Unilever has retained its lead in the sustainability stakes among the world's largest companies according to the latest Tomorrow’s Value Rating (TVR).
The TVR evaluates the sustainability performance of the world’s largest companies, and it's the second year running the consumer goods multinational has come out on top.
The TVR 2014 evaluates the sustainability performance of 45 major companies, including 10 in the Food and Beverage sector.
In retaining its number one spot, Unilever offers a significantly more comprehensive, compelling and ambitious vision of the future for itself, its sector and the global economy as a whole, says the report published by DNV GL.
“Unilever stands out for its ambition and sensible milestones,” said Jon Woodhead, business development manager, DNV GL - Business Assurance.
“It has set an ambitious target of halving the environmental impact of its products by 2020 while still maintaining economic growth in that period. It is a brave move, challenging the status quo, and demonstrates essential components of leadership."
The next highest performing food and beverage companies were Nestlé and Diageo.
The TVR found there is a strong overall performance for the food and beverage sector with an average score of 75 per cent, which is above the global sector average of 69 per cent.
However, according to DNV GL, human rights are an area for significant improvement across all rated companies.
DNV GL also said that while sustainability leaders demonstrate ambition, “drastic action is required if we are to remain within our planetary boundaries”.
Food and beverage companies rated are Danone, Diageo, McDonalds, Mondelez, Nestle, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Tesco, Unilever, and Woolworth.
