-friendly sources of carbon for the purpose of prevention of inadvertent impact on ecosystems.

Consumers want to use available at the price and eco-friendly products which do not concede on characteristics to products with standard compoundings. Rapid development of science and technology allows the company to offer consumers similar products, emphasized in Unilever.

The new bioeconomy and economy of a closed loop allows to avoid gradually use of fossil fuel and creates new rules of the game in our industry — added to Ter Kulva. — Diversification of sources of carbon is necessary for development within our planet. Sharing our model of "A carbon palette", we call the industry for the general economic conversion of methods of use of carbon.