Organisational Overview: Unilever Bangladesh

Unilever Bangladesh Limited (UBL) is a division of Unilever Plc, a global consumer goods
corporation. Since its founding in 1954, UBL (Unilever Bangladesh CSR Initiatives | PPT,
SlideShare) has developed into a major force in the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods)
industry in Bangladesh.

Popular brands from a variety of sectors, including Foods (Lipton, Knorr), Personal Care (Fair &
Lovely, Sunsilk), and Home Care (Surf Excel, Vim) are among the company's varied portfolio
(Unilever Bangladesh – Our Brands, [https://www.unilever.com.bd/]
(https://www.unilever.com.bd/)). UBL reaches millions of customers in Bangladesh through a
network of distributors (Unilever Bangladesh CSR Initiatives | PPT, SlideShare).

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Unilever:

The company philosophy of Unilever is firmly rooted in its commitment to CSR. By reducing
its growth’s link to the environment and boosting positive social impact, Unilever hopes to
“make sustainable living commonplace” (Unilever’s approach to corporate social responsibility,
[https://www.unilever.com/files/origin/b7c407227f4eb0b869ff1b6b50f81d5c50ccdecd.pdf/2000-
social-review-of-1999-data.pdf]).2000-social-review-of-1999-data.pdf
(https://www.unilever.com/files/origin/b7c407227f4eb0b869ff1b6b50f81d5c50ccdecd.pdf)).
Three main pillars are the emphasis of this plan:

1. **Improving health and wellbeing:** This includes programs that support access to clean
water, hygienic living, and nutrition.
2. **Reducing environmental impact:** This includes aims such as cutting water and greenhouse
gas emissions across the supply chain.
3. **Improving livelihoods**: This include encouraging ethical labor practices and providing
assistance to smallholder farmers. (Unilever’s CSR policy,
[https://www.unilever.com/files/origin/b7c407227f4eb0b869ff1b6b50f81d5c50ccdecd.pdf/2000-
social-review-of-1999-data.pdf](https://www.unilever.com/files/origin/
b7c407227f4eb0b869ff1b6b50f81d5c50ccdecd.pdf/2000-social-review-of-1999-data.pdf)
 Focus on Bangladesh

Through a number of CSR initiatives, Unilever Bangladesh actively supports the USLP
(Unilever Bangladesh – Sustainability,
[https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/sustainability-goes-mainstream-unilever-
bangladesh-shows-the-way-3201111](https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/
sustainability-goes-mainstream-unilever-bangladesh-shows-the-way-3201111)). Among the
crucial areas of attention are:

* **Empowering Women:** UBL encourages gender equality initiatives within its workforce
and supports women entrepreneurs. * **Promoting Hygiene and Sanitation:** This includes
giving rural populations access to clean water and implementing hygiene education programs.
* **Sustainable Sourcing:** UBL collaborates with farmers to advance environmentally friendly
farming methods.
* **Waste Reduction:** The business prioritizes encouraging recycling programs and reducing
packaging waste.

**CSR’s Anticipated Contribution to Performance Improvement:**

This term paper investigates the claim that employee engagement and organizational
performance are positively impacted by Unilever Bangladesh’s CSR initiatives. A rising corpus
of studies points to a direct link between successful corporate social responsibility initiatives and
business performance. Here are a few possible advantages:

* **Increased Employee Engagement:** Workers are more likely to be motivated and engaged if
they believe their organization is having a positive social impact (Wayne & Lyon, 2018).
* **Enhanced Employer Brand:** According to Cone Communications (2017), a solid CSR
reputation helps draw in and keep top personnel.
* **Enhanced Customer Loyalty:** According to Cone Communications (2017), buyers are
becoming more and more influenced by a brand’s environmental and social ideals.
* **Operational Efficiency:** Using sustainable practices can result in better resource
management and cost savings (KPMG, 2020).
**Gap in Research and Goals:**

There has been much research on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR)
and organizational performance, but not much on Unilever Bangladesh’s particular setting. In
order to close this gap, this study will:

 **Examining the CSR initiatives of Unilever Bangladesh.** * **Evaluating how staff

members see the company’s CSR initiatives.**

References

* In 2017, Cone Communications. Cone Communications’ CSR Study from 2017. [https://cone-
communications.sustainablebrands.com/brands]Cone Communications:
https://sustainablebrands.com/brands/
* KPMG, 2020. The CEO Must Recognize the Value of ESG. The eSG Financial Value Survey
(2023) can be accessed at https://kpmg.com/us/en/articles/2023.html.The eSG Financial Value
Survey (2023) can be accessed at https://kpmg.com/us/en/articles/2023.html.
* CSR Initiatives of Unilever Bangladesh | PowerPoint. The Bangladesh Sustainability
Excellence Award is won by Unilever Bangladesh [https://www.unilever.com.bd/news/press-
releases/2023/unilever-bangladesh-wins/].[Source: /news/press-releases/2023/Unilever-
Bangladesh-Wins-the-Bangladesh Sustainability Excellence Award] from
[https://www.slideshare.net/SifatFaridi221051043/unilever-bangladeshpptx] (SlideShare)This
link: https://www.slideshare.net/SifatFaridi221051043/unilever-bangladeshpptx
* Our Brands at Unilever Bangladesh. [www.unilever.com.bd/] is the URL.taken from
unilever.com.bd at (https://www.unilever.com.bd/).
* Sustainability – Unilever Bangladesh.
[https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/unilever-bangladesh-shows-the-way-
3201111] Sustainability is becoming more and more mainstream.(The Daily Star, November 21,
2016, Business, Economics, News, Sustainability becomes mainstream)Retrieved from
unilever.com.bd, -unilever-bangladesh-shows-the-way-3201111
* The corporate social responsibility strategy of Unilever. The following URL was taken from
unilever.com:
[https://www.unilever.com/files/origin/b7c407227f4eb0b869ff1b6b50f81d5c50ccdecd.pdf/2000-
social-review-of-1999-data.pdf]
* Lyon, F., and S. Wayne (2018). Utilizing corporate social responsibility to increase employee
engagement. A European Review of Business Ethics, 27(1),