Better Health for All

Unilever issued a voluntary recall in October 2022 for select dry shampoo aerosol products, including brands like Dove and TRESemmé, produced prior to October 2021, due to the potential presence of benzene, a human carcinogen.

The company disclosed this issue and initiated the recall with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration , and no adverse events were reported to date in connection with the recalled products. In terms of nutrition, 95% of its packaged ice cream products contain no more than 250 calories per serving. Additionally, Unilever has been the first company to annually disclose its portfolio against six externally endorsed Nutrient Profiling Models since 2022.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Unilever PLC is a multinational consumer goods company, manufacturing and marketing products in food, home care, and personal care sectors.

The 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' ethical value specifically assesses activities related to lending, insuring, moving, or storing money, focusing on financial institutions and their services. The provided articles do not contain any evidence that Unilever offers financial products or services to consumers, nor do they provide data relevant to financial inclusion, lending practices, or customer financial outcomes. Therefore, all KPIs related to financial services are omitted due to a lack of applicable evidence.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Approximately 55% of Unilever's global workforce is covered by independent trade unions or collective bargaining agreements, with 82% coverage for manufacturing employees.

The CEO total compensation to median employee pay ratio is 81:1. Employee engagement is indicated by an 82% employee recommendation rate on Glassdoor , and 84% of office employee survey respondents agreed Unilever cares about their wellbeing in 2023. However, 80% of employees report feeling burnt out. For pay equity, the median pay for women is 14.1% lower than for men in Unilever UK Central Resources Limited , while other UK entities show women earning more than men (0.8% higher UK-wide mean , 7.7% higher in Unilever UK Limited , and 4.8% higher in Unilever (UK) Gender Pay Report ). There have been no substantiated labour-law or human-rights violations in the past three years, and Unilever operates a confidential "Speak up" platform and external hotline. The Occupational Illness Frequency Rate (OIFR) for direct employees was 0.12 per million hours worked in 2023. Unilever announced 7,500 global job cuts. Workers in Unilever's Ivory Coast unit claim the company is violating their collective bargaining agreement regarding severance pay during a share sale, leading to protests and a meeting with the Labor Inspectorate. The agreement pledges medical coverage for a maximum of six months in the event of layoffs.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

In 2024, 79% of Unilever's 12 key crops were sustainably sourced.

By the end of 2023, Unilever was independently verified as 97.5% deforestation-free in its sourcing of five key commodities, indicating 2.5% of sourcing for these commodities was not deforestation-free.

Honest & Fair Business

No specific, quantifiable evidence was found in the provided articles to assess Unilever PLC against any of the 'Honest & Fair Business' KPIs. While one article mentions a lawsuit against Unilever (UL.US) alleging securities law violations, it does not provide details on fines, a recognized controversy score, or other specific metrics required by the rubric.

Other articles either explicitly state that information for the KPIs is not mentioned or provide only general statements about policies being in place without the necessary details on their strength, enforcement, or effectiveness to map to the rubric's quantitative thresholds.

Kind to Animals

Unilever maintains a policy against animal testing, stating it does not conduct or fund animal testing for product safety and only does so when legally required

. This policy extends to its Responsible Partner Policy for suppliers, and for foods and beverages, it does not conduct or fund animal testing . The company uses computer modelling and cell culture-based experiments as alternatives to animal tests , backed by long-term investment in non-animal safety science . Unilever is a founding member of the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS) and partners with the US Environmental Protection Agency since 2015 , European researchers in the ASPIS cluster , and Humane Society International since 2018 , which led to the Animal-Free Safety Assessment (AFSA) Collaboration and Masterclass launched in 2023 . Unilever actively advocates for non-animal safety science , supports the European Commission's commitment to phase out animal testing , and championed the successful European Citizens Initiative #SaveCrueltyFreeCosmetics . Brands including Dove, Axe, TRESemmé, and Sunsilk are certified by PETA as ‘PETA-approved’ . Additionally, Unilever has launched its first regenerative agriculture project in the UK , funded through the Climate & Nature Fund , working with farms that grow ingredients for Colman’s products .

No War, No Weapons

Unilever continues operations and sells products in Russia, a country under sanctions, and was added to Kyiv's "International Sponsors of War" list in 2022.

In 2022, the company's net profit from Russia was 2%, and it paid US$331 million in taxes to the Russian state budget. Unilever states it complies with Russian law requiring employee conscription. While a policy exists to review operations in Russia, the company has chosen to continue selling "everyday essential food" products, indicating a lack of divestment from a conflict zone. Unilever focuses on compliance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and publishes a UN Global Compact Communication on Progress. However, its Responsible Partner Policy audits revealed 9,393 non-conformances across 70 countries in 2023, indicating major gaps in implementation. For conflict minerals, the company's 2022 and 2024 disclosures state there is no reason to believe any conflict minerals in its products originated from the Democratic Republic of Congo or adjoining countries, and products are annually reviewed for conflict minerals.

Planet-Friendly Business

Unilever's previous emissions mitigation strategies were found to fall short of SBTi targets by 45%, potentially aligning with a 2°C warming scenario by 2030, despite new targets being included in the 2024 update.

In 2024, 58.28% of total energy consumed was from renewable sources. The company has a stated target year of 2030 for becoming a carbon neutral company, with commitments for 100% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and specific Scope 3 reductions by 2030.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Unilever's Magnum ice cream marketing campaign in Pakistan used a black man submerged in chocolate as a prop, which was criticized as a racist trope.

In response to this cultural appropriation incident, Unilever maintained silence for several days.

Safe & Smart Tech

Unilever has implemented a comprehensive AI ethics process, including evangelism, policy development, recording, review, and action, overseen by a governing board of experts.

A key policy ensures that decisions with significant life impact are not fully automated, emphasizing accountability and ongoing model monitoring. The company utilizes an AI assurance process that includes bias and fairness checks, efficacy assessments, statistical tests, and external expert involvement, having performed over 200 audits for more than 300 AI projects. Unilever provides users with privacy rights such as the Right to Know, Access, Correct, Delete, Opt-Out of Data Sales or Sharing, and Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information, with a formal process for exercising these rights, a Right to Appeal, and recognition of the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal. The company retains biometric information for no more than three years from the individual’s last interaction and generally retains personal information only as long as necessary. Unilever maintains a strong regulatory compliance program, with dedicated teams and legal specialists monitoring privacy laws and regulations, systems to monitor compliance, and proactive consideration of the EU AI Act and GDPR. Its privacy policy was last updated on January 1, 2026. The company has an established Vulnerability Disclosure Policy (VDP) and uses Bugcrowd for submissions. Privacy principles are integrated into AI development and the AI assurance process, aligning with existing privacy, security, and procurement policies.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Unilever's current plastic packaging is 72% designed for recycling

, with 0.2% of its plastic packaging being reusable . The company used 22% recycled plastic in its global portfolio in 2023 . Despite commitments, plastic packaging production has not decreased, and sachet production has steadily increased, with over 53 billion sachets projected for 2023 . Unilever has initiated more than 50 waste reduction initiatives , including refill programs in Indonesia, but a sachet recycling facility in Indonesia reportedly failed . The company has not had any waste disposal violations mentioned in the past three years. Unilever has company-wide targets to halve virgin plastic use by 2025 and reduce it by 30% by 2026 and 40% by 2028 , but the 2025 target is not on track and is projected to be missed until at least 2034 .