Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies has made strong progress on climate-related lobbying transparency in part shaped by sustained engagement by Climate Action 100+ investors. CCLA has acted as co-lead for Unilever since 2021.
Engagement History
At its 2021 AGM, Unilever became the first FTSE 100 company to put its climate transition plan to a shareholder vote, After this, a second vote on an updated plan followed, in 2024. The results of both votes showed overwhelming shareholder support.
In 2023 investor meetings began to focus on the company’s public policy engagement with an aim to improve transparency and alignment between Unilever’s advocacy and the goals of the Paris Agreement [1].
Lobbying was first raised at a Climate Action 100+ meeting that year, then a dedicated meeting was held on the issue in September with BNP Paribas Asset Management, part of the contributing investor group and a co-ordinator of the Climate Action 100+ Climate Lobbying Working Group. At that meeting, company representatives were presented with an assessment of how corporate lobbying practices aligned with the Global Standard on Responsible Corporate Climate Lobbying. This investor-backed standard, launched in 2022, sets expectations for companies to ensure their lobbying activities align with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Investors engaged Unilever on transparency, alignment between its stated climate commitments and the lobbying of its trade and industry associations, and internal governance of this process. Unilever confirmed that a full review of 27 industry associations was underway, with the review being supported by an independent third party.
Unilever went on to publish its first Climate Policy Engagement Review in March 2024. This review analysed the climate-related positions and advocacy activity of each association and assessed their alignment with Unilever’s climate priorities and the broader goals of Paris-aligned climate policy. It also outlined actions to address low levels of engagement and areas of misalignment.
A Progress update on Unilever’s Climate Policy Engagement Review was published in early 2025 and showed positive change. The number of associations with no misalignment rose from 13 to 18, with some shifting from obstructive to more neutral positions. Five associations were actively engaged in supporting science-based policy and Unilever reported on the actions it had taken and set out next steps for each association where it identified low engagement or misalignment.
The process has evolved into a broader conversation on how companies and investors can work together to improve analysis and standardisation in climate policy reporting. Following the release of the review, Unilever participated in a multi-stakeholder meeting with Climate Action 100+ co-leads, Volans and InfluenceMap, to explore how to scale progress and support greater consistency in climate policy engagement across companies and sectors.
From its first review, Unilever was ranked as the highest-scoring company in InfluenceMap’s assessment with a score of 100% and remains the highest scoring company as of May 2025 (IM Unilever Assessment). Its process of review, disclosure and targeted action provides a strong example of how investor dialogue can support more transparent and aligned advocacy. Unilever has signalled its intention to build on this work and help raise the standard of climate lobbying practices across the wider market.
Unilever’s approach of continued review shows how engagement between investors and companies can help shift market expectations and raise both the standard of advocacy and the level of ambition in policy development.
Globalance Bank and Troy Asset Management stepped up from the contributing investor group for Unilever to be co-lead investors in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025 respectively. Sarasin & Partners joined the group in Q4 2024 and became co-lead in Q1 2025.
Tessa Younger, Better Environment Lead, CCLA Investment Management says: “We welcome the progress Unilever has made in reviewing and disclosing its climate policy engagement. This shows how constructive engagement between investors and companies can support meaningful change. The next challenge is ensuring that this momentum supports more ambitious, science-aligned policy outcomes.”
Rebecca Marmot, Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer at Unilever says: “We are encouraging the industry bodies we work with to actively demonstrate their support for Unilever’s global climate policies, including a faster transition to clean energy, regenerative agriculture and sustainable chemical feedstocks. This sends a strong corporate demand signal to governments, drives systemic change, and unlocks opportunities for growth as we all work towards a net zero economy.”
[1] The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, adopted by 196 parties at a UN summit in Paris in 2015, with the goal of keeping global warming well below 2°C.