• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • About Us
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Parcel & Express
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Robotics
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Customer Relationship Management
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • Green Energy
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Management & Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Warehouse Automation
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • WHITEPAPERS
  • VIDEOS
Home » Unilever, L'Oreal Deemed Most Ready for Climate Change

Unilever, L'Oreal Deemed Most Ready for Climate Change

Unilever, L'Oreal Deemed Most Ready for Climate Change
February 27, 2019
Bloomberg

Among the world’s biggest consumer companies, Europe’s Unilever NV, L’Oreal SA and Danone are best prepared for the effects of climate change relative to their peers, according to a report from the nonprofit CDP.

Formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP took a double-barreled approach in ranking the 16 largest consumer companies on measures including exposure to emissions, use of water and climate governance. It assumed that businesses will need to adjust to the effects of a warming world for the sake of the bottom line and to make a compelling case to increasingly concerned consumers.

“If we all start getting hit by the physical risks of climate change ourselves, we will be much more conscious of buying products with less impact,” said Carole Ferguson, head of investor research at CDP.

Unilever topped the list, the result of big changes to its portfolio, including the purchase of Seventh Generation in 2016, and a suite of low-carbon brands that account for a big portion of revenue.

L’Oreal was a close second, with the supply chain most protected from physical climate risks and high marks for its renewable energy program. Danone’s investments in soil health and water stewardship, as well as its wide range of vegan products, landed it in third place, CDP said.

U.S. companies including Kraft Heinz Co. and Estee Lauder Cos. ranked near the bottom of CDP’s list. The organization said that Kraft Heinz’s Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands have fallen behind on low-carbon innovations and its reliance on meat and dairy make it more vulnerable to physical risks from climate change. Estee Lauder was faulted for too little transparency into its use of palm oil, which has been blamed for widespread deforestation.

Kraft Heinz last year committed to setting “an aggressive, long-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal” and is looking to reduce its impact in logistics, packaging and agriculture, said Caroline Krajewski, the company’s head of global corporate reputation. Estee Lauder said it is “committed to accelerating our sustainability and citizenship practices” and continuously updates its targets in that area.

“For this group of companies there’s a whole range of risks that have become substantive, rather than something they can just manage away easily,” said CDP’s Ferguson.

Consumer goods companies have in part addressed the issue by buying smaller brands with better environmental practices. Those acquisitions are up fourfold in the last five years, including Nestle SA’s 2017 purchase of U.S. vegetarian burrito maker Sweet Earth and Danone’s takeover of nut milk maker WhiteWave Foods the same year.

Ferguson said she hoped companies would invest more in innovations that have systemic impact. For example, brewer AB InBev developed new barley varieties that can use up to 40 percent less water. As it is, through supply chains, consumer distribution and waste creation, consumer brands probably account for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, she said.

“The companies that are leading are looking upstream and downstream to see what the big risks and opportunities are,” Ferguson said. “The laggards might be doing some interesting things, but they’re not scaling them up sufficiently.”

    RELATED CONTENT

    RELATED VIDEOS

    Forecasting & Demand Planning Supply Chain Planning & Optimization Supply Chain Visibility Business Strategy Alignment Global Supply Chain Management Sourcing/Procurement/SRM Supply Chain Security & Risk Mgmt Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility Consumer Packaged Goods Food & Beverage
    KEYWORDS Business Strategy Alignment consumer packaged goods Food and Beverage Forecasting & Demand Planning Global Supply Chain Management SC Planning & Optimization SC Security & Risk Mgmt Sourcing/Procurement/SCM Supply Chain Visibility sustainability
    • Related Articles

      White House Partners with Amazon, Others on Climate Change Resilience

      Expect Crop Prices to Escalate Considerably if Climate Change Continues Unabated, Study Finds

      After 50 Years, Climate Change Finally Topped the Davos Agenda

    • Related Directories

      ProcureAbility

    Bloomberg

    Nissan in Talks to Make Cars by China’s Chery at UK Plant

    More from this author

    Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

    Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

    Featured Product

    Popular Stories

    • A TRUCK WITH ITS CONTAINER DOOR OPEN SITS UNDER A SIGN THAT READS INTERNATIONAL BORDER COMMERCIAL TRUCKS

      Importers Into Mexico Can No Longer Delay Complying With New Customs Declaration Law

      Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • An overhead view of a shipping port stacked with containers, with stylized lines forming a grid connecting ships and berths

      How Supply Chains Can Survive the Next Unexpected Demand Surge

      Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • 018_how_3pls_can_get_started_with_ai_v1-(540p).png

      Watch: How 3PLs Can Get Started With Automation

      Logistics Outsourcing
    • An employee in a warm suit crouches down to get boxes of food ready for shipping at a warehouse

      Packaging Optimization Is Boosting Cold Chain Growth

      Air Cargo
    • Three rows of yellow box trucks parked in front a white sheet metal building, with "DHL" written in red letter across the back

      DHL Inks $10B Last-Mile Delivery Deal with USPS

    Digital Edition

    2026 esg cover main scb q2 2026 cover

    SupplyChainBrain 2026 ESG Guide: ESG — The Supply Chain’s Biggest Secret

    VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

    Case Studies

    • Recycled Tagging Fasteners: Small Changes Make a Big Impact

    • A GRAPHIC SHOWING MULTIPLE FORMS OF SHIPPING, WITH A HUMAN STANDING AT THE CENTER, TOUCHING A SYMBOLIC MAP OF THE WORLD

      Enhancing High-Value Electronics Shipment Security with Tive's Real-Time Tracking

    • A GRAPHIC OF INTERLACING HONEYCOMBED ELEMENTS REPRESENTING GLOBAL BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS

      Moving Robots Site-to-Site

    • JLL Finds Perfect Warehouse Location, Leading to $15M Grant for Startup

    • Robots Speed Fulfillment to Help Apparel Company Scale for Growth

    Visit Our Sponsors

    4flow Arkieva Blue Yonder
    Carton Cloud CoEnterprise Dassault
    Duravant E2Open General Logistics Systems
    Hy-Tek iGPS Korber
    Lyngsoe Procurability Quinyx
    SAP Sikick Systech
    S&P Global Mobility TADA TransImpact
    US Bank Werner Enterprises WSI
    • More From SCB
      • Featured Content
      • Video Library
      • Think Tank Blog
      • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
      • Whitepapers
      • On-Demand Webinars
      • Upcoming Webinars
    • Digital Offerings
      • Digital Issue
      • Subscribe
      • Manage Email Preferences
      • Newsletters
    • Resources
      • Events Calendar
      • 2026 Event Coverage
      • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
      • Supplier Directory
      • Case Study Showcase
      • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
      • 100 Great Partners Form
    • SCB Corporate
      • Advertise on SCB.COM
      • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact Us
      • Data Sharing Opt-Out

    All content copyright ©2026 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

    Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing