Hindustan Unilever Ltd – Lobbying Governance & Transparency

Sign up to access all our data and the evidence and analysis underlying our overall scores. Once you've created an account, we'll get in touch with further details:

Lobbying Governance

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Comprehensive	Hindustan Unilever Ltd demonstrates a comprehensive governance process for climate lobbying, with clear mechanisms for both direct and indirect lobbying alignment. The company has committed to ensuring that "all direct lobbying relevant to climate policy is consistent with the Paris Agreement," and has published its climate policy position for indirect lobbying on its website. It actively engages with trade associations to align their lobbying activities with the 1.5C ambition of the Paris Agreement, stating that "in 2019, we asked our trade associations to confirm whether their policy engagement matched the 1.5-degree ambition of the Paris Agreement," which led to discussions clarifying existing positions. Furthermore, the company publishes "an annual list of our principal trade associations" and uses its climate policy position to "assess trade association membership renewals." Oversight is robust, with the CEO and Executive Board member, Alan Jope, being "ultimately responsible for oversight of our climate change agenda," supported by the Corporate Responsibility Committee and Audit Committee. Additionally, specialist governance groups such as the Carbon Neutral Board and Sustainable Sourcing Steering Group provide further strategic direction and monitoring. The company also emphasizes compliance and monitoring, stating that "assurance of compliance is given and monitored each year," with oversight by the Board and Corporate Responsibility Committee. This indicates strong governance with detailed monitoring mechanisms, accountability structures, and proactive alignment efforts for both direct and indirect climate lobbying activities. View Sources	A

Overall Assessment

Analysis

Score

Comprehensive

Hindustan Unilever Ltd demonstrates a comprehensive governance process for climate lobbying, with clear mechanisms for both direct and indirect lobbying alignment. The company has committed to ensuring that "all direct lobbying relevant to climate policy is consistent with the Paris Agreement," and has published its climate policy position for indirect lobbying on its website. It actively engages with trade associations to align their lobbying activities with the 1.5C ambition of the Paris Agreement, stating that "in 2019, we asked our trade associations to confirm whether their policy engagement matched the 1.5-degree ambition of the Paris Agreement," which led to discussions clarifying existing positions. Furthermore, the company publishes "an annual list of our principal trade associations" and uses its climate policy position to "assess trade association membership renewals." Oversight is robust, with the CEO and Executive Board member, Alan Jope, being "ultimately responsible for oversight of our climate change agenda," supported by the Corporate Responsibility Committee and Audit Committee. Additionally, specialist governance groups such as the Carbon Neutral Board and Sustainable Sourcing Steering Group provide further strategic direction and monitoring. The company also emphasizes compliance and monitoring, stating that "assurance of compliance is given and monitored each year," with oversight by the Board and Corporate Responsibility Committee. This indicates strong governance with detailed monitoring mechanisms, accountability structures, and proactive alignment efforts for both direct and indirect climate lobbying activities.

View Sources

Lobbying Transparency

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Comprehensive	Hindustan Unilever Ltd provides extensive and specific disclosure of its climate-policy advocacy. It names a range of concrete measures it has engaged on, including the EU and UK Emissions Trading Schemes, carbon-tax proposals in France, South Africa and Germany, the RE100 campaign to secure renewable-energy targets in Japan, and stronger EU efficiency standards for trucks, demonstrating it is clear about the individual laws and regulations it seeks to influence. The company also sets out the channels it uses and who it tries to influence: it describes “direct engagement with heads of state and finance ministers on carbon pricing” at World Economic Forum CEO Climate Leaders meetings, participation in coalitions such as RE100 and the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, and work with state utilities in Missouri where “our engagement … resulted in one of the most coal-reliant of energy providers developing its Renewable Solution Program.” Finally, it is explicit about what it wants these initiatives to achieve—calling for the removal of fossil-fuel subsidies, the introduction of Paris-aligned carbon pricing, acceleration of renewable-energy deployment worldwide, and stronger national climate plans aimed at “halving global emissions by 2030” and reaching net-zero. Taken together, these detailed explanations of policies, mechanisms and desired outcomes reflect a very high level of transparency around the company’s climate lobbying activities.	A