The campaign running for the next 14 days provides consumers with practical and cost efficient recycling and water conservation tips. Throughout the campaign, shoppers will have the option of purchasing innovative water-saving products from brands such as Lifebuoy, Lux, Comfort Concentrates and Lux Sunlight dish wash to get rewarded.
As part of the 14 day activities, Choithrams customers spending over AED 25 on any Unilever water saving product will be eligible for rewards including washing machines and DEWA utility bill subsidies of up to AED 500 based through scratch and win coupons. Additionally, 40,000 green bags will be distributed to shoppers at Choitram’s 15 key branches spread-out across Dubai.
The partnership between Unilever and Choitrams takes firm root in the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, which aims to grow the business, whilst decoupling its environmental footprint and increasing Unilever’s positive social impact. The plan delivers growth for Unilever's brands while creating savings through cost avoidance by reducing the environmental impact of its operations.
"Our four-year partnership with an impactful retailer like Choithrams is an example of successful alliances in reducing environmental footprint in the region. Fruitful manufacturer and retailer collaborations are pivotal within this construct in achieving substantial results. Our Sustainable Living brands combine a strong social and environmental purpose, with products that provide consumers tools to minimize their environmental footprint by simply using them.”, commented Gaurav Rustagi, Unilever's Country Director for UAE and Oman.
Unilever is committed to working to bring about transformational change throughout the whole value chain and work closely with retail partners to change consumer habits. Adoption of Unilever’s sustainable practices by retailers within their own value chain is viewed an extension of manufacturer-retailer collaboration under the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan.
At the start of the year, Unilever has committed globally to ensuring that all of its plastic packaging is fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025 as it called on the entire fast-moving consumer goods industry to accelerate progress towards the circular economy.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), just 14% of the plastic packaging used globally makes its way to recycling plants, while 40% ends up in landfill and a third in fragile ecosystems. By 2050, it is estimated there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans. Treating plastic packaging as a valuable resource to be managed efficiently and effectively is a key priority in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 12 (Sustainable Consumption & Production) and, in doing so, shifting away from a “take-make-dispose” model of consumption to one which is fully circular.
"Unilever recognises that sustainability is good for business and for the planet. We are continually investing in innovations and technologies to tackle the triple challenges of climate change, environmental pollution and depletion of natural resources, while empowering local communities. Hence, we work in close partnerships with retailers to support the development and scaling up of such large scale environmental initiatives. These strategic goals are beneficial for our extended audiences and make good business sense”. Rustagi added.
Recently, Unilever also unveiled its ground-breaking new technology to recycle sachet waste. This technology, called CreaSolv® Process, has been developed with the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Germany. It aims to recycle high-value polymers from used and dirty, multi-layer sachets, so they can be used again to make safe, non-food packaging.
“We are committed to adopting sustainable solutions to address the major challenges that have an impact on our environment and our society. A collaborative effort and a more proactive approach to recycling will make a big difference to the community and also empower people to be more conscious of their surroundings. We encourage our consumers to work closely with us towards protecting the environment and reducing the carbon footprint.” Said Choithrams Chairman L.T. Pagarani.
Choithrams has strong sustainability initiatives that aim to reduce unnecessary packaging, while increasing the use of energy efficient equipment in refrigeration and lighting.
CreaSolv® is a registered trademark of CreaCycle GmbH