Principle 2

Businesses Should Provide Goods and Services in a Manner That Is Sustainable and Safe

Innovation is a key enabler of sustainable growth and competitive advantage. It is shaped by how people live, what they value, and the experiences they expect from our brands. As these evolve, we are rethinking innovation while consistently raising product superiority to better meet evolving customer needs and strengthen stakeholder confidence.

Our focus is on advancing low-carbon formulations, improving resource efficiency, and enhancing sustainability without compromising affordability or quality. Leveraging digital capabilities, data insights, and our global R&D network, we are accelerating solutions that meet consumer needs. Through disciplined innovation, we are building a portfolio designed for performance and sustainability.

Message from Our Leadership

We continue to push the boundaries of innovation by combining cutting-edge technology and sustainability along with deep consumer insight. We are leveraging the power of AI and digital and sustainable design to develop consumer Desirable and SASSY mixes that integrate radical material efficiency, lower environmental impact, and circular design principles while supporting healthier and more sustainable choices for consumers and the planet.

Vibhav SanzgiriExecutive Director, Research and Development

13.1% of r&d investments in technologies to improve the environmental and social impacts of product and processes.
15.2% of capex investments in technologies to improve the environmental and social impacts of product and processes.
9.4% of recycled plastic procured as a % of total plastic footprint in finished goods sold.
64.5% of key crops sustainably sourced.

ESSENTIAL INDICATORS

Category	FY 2025-26	FY 2024-25	Details of improvements in environmental and social impacts
R&D	13.1%*	13.2%*	During FY 2025–26, our initiatives focused on minimizing environmental impact through studies on post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials and the adoption of sustainable packaging solutions, supporting the transition to a greener future. In parallel, R&D advanced projects across energy conservation, greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, waste management, water conservation, occupational health care (OHC), reinforcing the organization’s commitment to responsible and sustainable growth. Employee safety remains a top priority, with comprehensive safety programs implemented across R&D to ensure a strong safety-first culture.
CAPEX	15.2%	13.6%	During the year, we have undertaken capital expenditure on various projects like upgrading infrastructure, Fire suppression system, Zero Liquid discharge (ZLD), Effluent treatment Plant (ETP), implementing energy-efficient systems like magnetic chillers and heat pumps, improving safety measures, automating processes, and ensuring compliance with statutory requirements, all to deliver positive outcomes for environmental and social aspects.

*In addition to this, we benefit from the extensive R&D work undertaken by the Unilever Group through the technology licensing arrangement. Projects having positive environmental and social impact of R&D undertaken by the parent company will be over and above the reported numbers

Yes, our Responsible Partner Policy (RPP) outlines mandatory supplier requirements for ethical and sustainable business practices. It reflects our commitment to responsible, transparent, and sustainable operations, central to our core sustainable business strategy. In addition to RPP, The Unilever Sustainable Agriculture Principle (SAP) and the Unilever Regenerative Agriculture Principles (RAPs) also provide the basis for our sustainable sourcing programme. The Unilever Sustainable Agriculture Principle (SAP) presents best practices for farming, utilized by hundreds of thousands of farmers since 2010 for sustainable operations and Unilever Regenerative Agriculture Principles guide soil nourishment, carbon capture, and land restoration. These principles inspire our business, brands, suppliers, and peers, forming the foundation for regenerative programmes in our supply chain.

In our revised Sustainable Sourcing programme, we concentrate on 12 key crops and agricultural commodities, prioritizing their significance to our business and brands.

We believe that certification is one of the vital ways to drive positive change in agricultural supply chains. We are India's largest tea business and a founding member of trustea (https://trustea.org/partner), the Indian tea industry collaboration on sustainability.

The RPP and Sustainable Agriculture Principle and Regenerative Agriculture Principles (RAPs) are hosted on our website at https://www.hul.co.in/sustainability/nature.

64.5%* of key crops were sourced sustainably.

These crops include tea, palm oil, paper and board, cereal, sugar, dairy, cocoa, coconut oil, soy, starches, and vegetables & herbs, comprising more than two-third of our agricultural raw material volumes. Through focused programmes, we have achieved sustainable sourcing for 99% of our total paper and board, and 86% of our tea procured during the calendar year 2025.

*This indicator is for Calendar Year 2025 which consists of percentage of inputs sourced sustainably for 12 key crops.

99%

of Paper and Board sustainably sourced

There are mainly two categories of material that are reclaimed:

Damaged and expired finished goods: There is a comprehensive standard operating procedure (SOP) for safely handling and disposing of expired/ damaged stocks returned from the market and depots. These goods are either safely disposed of or recycled or reused.

Plastic waste as part of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): We follow the new national EPR Framework notified by CPCB that has become operational since April 2023 wherein an EPR wallet credit system has been created by CPCB. We undertake EPR credit purchases based on our plastic footprint / consumption and fully meet the EPR obligation.

Yes, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is applicable to HUL, and we comply with the prevailing EPR rules and regulations. Our waste collection plan aligns with the EPR guidelines, and the plan submitted to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). W.e.f. FY 2023-24, we have been registered on the CPCB online portal dedicated to EPR Credit exchange and ensure timely submissions of our plastic footprint and corresponding EPR credits purchased.

LEADERSHIP INDICATORS

Unilever conducts detailed Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) through internal in-house LCA experts or by external partners and in compliance with ISO 14040. Unilever applies internationally accepted impact assessment methods, such as the IPCC 2021 GWP100, ReCiPee and the European Commission’s Environmental Footprint (EF) for quantifying the environmental impacts of a product – from the sourcing of raw materials to product manufacture, distribution, consumer use and disposal.

Unilever conducted an annual GHG footprinting exercise in 2024 (captured in the table below) for representative products across 13 countries, including India. The methodology was consistent with ISO 14040.

Unilever has previously provided funding towards development of the World Foods Life Cycle Database and is still among the key users and partners of this initiative, owned and managed by an external LCA consultancy. Unilever is a contributor and participant of the Life Cycle Initiative (LCI) hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which aims to support the application of LCA for policy and wider decision-making.

Name of Product/ Service	All major brands across Home Care, Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Foods
% of total Turnover contributed	76.7%
Boundary for which the Life Cycle Perspective/ Assessment was conducted	Cradle-to-grave LCA focused on climate change was conducted to assess GHG emissions over the entire life cycle of the products, from raw material extraction to final disposal
Whether conducted by independent external agency (Yes/ No)	Assessment was conducted by internal agency (Safety, Environmental & Regulatory Sciences)
Results communicated in public domain (Yes/ No) If yes, provide the web-link.	Results are currently not communicated in the public domain

Plastic packaging needs to be recycled in environmentally friendly ways to build a circular economy. We have set ambitious targets to ramp up the use of recycled plastic and only use reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging (https://www.hul.co.in/sustainability/plastics/).

Indicate input material	Recycled or re-used input material to total material
Indicate input material	FY 2025-26	FY 2024-25
Plastic packaging	9.4%*	6.1%*

*% of recycled plastic as post-consumer recycled plastic procured on a base of total plastic footprint in the finished goods sold during the financial year

Workers sorting plastic materials for circular lifecycle recycling

Product	FY 2025-26			FY 2024-25
Product	Re-used	Recycled	Safely disposed	Re-used	Recycled	Safely disposed
Plastics (including packaging) (MT)*	-	-	2,61,214**	-	-	2,07,005**
E-waste	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hazardous waste	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other waste – Expired and damaged products (MT)	2,894	832	8,468	1,549	682	6,380

* Since April 2023, EPR for Plastics is carried out by purchase of EPR credits from Plastic Waste Processors (PWPs) via portal maintained by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in line with applicable guidelines. HUL is not collecting any branded plastic waste directly. On-ground plastic waste collection & disposal is carried out by PWPs authorised & monitored by CPCB/ State Pollution Control Board (SPCB)

**A part of the safely disposed plastic is also recycled, however, due to practical difficulties in traceability of such recycled plastics, the entire quantum is reported as safely disposed.

S. no.	Indicate product category	Reclaimed products and their packaging materials as % of total products sold in respective category
1	Expired and damaged products (Depot and Market Return)	0.3%
2	Plastic waste	203.2% of total plastic packaging material*

*HUL is committed to fulfilling its plastic waste management EPR obligations as mandated by the Government of India. We actively procure EPR credits to meet our commitment of purchasing credits equivalent to 100% of the plastic used in our products. In FY 2025–26, we purchased 2,61,214 tonnes of EPR credits, covering more than 100% of our total plastic packaging footprint.

Leadership receiving Excellence Award Level: Incorporation of Recycled Content: Rigid Plastic Packaging

Principle 2

Message from Our LeadershipMessage fromOur Leadership

ESSENTIAL INDICATORS

LEADERSHIP INDICATORS

Message from Our Leadership