One of the world’s largest food groups has pledged to put carbon footprint labels on 30,000 of its products within the next six months.
Unilever, which makes more than 75,000 products, will introduce badges that will reveal each item's cost to the planet.
The food giant, whose range includes Magnum ice-cream, Pot Noodle, Marmite and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, is the first major company to introduce such a move.
It is expected to pilot labels on up to two dozen products in Europe or North America and then slowly roll them out across its entire range over the next two to five years.
The firm is also urging British supermarkets to introduce carbon-friendly aisles, similar to vegetarian aisles.
“While the world is dealing with the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and grappling with serious issues of inequality, we can’t let ourselves forget that the climate crisis is still a threat to all of us. Climate change, nature degradation, biodiversity decline, water scarcity – all these issues are interconnected, and we must address them all simultaneously," Alan Jope, Unilever's CEO, said.
"In doing so, we must also recognise that the climate crisis is not only an environmental emergency; it also has a terrible impact on lives and livelihoods. We, therefore, have a responsibility to help tackle the crisis: as a business, and through direct action by our brands.”
Marc Engel, Unilever’s global head of supply chain, said its market research has shown that younger consumers are very concerned about climate change.
“We intend to roll out carbon labels on our entire product range over the next two to five years and believe it will transform not only the actions of consumers, but of the thousands of businesses in our supply chain as well," he told the Independent.
Last year, Unilever vowed to achieve Net Zero emissions from all products by 2039 and pledged to work with a new generation of farmers and smallholders to drive programmes to protect and restore forests, soil and biodiversity.
It has pledged to invest €1 billion ($1.2bn) in a new dedicated Climate & Nature Fund, which will be used over the next 10 years to fund projects set to include landscape restoration, reforestation, carbon sequestration, wildlife protection and water preservation.
The company has also committed to achieving a deforestation-free supply chain by 2023.
On Thursday, the government's food tzar Henry Dimbleby launched his National Food Strategy, which is urging the Food Standards Agency to work with industry bodies to create a consistent food-labelling system.
Chairwoman of the UK's Food Standard Agency, Professor Susan Jebb, said the food system was facing urgent challenges.
“The National Food Strategy report deserves to be widely read and deeply considered by everyone with responsibilities for any part of our food system," she said.
"Its compelling narrative focuses attention on the urgent challenges facing the food system and how we must work together, across government and industry, to create a system which is good for the health of people and the planet."
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
The biog
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She believes that there is a solution to every problem
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
