ABSTRACT
The world is now firmly in the age of resource efficiency, of which energy efficiency forms a part. For an organisation to be able to survive into the future, it has therefore to see all of its operations — its requirements in terms of materials, energy and water, its fixed assets — as equal in importance to its core activity. Unilever is one company that is leading the way. Its CEO, Paul Polman, is the visionary behind a Sustainable Living Plan, launched in November 2010, which seeks to double sales and halve the environmental impact of its products. It is working. He believes that this fundamental shift in the business paradigm is partly a reaction to the financial crisis, from a rules-based one back to a principles-based one, but it has financial benefits. It follows that a strategy like this should translate into a procurement strategy.
