Unilever Employees lend helping hand to Syrian refugees

Over 198,000 AED and 273 KGS of clothes were donated

Dubai, UAE – 13/10/2013 – Unilever, one of the leading FMCG companies, led a fund-raising program for its employees across the globe in support of Syrian refugees.  A total of 198,000 AED was raised, with half the amount donated by Unilever employees across the Gulf countries, while the other half was contributed by employees from across the globe; with Unilever matching all employee donations.  Additionally, 273 Kg's of clothes were collected and donated.

This fund-raising initiative was in line with Unilever's long and rich history in addressing social issues through its business and brands, and increasing its positive social impact by improving people's lives.

The amount raised globally was donated to Unilever's Foundation partners; UNICEF, Save the Children, OXFAM and World Food Program (WFP), which are playing a key role in meeting the humanitarian needs of the people in Syria and its surrounding countries, while the sum donated by employees in the Gulf, along with the clothes collected, was donated to the Red Crescent in Kuwait.

With over 2 million Syrian refugees in the region and 6.8 million Syrians in need of assistance, the daily struggle for survival grows ever more desperate and humanitarian needs across the country are now at a critical level.

“These funds raised by our employees' generous contribution are in line with Unilever's values of giving back to its community and Unilever's proactive role in helping improve the quality of life for all.” said Arijit Ghose, Managing Director Unilever Gulf.

The Unilever Foundation was set up in 2012 with the aim of improving the quality of life by providing access to water, nutrition, and self esteem and is aligned with the Unilever Sustainability Living Plan's ambitious goal of helping more than one billion people improve their health and well-being while creating a sustainable future.

ABOUT UNILEVERUnilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. Our products are present in 7 out of 10 homes globally and are used by over 2 billion people on a daily basis. We work with 173,000 colleagues around the world, and we have generated annual sales of €51 billion in 2012. Over half of our company's footprint is in the faster growing developing and emerging markets (57% in 2011). Working to create a better future every day, we help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. Our portfolio includes some of the world's best known brands such as Knorr, Persil / Omo, Dove, Sunsilk, Hellmann's, Lipton, Rexona / Sure, Wall's, Lux, Rama, Ponds and Axe.
Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals are more than 50 time-based targets. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/.
Unilever has been recognized in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes for 14 consecutive years. We are included in the FTSE4Good Index Series and attained a top environmental score of 5, leading to inclusion in the FTSE4Good Environmental Leaders Europe 40 Index. In 2011 Unilever led the Climate Counts Company Scorecard and for the second year topped the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the GlobeScan / Sustainability latest annual survey (2012). The company is an employer of choice in many of the countries in which it operates and is seen as a symbol for innovation and leadership development.
For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.