Reduced energy consumption, minimized waste, optimized production efficiency—these are key factors in Unilever’s sustainability efforts. The company uses Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) as a powerful tool to achieve these goals. OEE helps Unilever measure and improve manufacturing performance, which directly impacts its environmental footprint and resource utilization.

How Unilever Leverages OEE to Drive Sustainability and Growth

Unilever integrates OEE into its Unilever Manufacturing System (UMS), focusing on three key components: availability, performance, and quality. This data-driven approach allows the company to make targeted changes that enhance sustainability while driving operational efficiency.

The company’s sustainability efforts are now centered around four major platforms: climate, nature, plastics, and livelihoods. These plans are fully integrated into the Business Group strategies, ensuring that sustainability goals align with commercial objectives.

OEE’s Impact on Energy Efficiency and Waste Reduction

One of the most significant ways Unilever uses OEE is to improve energy efficiency. By tracking energy consumption per ton of production and optimizing equipment runtime, the company has achieved a 74% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in its operations since 2015. This progress contributes to Unilever’s goal of reducing CO2 from energy in manufacturing by 100% by 2030.

OEE also plays a crucial role in waste reduction. By improving quality control and implementing predictive maintenance strategies, Unilever minimizes product waste and inefficient resource use. This aligns with the company’s commitment to zero non-hazardous waste to landfill.

Water Conservation and Sustainable Packaging

Unilever aims to reduce water use in manufacturing by 50% per ton of production by 2025. OEE data helps identify opportunities to optimize water-intensive processes and detect anomalies that could indicate leaks or inefficiencies.

The company’s commitment to making 100% of its plastic packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025 also benefits from OEE improvements. Better OEE leads to more efficient use of packaging materials and helps identify opportunities for packaging innovation.

Recent Performance and Future Outlook

In 2023, Unilever delivered underlying sales growth of 7%, driven mainly by price growth in response to high inflation levels. The company also saw a return to volume growth as prices began to moderate. The underlying operating margin increased by 60bps to 16.7%, driven by improvements in gross margin.

Looking ahead, Unilever has implemented a Growth Action Plan under CEO Hein Schumacher. This plan focuses on:

1. Prioritizing 30 Power Brands for investment

2. Driving unmissable brand superiority

3. Scaling multi-year innovation

4. Increasing brand investment and returns

5. Selectively optimizing the portfolio

Challenges and Opportunities

While OEE has proven valuable for Unilever’s sustainability efforts, the company faces ongoing challenges in optimizing this approach. Integrating OEE data with other sustainability metrics and extending OEE principles into the supply chain are areas of focus.

Unilever is also working on creating comprehensive dashboards that provide a holistic view of operational efficiency and environmental impact. This will help the company make more informed decisions and further improve its sustainability performance.

Final Thoughts on How Unilever Leverages OEE 

Unilever’s use of OEE to improve sustainability demonstrates the power of data-driven approaches in manufacturing. By focusing on availability, performance, and quality, the company not only enhances its operational efficiency but also makes significant strides in reducing its environmental impact. As Unilever continues to refine its OEE strategies and implement its Growth Action Plan, it sets an example for how large-scale manufacturers can balance productivity with sustainability goals in an increasingly competitive and environmentally conscious market.

What You Should Do Next 

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