Unilever has finally taken a stance on TTIP -- after more than 155,000 SumOfUs members took action.
In a quote the company shared with a SumOfUs campaigner, it said:
"Unilever is committed to work with FDE [FoodDrinkEurope] and other stakeholders to ensure that EU Trade Policy, including TTIP, is consistent with the climate agenda to which countries committed in the Paris Agreement."
This is a promising start -- and couldn't have happened without your help. But we’re going to push Unilever a bit further.
It's easy for big companies to come back with warm words when they're challenged with a people-powered campaign. The real test is what they do when it comes to the crunch.
If thousands of SumOfUs members send Unilever’s CEO Paul Polman a direct message, we can push the company to share how exactly it believes it can stop TTIP from damaging our climate.
Unilever has made sustainability a high priority. It has stepped up to push world leaders to agree to an ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goal at last year’s climate talks.
That is why the SumOfUs community believes Unilever can do better than to stand on the sidelines when it comes to TTIP -- especially considering its membership in pro-TTIP lobby group FoodDrinkEurope.
• TTIP allows corporations to sue governments for trying to tackle climate change.
• The so called 'regulatory cooperation' provides businesses with the means to weaken or delay legislation that it considers a ‘trade irritant’, this includes the development of legislation in areas such as consumer protection, health and safety and the environment.
• An ambitious TTIP will see millions of extra tonnes of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere.
• The US would increase its fossil fuel exports to the EU should TTIP pass.
I appreciate Unilever’s commitment to work towards a trade policy that is in line with the Paris Agreement. In light of TTIP’s damaging effects on our ability to fight climate change, I am urging you to share how you will put this commitment into action in regard to TTIP.
More information
PR week. 11 May 2016.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung. 23 April 2016.