Unilever Ghana unveils Sustainable Living Plan

Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Madam Sherry Aryeetey

Unilever Ghana Limited unveiled the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) to the public as part of activities to mark the U.N's World Environment Day which was observed on Sunday June 5 2011.

This was done at a ceremony under the theme “Growing Sustainably, Living Sustainably” to which its external stakeholders were invited.

Invitees were drawn from the Media, government and government agencies, NGOs, the private sector and other service providers.

The list included the Ministry of Environment, Science & Technology; the Ministry of Local Government & Rural Development; the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National food and Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the Ghana Journalists' Association (GJA) and the School Health Education Program (S.H.E.P) of the Ghana Education Service.

The Guest of Honour Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Madam Sherry Aryeetey, in her speech averred that “building bridges between biodiversity losses and poverty reduction is a crucial task. It includes strengthening the partnerships between biodiversity and development sectors like Unilever…”

She said such partnerships will provide a strong linkage between biodiversity, food and nutrition and thereby facilitate sustainable living. “…It is in this vein that the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan has come at the right time”.

She indicated that it was heart warming to know that Unilever recognises that growth at any cost is unacceptable, and has therefore developed news ways of doing business in order to increase the social benefits for its consumers while at the same time reducing its environmental impacts throughout the supply chain of its products.

Whilst lauding Unilever for being a great thought leader on such a pertinent global issue, she called on all stakeholders "to adopt this initiative for our mutual benefit”.

A deputy minister of Water Resource Works and Housing, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed who represented the sector minister pledged government's support in ensuring that the idea is sustained.

He said the ministry has undertaking certain projects in the past year which are intended to ensure that people have access to safe drinking water, adding Unilever's project will help intensify the process.

Other speakers from the EPA, the NAFCO, the GJA, the World Food Program (WFP) and Water Aid Ghana all affirmed the need for prompt pragmatic action to reverse the disturbing trend of environmental degradation to sustain the future of the earth and applauded Unilever for the great initiative.

They also made commitments to activating the SLP in their sectors.

The USLP is Unilever's response to the global challenge of worsening the climate change and its attendant negative repercussions. Under two main pillars of “Sustainable Living” and “Health and Well-being.”