Beauty Industry

Unilever’s Third Annual Summit

The company's CEO challenges youth leaders.

Author Image

By: Jamie Matusow

Editor-in-Chief

Unilever recently held its third annual One Young World Summit, which was a three-day event attended by 1,300 young leaders from 182 countries. Its focus is to inspire attendees to create positive global change.

As one of the counselors to the young delegates, Unilever’s CEO Paul Polman challenged the crowd to “remake capitalism.” He called upon the audience to start businesses that will create opportunities for others, drive positive social change, and address issues such as climate change.

“A 21st century form of business is where the everyday consumer is helping to shape the social contract—moving from a value-based transaction to a values-based partnership,” said Polman.

Unilever says it is setting an example with its Sustainable Living Plan, which was launched in 2010, and can be looked upon as a blueprint for a new business model. It contains 50 goals, aimed at halving the company’s environmental impact, and sourcing 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably.

“We want to show that it is possible to do well and do good on a mass scale. We want to show that big doesn’t have to be bad and that it’s not only small that’s beautiful,” stated Polman.

Keep Up With Our Content. Subscribe To Beauty Packaging Newsletters