Ethics & Stakeholder Management Module 1 Chapter Content Review

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Module 1 – Chapter Content Review

Report 

Ethics & Stakeholder Management

 (MGMT 703)
Ethics & Stakeholder Management Module 1 Chapter Content Review
Report

1. Unilever is one of the world leading consumer goods company with a primary purpose ‘to make

sustainable living a commonplace.’ To achieve this goal, Unilever launched “The Unilever

Sustainable Living Plan (USLP)” in 2010, intending to help the community by overcoming the

environmental damage done by people in ways that can last longer for both Earth and the

community[CITATION Uni \l 16393 ]. With the help of its 400 brands sold in more than 190

countries, it is generating equal wealth and job opportunities, and is also contributing to society by

investing in public goods and services in order to improve people’s quality of life. It is embedding

the ‘USLP’ targets into its regular working routines and procedures so that they can have a great

impact on the enhancement of the society. As per CDP’s Global Supply Chain Report (2018),

Unilever is one of the companies that has been using innovative ways to reduce the environmental

risks by cutting harmful gas emissions in its supply chain. Unilever believes that with its rising

growth, they have a great responsibility towards the nation, which is why they are helping the

societies and economies worldwide by making some meaningful changes. 

2. The important stakeholders of Unilever are:

 Suppliers: Unilever works every day with thousands of its suppliers to globally sell its

products to billions of people. Its growth and success are significantly based on the

strategic mutual relationship with its suppliers as they help Unilever deliver leading-edge

products and new innovative ideas.

 Consumer: As per Unilever (2020), around 2.5 billion people consume its products every

day which makes them an essential stakeholder for its continuous growth. With the

changing healthy lifestyle of people, Unilever is helping consumers improve their health

and well-being by providing hygienic and nutritious food and personal care products.

 Employees: Unilever believes that its employees are the key to its success. So, it promotes

the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of its employees to motivate them and keep

the environment positive in the workplace [ CITATION Uni3 \l 16393 ]. 

 Competitors such as Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, etc
Ethics & Stakeholder Management Module 1 Chapter Content Review
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 Other main stakeholders of Unilever are the investors, communities, the government,

NGOs, scientists, trade associations, etc.

3. In my view, Social or Sociocultural factors are the most important to Unilever as it is affected by

demographic changes, the standard of living of the consumers, increased health awareness, beliefs,

etc. Unilever highlights the problems of both social and environmental factors and is growing by

selling the products that directly address the consumer’s increasing desire for healthy products. As

per the study by Unilever (2017), 33 percent of its consumers are willing to buy sustainable

products in nature. Moreover, due to increasing environmentalism, Unilever can persuade more

consumers by improving its environmental impact. According to Eschner (2019), Unilever has

been using bioplastic and metal bottles for its packaging and has cut down plastic bottles’ usage by

15%.

In my opinion, the least affected factor by Unilever is technological factor. Unilever has been

creating new products and selling them online irrespective of the location of the brands. But

Unilever does not have a direct relationship with the sales and the preferences of the consumers.

Customers that Unilever has earned is due to its goodwill and better quality of its products.

4. In my opinion, Unilever is performing well on both the dimensions of a social contract. On the

laws and regulation dimension, Unilever complies with the rules and regulations of the countries it

operates in and motivates its employees to do the same. It does not encourage anyone in its

company to give or receive any type of bribes for its benefits[ CITATION Uni4 \l 16393 ]. Focusing

on the shared understanding dimension, Unilever treats its stakeholder with equal respect and

engages with them and NGOs to enhance the health and lifestyle of the communities worldwide. 
Ethics & Stakeholder Management Module 1 Chapter Content Review
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References

Carroll, A.B., Brown, J. A., & Buchholtz, A. K. (2018). Business & society ethics, sustainability, and
stakeholder management. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning
CDP. (n.d.). Global Supply Chain Report 2018. Retrieved from CDP:
https://www.cdp.net/en/research/global-reports/global-supply-chain-report-2018
Eschner, K. (2019, July 14). Unilever’s plan to stop massive plastic pollution from destroying the
oceans. Retrieved from CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/14/global-plastic-polluter-
unilevers-plan-to-stop-destroying-the-oceans.html
Unilever. (2017, January 05). Report shows a third of consumers prefer sustainable brands. Retrieved
from Unilever. com: https://www.unilever.com/news/press-releases/2017/report-shows-a-
third-of-consumers-prefer-sustainable-brands.html
Unilever. (2020). About Unilever. Retrieved from Unilever.com:
https://www.unilever.com/about/who-we-are/about-Unilever/
Unilever. (2020). Engaging with stakeholders. Retrieved from Unilever.com:
https://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/our-approach-to-reporting/engaging-with-
stakeholders/
Unilever. (2020). Improving employee health & well-being. Retrieved from Unilever.com:
https://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/enhancing-livelihoods/fairness-in-the-
workplace/improving-employee-health-and-well-being/
Unilever. (2020). Sustainable Living. Retrieved from Unilever.com:
https://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/
Unilever. (n.d.). Code of Business Principles and Code Policies. Retrieved from Unilever.com:
Unilever has gained positive consumer confidence because of its community involvement.