Activists from Greenpeace UK blocked access to Unilever’s headquarters in central London on Thursday morning, claiming the consumer goods maker is “destroying the planet and harming communities” with single-use plastics.
Members of the environmental group locked themselves behind a barricade made of giant Dove products, one of Unilever’s biggest brands, with each product’s logo transformed into a dead dove.
Greenpeace is calling on Unilever to eliminate and phase out single-use plastics from its operations within 10 years, starting with plastic bags, which it claims are “almost impossible to recover or recycle”.
pollution
Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “Unilever’s plastic pollution is damaging the planet and harming communities.”
“They hide behind the clean, respectable faces of brands like Dove, but today we are peeling back the masks and revealing the ugly truth behind them.”
“Companies need to commit to stop selling plastic bags now and phase out single-use plastics within 10 years, and insist on the same level of ambition in the final round of UN global plastics treaty negotiations scheduled for November,” he added.
Greenpeace UK is calling on Unilever to support a treaty in the current UN negotiations to limit and phase out plastic production by at least 75% by 2040.
A report published last November by Greenpeace International said Unilever is the largest seller of polluting plastic sachets, selling 1,700 of them every second by 2023.
Life Cycle
Protesters claimed they had enough supplies to block the building’s entrances for the entire day on Thursday.
A Unilever spokesperson said: “At Unilever our goal is clear: to eliminate plastic pollution through reduction, circularity and collaboration. We know we have a key role to play in achieving this goal, which is why plastics is one of our four sustainability priorities.”
“We have already reduced our use of virgin plastics by 18% and increased our use of recycled plastics to 22% and have been recognized by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as one of the companies making the most progress in reducing our virgin plastic packaging footprint.”
“But our work doesn’t stop there – our updated plastics target is broader in scope, focusing on where we know we can have the most impact, including continuing to reduce our use of virgin plastics and developing alternatives to flexible plastic packaging that is hard to recycle, such as plastic bags.”
“We are committed to working with industry partners and other stakeholders to develop viable, scalable alternatives that reduce plastic waste.
“But overcoming a challenge of this magnitude requires more systemic change, which is why we are calling for a UN Convention on Plastic Pollution that sets out legally binding global rules and addresses the entire lifecycle of plastics.”
This author
Max Friend is a PA reporter.
