Unilever Nigeria : 2022 Sustainability Report

His Majesty, Nnaemeka A. Achebe

CFR, MNI

Chairman

Mr. Carl Cruz

Managing Director

West Africa

Chairman & CEO Statement

Business and

Purpose

The start of every year brings much hope for new possibilities and opportunities. This is what 2022, like every other year signified to us. However, the journey through the year proved challenging and, at some intervals, appeared insurmountable. There were disruptions on many fronts that challenged business operations. From the global impact on the supply chain caused by the Russian-Ukraine war to local incidences like flooding in States across the country, the business operating environment was directly impacted by these occurrences.

Experts from the Economist Intelligence Unit forecasted that the war led to a global inflation jump of above 6%. Recall that the global supply chain is still mainly recovering from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. From an economic perspective, the inflation instability negatively impacted consumers' consumption and spending patterns. Furthermore, the latest records from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics show that 3 in 5 Nigerians are multidimensionally poor. This implies that 133 million Nigerians lack access to employment, good medical care, quality education, clean energy, and good living standards.

Major events have shaped Sustainability and ESG conversations on the global stage in the reporting year. Two key events: COP 27 and COP 15 - contributed to these conversations, highlighting the need to sustain the momentum in delivering purposeful business achievements for people and the planet. While the discussions around

climate change and biodiversity have gained ground within the last half a decade, more action and shifts are needed from the private sector and policymakers. At Unilever Nigeria, we are committed to being at the epicentre of positive societal transformation through environmental stewardship, wealth creation, or contributing to solving many of these pressing challenges where we can. Businesses thrive better in a world where the principle of sustainability is entrenched in social, environmental, and economic values. It is mutually reinforcing.

This is officially our fourth reporting year. Since the inception of our sustainability reporting journey in 2019, we have been consistent with disclosing our impact to both our internal and external stakeholders. It has not been a journey without trials, but one which each difficulty provides us with a channel to learn, review or reform, and identify new ways of doing things. We also have institutionalized sustainable practices across the business and reaffirmed our commitment to building a purpose-led business.

This is the penultimate year of our milestone centenary year. Given this development and the unique privilege of being the longest-serving manufacturing business in Nigeria, we continue to take stock and reflect on our journey to this milestone. In doing this, we have, in our usual approach, looked beyond financials to understand what footprints and impacts we have made in our society in the past one year. In a seemingly peculiar environment where stakeholders are faced with myriad challenges, we

are committed to always holding our business to the highest possible standard.

We will continue to align with the best attainable sustainability practices. We firmly believe that every business should be purpose-driven, as this is the only way to address society's most pressing needs, while at the same time charting a sustainable path, commercially. We want to inspire others with the concept of purpose and to be that partner of choice for stakeholders that share our values and vision of business as a force for good.

We hope that the disclosure's in this report provides a learning platform through which purpose driven agendas can become commonplace.

His Majesty, Nnaemeka A. Achebe

CFR, MNI

Chairman

Mr. Carl Cruz

Managing Director

West Africa

The different sections of the report provide disclosures on our commitments and actions at a country level, showcasing the sustainability performance, challenges and learning of Unilever Nigeria from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. Although this report has been built around our Compass commitment, its preparation references the GRI Standards. The report has also been developed in line with other reputable framework, such as the Principles of the United Nations Global Compact, the Nigerian Stock Exchange Sustainability Disclosure Guidelines and the Securities and Exchange Commis- sion's Sustainable Financial Principles for the Nigerian Capital Market.

In the year under review, we set out targets to act on cli- mate, waste, nutrition, health, living standards, inclusion and the future of work based on our Compass Strategy.

We acknowledge that the purpose driven business pathway is one that is largely uncertain and less travelled, but we are intentionally committed to seeking sustainable solutions and embedding these within our operations as our only option for doing business profitably.

We would like to reiterate our resolute commitment to the 'purpose' cause and to re-echo the need for more collaboration among brands and industry peers, as an enhanced scale of outcome can be actualized through collaborations and partnerships.

Soromidayo George

Corporate Affairs and Sustainable Business Director, Unilever West Africa

Our Vision

Our vision is to be the global leader in sustainable business.

We are convinced that businesses that will thrive in the future will be driven by purpose. That is why our multis- takeholder value creation model incorporates sustainability into how we do business and create social value for our stakeholders, from consumers and customers to our people, society, the planet, and shareholders.