Unilever profit warning delivered by Greenpeace UK as activists scale HQ in plastic pollution protest

On the eve of Unilever’s profits announcement Greenpeace UK have scaled the company’s HQ erecting a huge sign reading 'PROFIT WARNING - Plastic Polluted Money'.

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On the eve of Unilever’s profits announcement Greenpeace UK have scaled the company’s HQ erecting a huge sign reading ‘PROFIT WARNING – Plastic Polluted Money’.

As dawn broke a team of Greenpeace UK activists climbed the walls of the company’s HQ by Blackfriars Bridge to unveil above the main entrance the 13 x 3 meter banner featuring a subverted version of Unilever’s iconic Dove branding. Further activists on the ground set up a pollution warning zone around the entrance to the HQ, warning passers by of the company’s overwhelming plastic pollution problem.

Break Free From Plastic’s latest annual brand audit of corporate plastic polluters, released today, had Unilever ranked in the top three. This came a matter of months after Unilever were revealed to be the biggest seller of some of the worst polluting packaging – multi-layered plastic sachets. Plastic sachets are infamous for being near impossible to collect and recycle, helping to cause devastating flooding when they enter the environment and jam local waste systems and waterways. The report by Greenpeace International showed the company was on course to sell 53 billion sachets in 2023 equalling 1700 a second.  This is despite the claim that Unilever brands like Dove are “passionately committed to being one of the brands making the biggest impact against plastic waste”.

Greenpeace are calling on Unilever to stop sachet sales now, and phase out single-use plastic within 10 years. They are also calling on the company to use its influence to advocate for these goals at the UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiations through its role as a co-chair of the Business Coalition.

Nina Schrank, Head of Plastics at Greenpeace UK said: 

“Unilever’s profits are drenched in plastic pollution. Brands like Dove might give them a clean public face and a healthy bank balance but the truth is the billions in profit Unilever will announce tomorrow is matched only by the billions of pieces of plastic they flood into the world. From devastating floods to toxic fire fumes, it’s communities far from their London HQ in places like the Philippines and Indonesia who are paying the price of plastic pollution.

“That’s why we’re here issuing Unilever with their own profit warning – profiting from plastic pollution is a dead end, they have to change. They must stop selling plastic sachets now, commit to phasing out single-use plastic within a decade and advocate for this same level of ambition at UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiations.”

ENDS

Contact – press.uk@greenpeace.org – 07801 212960

Notes to editors

 

In pictures: Greenpeace protest at Unilever HQ

An activist in a helmet and boiler suit sits on a ledge of an ornate stone building, waving a black flag saying 'Dove - Real Harm'. The London Eye is visible in the background.
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Activists scaled Unilever's London HQ.

Activists outside the grand entrance to Unilever's London office display a banner that says 'profit warning: plastic polluted money'.
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They displayed a giant banner outside the building entrance.

A hand reaches down to pick up a Dove-branded plastic sachet that's half buried in beach sand. A broken sandal is also visible in frame.
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Unilever's plastic sachets pollute beaches and communities in Indonesia and beyond.

Activists outside the grand entrance to Unilever's London office display a banner that says 'profit warning: plastic polluted money'.
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The protest happened on the eve of Unilever's profit announcement.

A giant Dove pump bottle stands in front of a white London building. A Greenpeace activist in a red jacket stands next to it, and it towers over her at around twice her height. The bottle reads
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This follows an earlier action in December 2023, highlighting the human impacts of Unilever's plastic pollution.

An activist in a helmet and boiler suit sits on a ledge of an ornate stone building, waving a black flag saying 'Dove - Real Harm'. The London Eye is visible in the background.
Activists outside the grand entrance to Unilever's London office display a banner that says 'profit warning: plastic polluted money'.
A hand reaches down to pick up a Dove-branded plastic sachet that's half buried in beach sand. A broken sandal is also visible in frame.
Activists outside the grand entrance to Unilever's London office display a banner that says 'profit warning: plastic polluted money'.
A giant Dove pump bottle stands in front of a white London building. A Greenpeace activist in a red jacket stands next to it, and it towers over her at around twice her height. The bottle reads
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