Unilever – Overview of controversial business practices in 2009

This brief company profile is a joint initiative of SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations) and the VBDO (Vereniging van Beleggers voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling). It provides an overview of business practices that may be considered unsustainable, irresponsible, or controversial and that took place or were addressed in 2009. In the context of the upcoming annual general meetings (AGMs) of shareholders of Dutch corporations, the overview aims to provide additional information to Unilever’s shareholders and other stakeholders on potentially controversial issues that may or may not be detected or reported by the company itself. By highlighting such issues, the overview can be used to identify areas of the company’s corporate responsibility policies and practices that need improvement and to formulate a more informed assessment of a company’s corporate responsibility performance.