THE WHAT? The Unilever Board has announced its intention to put its climate transition plan before shareholders to seek a non-binding advisory vote on its emissions reductions targets and the path it has mapped to achieve them.

THE DETAILS The plan sets out the company’s climate strategy as well as how the FMCG manufacturer is responding to consumer needs relating to climate change and our societal response to the issue.

The plan will be shared in the first quarter of fiscal 2021, ahead of Unilever’s AGM, scheduled for May 5. Unilever intends to seek an advisory vote every three years on any material changes made to the plan.

THE WHY? Alan Jope, Unilever CEO said, “Climate change is the most pressing issue of our time and we are determined to play a leadership role in accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon economy.

“We have a wide ranging and ambitious set of climate commitments – but we know they are only as good as our delivery against them. That’s why we will be sharing more detail with our shareholders who are increasingly wanting to understand more about our strategy and plans.

“We welcome this increased transparency and in the plan we present, we will be clear both about the areas in our direct control where we have a high degree of certainty of our route to net zero, as well as more challenging areas across our value chain where systemic solutions will be required to achieve our targets.”