Sustainable Living Plan (see below).
The Committee’s agenda comprises a number of standing items. These include the Code of Business Principles (the Code) and litigation as well as occupational safety and product safety and quality. The Committee reviews priority topics, such as the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), the corporate risks which fall within its remit and a range of strategic and current issues. In July, the new Chair of the Committee formulated a new structure for Committee discussions, enabling members to focus in detail on these responsibilities.
CODE OF BUSINESS PRINCIPLES
The Committee is responsible for the oversight of the Code and associated Code Policies which set out the standards of conduct we expect of our employees.
The Committee ensures that the Code and Code Policies remain fit for purpose and are appropriately applied. The Audit
Committee also considers the Code as part of its remit to review risk management.
ATTENDANCE
Louise Fresco 4 / 4
Chairman of the Corporate Responsibility Committee
Sir Malcolm Rifkind 2 / 2
Hixonia Nyasulu 2 / 2
Laura Cha 2 / 2
Charles Golden 2 / 2
This table shows the attendance of Directors at Committee meetings for the year ended 31 December 2013. If Directors are unable to attend a meeting, they have the opportunity beforehand to discuss any agenda items with the Committee Chairman. Attendance is expressed as the number of meetings attended out of the number eligible to be attended.
• Scrutiny of Unilever’s Code of Business
Principles
• Review of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan
and its social impacts
• Compliance with Code of Business Principles,
particularly by third parties
• The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan: progress
on delivering the Plan and monitoring the social
impacts of the Plan
• Product quality and food safety
• Increased regulation
COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND ATTENDANCE
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2013
PRIORITIES FOR 2014
56 Governance UnileverAnnual Report and Accounts 2013
REPORT OF THE CORPORATE
The Committee maintains close scrutiny of the mechanisms for compliance with the Code and Code Policies as ongoing
compliance is essential to promote and protect Unilever’s values and standards, and hence the good reputation of the Group. At each meeting the Committee reviews the completion of investigations into non-compliance with the Code and Code Policies and progress on training programmes as well as any trends which may emerge from reports of Code non-compliance. Following a benchmarking exercise on codes of conduct, the Committee was pleased to note that while Unilever compares well with others, it seeks continuous improvement and work is ongoing to enhance compliance with Code processes.
In July, suppliers’ and distributors’ compliance with Code policies was also studied by the Committee. The Committee noted that third parties’ compliance is essential for the protection of the reputation of Unilever and its brands and has set this as a priority for 2014.
LITIGATION REVIEW
The Chief Legal Officer reports to the Committee on litigation and regulatory matters which may have a reputational impact including environmental issues, bribery and corruption compliance and competition law compliance. For further information on ‘legal proceedings’ please see note 20 on page 131.
SAFETY
The Committee receives an analysis of occupational safety and product safety and quality at each meeting. Occupational safety continues to be a top priority for Unilever, particularly road safety where Unilever is sharing best practices and learning from a number of FTSE 100 companies. The Committee also discussed Unilever’s policies and processes for product safety, including incident management, and noted that Unilever adopts a systematic approach that focuses on prevention.
UNILEVER SUSTAINABLE LIVING PLAN
The USLP is at the heart of Unilever’s vision to double the size of its business while reducing its environmental footprint and increasing its positive social impact. By making sustainability integral to how Unilever does business, the USLP provides the differentiator in Unilever’s business model. Given its strategic importance, the Committee monitors progress on the USLP and reviews any potential risks that could affect Unilever’s reputation. During the year the Committee transitioned its responsibility for overseeing the independent assurance work that is performed on a number of our USLP metrics (selected on the basis of their materiality to the USLP) to the Audit Committee. This allows the Committee to place more focus on the USLP’s wider social, economic and environmental impacts. In September, the two Committees came together for a detailed briefing on the USLP’s targets and metrics as well as the priority issues Unilever was addressing in 2013.
One of the Committee’s priorities in 2014 is to ensure that delivery of the USLP is maintained through appropriate business strategies. In the three years since its launch at the end of 2010, much has been learned in driving the implementation of the USLP across the organisation and externally through its value chain from suppliers to consumers. Unilever is reviewing its strategy and approach to focus its attention on the areas that matter most to the business and where its contribution can achieve the greatest impact in society. This includes the extension of the Enhancing Livelihoods pillar of the USLP1, where Unilever has gained insights into the
impacts of its extended value chain from working with NGO partners such as Oxfam. The Committee reviewed the findings from Oxfam’s study of Unilever in Vietnam2 and welcomed the
FURTHER ITEMS
A number of other priority topics were considered during the year. These included topics such as obesity, progress on alternatives to animal testing, consumer confidence in the use of chemicals and responsible minerals procurement, as well as the processes in place for managing issues such as these.
EVALUATION OF THE CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY COMMITTEE
The Boards evaluated the performance of the Committee and the Committee carried out a self-assessment of its performance, and each has concluded that the Committee is performing effectively.
Louise Fresco
Chairman of the Corporate Responsibility Committee
Charles Golden Laura Cha
1 Further details can be found in Unilever’s online Sustainable Living Report
2013, published in April 2014.
2 See Labour Rights in Unilever’s Supply Chain: from Compliance towards
Good Practice at http://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/news/news/ February-2013-Unilever-puts-spotlight-on-human-and-labour-rights.aspx
ATTENDANCE
Kees Storm 4 / 4
Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Ann Fudge 2 / 2
Sir Malcolm Rifkind 2 / 2
Michael Treschow 4 / 4
Paul Walsh 2 / 2
The composition of the Committee changed after the 2013 AGMs. This table shows the attendance of Directors at Committee meetings for the year ended 31 December 2013. If Directors are unable to attend a meeting, they have the opportunity beforehand to discuss any agenda items with the Committee Chairman. Attendance is expressed as the number of meetings attended out of the number eligible to be attended.