This case looks at some key challenges before Alan Jope (Jope), CEO of global FMCG giant Unilever as he tries to build upon his predecessor Paul Polman’s (Polman) sustainability legacy and the company’s commitment to a future focused on purpose rather than profits. Under Polman’s leadership, Unilever launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) in 2010 that aimed to enhance the livelihood of millions of people by 2020 and to halve the environmental impact of its products across the value chain by 2030. In June 2019, six months after taking over as CEO of Unilever, Jope warned that as part of its sustainability agenda, the company would dispose of brands that lacked a clear social or environmental purpose within a certain time frame. Despite being profitable, Unilever’s popular brands Marmite, Magnum, and Pot Noodle were left vulnerable to a cull, which could potentially hurt the company’s bottom line. As Jope pursued a purpose-led brand strategy at Unilever, some of the challenges he faced were slowing sales growth, growing competition, the threat of direct-to-consumer brands, economic and political uncertainties in certain markets, and investor concerns over sustainability targets. With the 2020 deadlines of the USLP fast approaching, it remained to be seen whether Jope would be able to fulfill the targets while boosting growth through purpose-led brands or if he would succumb to investors’ demand for short-term profits being put ahead of purpose. Going forward, what can Jope do to strike an appropriate balance between higher purpose and financial success?

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Issues

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

	Understand how Unilever integrated sustainability into its business under Paul Polman.
	Analyze Unilever’s new Purpose-led Brand Strategy under Alan Jope.
	Understand the interrelationship between Purpose and Profits.
	Evaluate the issues and challenges faced by Jope with regard to Unilever’s new brand strategy.
	Explore strategies and approaches that Jope can adopt to align Purpose with Profits and fulfill targets of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP).

Contents

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND NOTE

EMBEDDING SUSTAINABILITY

TAKING OVER THE REINS

PURPOSE BEYOND PROFIT

CHALLENGES AHEAD

EXHIBITS

Keywords

Brand strategy, Purpose-led Brand Strategy, Corporate Sustainability, Responsible Leadership, Conscious Capitalism, Brand Management, Profit vs Purpose, Conscious Leadership, Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), Sustainability-Profitability Relationship Model,Goal Framing Theory,FMCG

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