Corporate Social Responsibility, a Strategic Tool for Sustainable Value Creation: A Case Study of Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan

Abstract

Strategic CSR may be described as an ongoing and complex process. Some strategic CS initiatives may be successful since the beginning while others may require improvement in order to contribute to goals achievement. A certain fact is that a responsible company should constantly learn, improve and adapt their practices considering the dynamic of markets and changing expectations of stakeholders. The journey made by Unilever, up to this point, in terms of sustainable value creation following strategic CSR approaches sustains both the concept's complexity and the company's willingness to constantly development and improve in order to remain a leading organization in the industry of fast moving consumer goods. The objective of this paper was to analyze the performance of Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan from a strategic CSR and sustainable value creation perspective, following a qualitative approach. The findings of the study revealed that even though the organization did not managed to achieve of all the stated USLP's objectives, during these 10 years plan, the firm has grown based on sustainable, durable, people-driven principles, gain competitive advantage and achieve to some extent, both economic and social goals. In addition, the results showed that Unilever should improve its ability to retain employees. Thus, the company should further consider focusing more on educating consumers regarding the implications and overall benefits of responsible consumption and behavior in order to increase the value of the brands and of the company.