Disasters and emergencies

From man-made disasters to natural emergencies

Covid-19 means that the year 2020 will forever be synonymous with heartbreak and disaster for millions of people throughout the world. And Covid-19 comes on top of the devastating disasters and emergencies we see every year – some natural, others man-made, all involving a huge human cost for those affected.

According to the World Bank, 26 million people are pushed into poverty every single year because of more frequent and severe natural disasters. And as the impacts of climate change are felt, this figure is expected to rise.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that currently over 79.5 million people have been forced from their homes, destroying livelihoods, tearing families apart and devastating communities. And over half of refugee children are thought to be out of school.

The economic costs are also significant, with the level of humanitarian assistance required by the UN at an all-time high. Covid-19 alone is estimated to have cost the global economy up to $8.8 trillion (almost 10% of GDP) (ADB, 2020).

These crises have a direct impact on people’s lives and businesses, and also cause disruption and instability to supply chains and logistics. And yet, despite all the tragedy and suffering, we’ve also seen glimmers of hope, with communities often coming together to support their most vulnerable.

How do we help?

When disaster strikes, we provide support such as hygiene and business expertise, product donations, financial assistance and employee contributions. These all help with emergency relief efforts, assisting people to address the immediate challenges that they face.

We also advocate for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and businesses to work together on disaster planning. Businesses can bring important knowledge, infrastructure, resources and networks to help reduce the impact of emergencies. As well as being good for society, disaster planning helps to make businesses and supply chains resilient.

Our response to Covid-19

In response to Covid-19, we’re donating €100 million worth of soap, sanitiser, bleach and food. We’re also giving approximately €50 million to the Covid Action Platform of the World Economic Forum, supporting organisations including UNICEF and UNHCR.

We’ve donated 32 million bars of soap to UNHCR, which were distributed through 55 operations – this is one of the largest in-kind donations received by UNHCR from the private sector. We’ve also launched the Hygiene & Behaviour Change Coalition to teach a billion people about practical steps to help avoid infection (see below).

To support suppliers, we offered €500 million of cash flow relief across our extended value chain, and early payment for our most vulnerable SME suppliers, to help them with financial liquidity. And we extended credit to selected small-scale retail customers whose business relies on Unilever, to help them manage and protect jobs.

We protected our own workforce from sudden drops in pay – as a result of market disruption or being unable to perform their role – for up to three months. This included our employees, contractors and those who manage or work on our sites.

Building resilience in local communities

We help build resilience in local communities and supply chains by leveraging our business expertise, supporting economies. For example, we’re helping smallholder farmers in our supply chain to improve their yields, and increase the quality and consistency of the crops they grow.

In the Philippines, we created an innovative programme with the Humanitarian Leadership Academy (HLA) to help SME businesses in our value chain prepare for emergencies. Rather than waiting until a disaster impacts, we trained over 1,000 businesses in creating business continuity plans. This helps to ensure not only their business resilience but also people’s ability to access essential goods in times of need.

Relief where it counts

We’ve been responding to global disasters and humanitarian crises for years. We know that we can maximise our assistance by working through partnerships.

In response to the devastating Australian wildfires in 2020, for instance, we distributed hygiene and food products to those affected via our partner Foodbank. And we supported relief efforts by offering extra paid leave to brave employees volunteering as first responders.

Following the Beirut explosion in 2020, we donated to the Lebanese Red Cross and to NGOs Beit el Baraka and Live Love Beirut. And we donated Lifebuoy hygiene products to Our Lady of Hope, Save the Children and Ajialouna.

We also partner with humanitarian aid organisation Direct Relief to help people across the world get the products they need as fast as possible in times of crisis. Our soaps, body washes and shampoos are part of the emergency kits distributed through Direct Relief’s networks. So far, Direct Relief has distributed over 800,000 kits in response to a number of emergencies in over 35 countries. And since the onset of Covid-19, Direct Relief has been providing PPE, ventilators and medical essentials to health workers worldwide.

Vaseline lends a healing hand

Millions of people affected by crises or poverty suffer from extreme physical discomfort and infection. This can leave them unable to work or function properly. The cause? Common skin conditions that could be treated – or even prevented altogether – with a simple jar of Vaseline® Jelly.

Our Vaseline® Healing Project, in partnership with Direct Relief, has helped to heal the skin of over 5 million people across 79 countries through product donations, dermatological care and training for healthcare professionals.

Our presence on the medical frontlines meant that when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, we were ready to double down on our commitment. Globally, we’ve donated more than €5 million in funds, products and PPE to frontline workers and communities in need.

And due to overwhelming consumer demand for protection, we’ve introduced a new range of germ-killing Vaseline products in record time in over ten markets. We’re introducing these in over 20 countries, helping millions of people to keep their hands moisturised and germ-free.

Displaced but not forgotten

Those impacted by disasters and emergencies often need long-term support to rebuild their lives. So we help displaced families access everyday essentials, develop their skills and settle into their new homes. In Bangladesh, for example, we’re mobilising our Lifebuoy and Vaseline programmes to improve the health and wellbeing of 100,000 Myanmar refugees.

In January 2020, Lifebuoy carried out its first public fundraising campaign, supporting Syrian refugees. More than a quarter of this community lacks access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, making them particularly vulnerable to disease. We introduced a special Lifebuoy purpose pack in the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia to support the health of Syrian refugee children.

In Turkey, we developed a reverse mentoring scheme with ideas platform Xynteo. The Embark partnership connects talented young Syrians in Istanbul with business leaders across Unilever Turkey to build refugees’ personal and professional networks. In return, we benefit from insights into where young people see culture, technology and business heading. We’re now running this in collaboration with Mastercard.

Through Ben & Jerry’s, we partnered with The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN) to create the Ice Cream Entrepreneurs (ICE) Academy. This helps refugees better integrate into society and access economic opportunities. Refugees are given training to develop their own business, alongside short-term jobs with our Ben & Jerry’s brand. And we didn’t let Covid-19 stop us – we moved the programme online, with a greater emphasis on entrepreneur development.

Advocating for refugees’ rights

We believe it’s important that refugees are given the right support and opportunities to rebuild their lives. Central to this is the right to work, enabling them to fully contribute to society.

Unilever was one of the first businesses to join the Tent Partnership for Refugees. This works to help businesses hire refugees and use their voice to advocate for refugees’ right to work. In Malaysia, for example, we’re working with Tent, UNHCR and other business leaders to call on the government to give refugees the right to work.

We also sit on the Centre for Global Development’s ‘Expanding Refugee Labour Market Access’ Advisory Group alongside government, UN and civil society representatives. This is aimed at creating a stronger policy evidence base to drive policy change in this area.