With many companies grappling with waste reduction and management, technology and right personnel have been a major bottleneck to achieve sustainable waste reduction. However, fast-moving-consumer-goods manufacturer Unilever has leapt to the positive side of this, after announcing elimination of its non-hazardous wastes that would save the company €200 million (Ksh20billion).
Unilever, which runs over 240 factories operating in 67 countries making products for brands such as OMO, Blueband and Vaseline have reduced landfill waste to zero. Unilever CEO for East Africa and emerging markets Mr Marc Engel said this has been achieved through innovations in waste management as part of the firm’s responsibility to consumers and environment.
“We are reducing waste throughout our operations. I am particularly pleased by our Nairobi factory team for their efforts in ensuring that we send zero non-hazardous waste to landfill. Our vision to halve the environmental footprint of our products is on track.”
At the Kenyan manufacturing plant in Nairobi’s Industrial Area, he said, product wrappers waste are shredded and used for incorporation into recycled boards. Also, spent bleaching Earth from the filter press process in soap making is sent to Unilever Tea factory for use as fuel in the boilers. The zero waste to landfill target forms a key element of Unilever’s sustainable growth ambitions.
Eliminating waste has resulted in more than €200 million of cost reduction and created hundreds of jobs as it pursues its ambition of doubling the size of its business while reducing environmental impact. To achieve zero-waste to landfill, Unilever has adopted what it calls the Four ‘R’ approach. First, reducing waste at source then reusing, recovering or recycling any non-hazardous waste that remains.
“It has meant reconsidering every single material that is consumed in a factory – from reusing packing materials from supplier deliveries to food waste from staff cafeterias,” said Mr Angel. Unilever Chief Supply Chain Officer Pier Luigi Sigismondi its employees – code named ‘zero-makers’ – from across the business have developed innovative solutions to eliminate waste.
“We are also committed to developing an open-source approach and sharing our ‘zero waste framework’ and experience with other organisations to drive global change and create a more sustainable future,” he said.
