Unilever secures sustainable soy certificates

Unilever has demonstrated its commitment to environmental measures by purchasing some of the first available certificates for sustainable soy.

The multinational firm has purchased certificates that cover 5,000 tonnes of sustainable soy oil for use in the manufacturing of its consumer products, thus supporting its long-term Sustainable Living Plan.

Unilever is among the founding members of the Round Table on Responsible Soy and currently purchases around one percent of the 40 million tonnes of soy oil produced worldwide per year.

Its announcement is a milestone in its plan to source all soy oils sustainably by 2020, which in turn forms part of its wider goal of halving its environmental footprint by this date.

Pier Luigi Sigismondi, chief supply chain officer at Unilever, said: "We can't change agricultural practices across the world overnight, but by working closely with others … we can begin to precipitate change."

Last month, the company agreed a new manufacturing alliance with Jacobs Engineering Group that will also help it to improve its efficiency and sustainability.