A female shopkeeper smiling behind a counter stocked with Unilever consumer products

Principle 9

Businesses Should Engage With And Provide Value To Their Consumers
In A Responsible Manner.

We are committed to engaging with consumers responsibly by delivering trusted, safe, and high quality experiences. We leverage digital and data-driven capabilities to enhance consumer interactions while ensuring transparency and accountability in how we use and protect information.

Safeguarding data and privacy are integral to our approach. Guided by our Code of Business Principles, we follow strict data protection standards that emphasize responsible data collection, secure handling, and respect for individual rights. Robust cybersecurity frameworks, continuous monitoring, and risk mitigation measures help protect our systems and prevent threats. Through these practices, we strengthen consumer trust and build lasting relationships.

Message from Our Leadership

At HUL, we are committed to delivering a safe and trusted consumer experience by ensuring organoleptically superior products and sustainable practices. We also uphold robust data privacy standards to safeguard consumer trust across all interactions. By encouraging responsible sustainable behaviours, building synergetic relationships with our partners, and maintaining transparent communication, we ensure a secure and trustworthy engagement for all our consumers.

Rajneet KohliExecutive Director, Foods

Data breaches involving personal identifiable information: Nil.
Product recalls on account of safety issues: Nil.
Consumer complaints on data privacy, cyber-security, delivery of essential services, restrictive trade practices, unfair trade practices.: Nil.
100% Products with labelling on environmental and social parameters.

Essential Indicators

Our procedures for addressing consumer complaints and feedback are meticulously structured and customer-centric, focusing on providing swift responses and timely resolutions to customer inquiries, feedback, and complaints. Customers can reach out to us through different channels as listed below:

Toll-free Number: 1800-120-2088
E-mail: levercare.customer@unilever.com
WhatsApp chatbot: 8655307496

We have a specialised team for managing customer complaints and concerns. Upon receipt of a customer concern through any communication channel, a unique complaint reference or ticket number is promptly provided to the customer, along with the details of the registered complaint. Subsequently, our Support team initiates detailed discussions with the customer within 24 hours of receiving the complaint. Each complaint is governed by a Service Level Agreement (SLA), ensuring the responsible party delivers an appropriate resolution within the specified timeframe. After the resolution, we ask our customers to indicate their level of satisfaction using three criteria: Satisfied, Neutral, and Not Satisfied. This feedback mechanism enables us to validate the effectiveness of our customer service solutions while significantly contributing to the continuous improvement of our customer service processes.

Category	As a percentage to total turnover*
Environmental and social parameters relevant to the product	100%*
Safe and responsible usage	100%*
Recycling and/or safe disposal	100%*

*All artworks are checked, by brand, legal and other compliance functions on all required parameters, approved and maintained digitally on an internal system . This includes, but not limited to, Lever Care Details, Dustman logo, Material identification number and Best before/Use by or Directions for Use/Caution Statement. These are in line with Cosmetic Rules 2020, wherever applicable

Category	FY 2025-26		Remarks	FY 2024-25		Remarks
Category	Received during the year	Pending resolution at end of year	Remarks	Received during the year	Pending resolution at end of year	Remarks
Data privacy	-	-		-	-
Advertising	2	-		4	-
Cybersecurity	-	-		-	-
Delivery of essential services	-	-		-	-
Restrictive trade practices	-	-		-	-
Unfair trade practices	-	-		-	-
Other	-	-		-	-

We have a very robust mechanism to receive and address queries, feedback and complaints received from our consumers

We have a stringent mandatory quality standard in place against which compliance is verified through regular audits and self-assessments. These standards ensure we design, manufacture, and supply safe, excellent quality products and conform to the relevant industry and regulatory standards. Comprehensive management procedures are in place to mitigate risks and protect our consumers and markets. We take prompt and timely action wherever and whenever we encounter products which do not meet the standards and ensure the right quality product enters the market.

Category	Number	Reasons for recall
Voluntary recalls	Nil	-
Forced recalls	Nil	-

No significant concerns/complaints/penalties/regulatory actions were identified during the year. However, in case of any concerns, consumers can reach out to us via multiple channels, i.e., phone, e-mail, social media, and WhatsApp. We have a pre-defined turnaround time and response mechanism for complaint closure.

For data privacy-related concerns, we have a Personal Data Incident Reporting process to report and investigate any suspected or potential threat to personal data. The Data Privacy Officer and Cyber Security Lead investigate incidents to identify lapses and gaps to continuously improve processes and controls to mitigate future breaches.

a. Number of instances of data breaches along-with impact

Nil, there were no instances of reportable data breaches in the current financial year.

b. Percentage of data breaches involving personally identifiable information of customers

Nil, there were no instances of reportable data breaches involving personally identifiable information.

c. Impact, if any, of the data breaches

Not applicable as there were no reportable data breaches for the year.

Cybersecurity professional analyzing data

Leadership Indicators

Information regarding all products is available in the Brand section of our website: https://www.hul.co.in/brands/.

Consumers can also reach out to us via one of the following modes for any additional information:

✓Toll-free number for Levercare: 1800-102-2221
✓WhatsApp number: +91 8291082913
✓E-mail ID: lever.care@unilever.com
✓Address: PO Box 14760, Mumbai 400 099, Maharashtra, India
✓Contact Us form on the website: https://www.hul.co.in/contact/

We provide information on our product packaging, including ingredients, expiry date, and usage directions, as appropriate to inform our consumers about safe and responsible usage. Consumers can also contact us on our Levercare toll-free number (1800-102-2221) and via our e-mail ID ( lever.care@unilever.com ) printed on each product label. Our website has a dedicated section where consumers can reach us through the Contact Us form and a dedicated section on 'What is in Our Products' ( https://www.hul.co.in/our-company/rd-innovation/safety-environment/whats-in-our-products/) is hosted to inform consumers about our products and the ingredients.

At HUL, we do not deal with any essential services. However, in case of any disruption, we can disseminate information through our website, various mass media platforms, social media platforms, distribution networks, sales representatives, and e-mails. In addition, consumers can contact us on our toll-free number for Levercare (1800-102-2221) and e-mail id (lever.care@unilever.com), printed on each product.

We are fully committed to not only ensuring compliance to mandatory labelling, but also to providing important information to consumers regarding safety, health, proper usage and appropriate precautions. These are embedded in the Trust & Transparency pillar of our ESG strategy. For example, on Foods HUL provides transparent nutrition information in its products to empower consumers to make informed choices. In addition to the mandatory nutritional labelling requirements as per regulations, we also provide Front-of-pack (FOP) icon showing energy content as % contribution to the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and as an absolute quantity.

For home care products, e.g., our laundry pods, we provide safety precautions, symbols, and usage directions in text and pictures, along with warnings (e.g., Keep out of the reach of children) to ensure consumers are aware of proper product usage and application.

Similarly, we provide usage instructions and cautionary statements for Beauty & personal care products. For example, on our hair serum label, we give the ideal usage directions for maximum benefit, precautions to be taken, and immediate action in case of an issue. In addition, all products contain information on the product benefits and any special ingredients delivering the benefits. This information helps consumers make an informed choice.

Our Levercare team (also known as Consumer Engagement Centre) provides a comprehensive omnichannel (Phone, e-mail, social media, WhatsApp, and Web) system to help answer product-related queries and complaints to deliver best-in-class consumer experience. We monitor consumer sentiments (i.e., the digital voice of the consumer via social media and brand pages) to receive overall feedback on issue resolution and products/services and calculate the Net Promoter Score (0 to 10). We then evaluate consumer experiences on both product and service based on how likely they are to recommend the product and the service to family and friends on a scale of 0 to 10.

Furthermore, we conduct a 'Customer Voice Survey' annually to assess overall performance and sentiment among distributors and customers. The survey covers Overall Experience, Customer Service, Finance, Supply Chain, and IT Support. We also have a customer license activity, where each employee is responsible for working in the market, visiting the re-stockist point, collecting customer feedback, and understanding their concerns.

We also have a ‘Customer Delight Officer’ based in branches with a pivotal role in addressing customer grievances and ensuring compliance. These executives diligently promote a customer-centric approach within the organisation. They engage with customers regularly, exchanging feedback to drive continuous improvement in satisfaction levels. This structured methodology, involving employees and dedicated teams, reflects a robust commitment to customer-centricity.

Principle 9

Message from Our LeadershipMessage fromOur Leadership

Essential Indicators

Leadership Indicators

Message from Our Leadership