Major consumer goods company Unilever is planning to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in its cleaning and laundry products by 2030 as part of efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.
Most cleaning and laundry products contain chemicals derived from fossil fuel feedstocks. Unilever is aiming to replace 100pc of the carbon derived from fossil fuels in these products with renewable or recycled carbon.
The chemicals used in Unilever's cleaning and laundry products make up 46pc its carbon footprint across their lifecycle. The company expects its new goal to reduce the carbon footprint of manufacturing these products by 20pc.
Unilever has previously made similar commitments as it looks to cut its carbon footprint. It last year committed to halving its virgin plastic use by 2025, in a move that would require it to incorporate 250,000 t/yr of additional recycled plastic. And Unilever in March joined more than 100 companies, including Ikea and Novartis, to call on US governors to back a proposed cap-and-trade programme to reduce CO2 emissions from transport fuels.
Unilever is aiming for net-zero carbon emissions from all its products by 2039. It has set aside €1bn to fund research and development on moving away from fossil-fuel-derived chemicals.
