Unilever N.V. (UNLVF) announced on Monday that its brands, which include the likes of Axe, Dove, Vaseline and Ben & Jerry’s, will collectively invest €1 billion in a climate and nature fund.
The effort is part of the consumer goods and packaged foods company’s plan to achieve net zero emissions from all its products by 2039 starting from the materials used up to the point of product sales in the store. The goal is 11 years ahead of the 2050 Paris Agreement deadline, the company said.
Over the next 10 years, the fund will invest in climate change projects, including landscape restoration, reforestation, carbon sequestration, wildlife protection and water preservation.
“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,” said Unilever CEO Alan Jope.
Unilever added that its target is to have no carbon emissions from its own operations, and to halve the greenhouse gas footprint of its products across the value chain, by 2030. The company said it will prioritise partnerships with suppliers who have set their own emission reduction targets and has set up a system where suppliers will need to declare the carbon footprint of goods and services provided. As a result, all packaging from 2039 will show the carbon footprint on every product the company will sell.
Shares in Unilever have recouped almost all of this year’s earlier losses and are trading at $53.45 as of Friday’s close.
Goldman Sachs analyst John Ennis on Monday reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $61.88 price target, reflecting 16% upside potential over the next year.
The stock’s Moderate Buy analyst consensus breaks down into 6 Buy ratings versus 6 Hold ratings and 2 Sell ratings. Meanwhile, the $54.36 average price target indicates a mere 1.7% upside potential in the shares in the coming 12 months. (See Unilever stock analysis on TipRanks).
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