This case documents Unilever’s journey to revitalize Lipton brand through sourcing all its tea from Rainforest Alliance Certified (TM) farms. Commodity value chains around the world are increasingly stressed; some even face severe and dire circumstances. This is due to myriad social, environmental and economic challenges linked to the finite nature of natural resources and rapidly growing populations. These pressures threaten not only the raw material supply for key industries such as food & beverage and textiles, but also the livelihoods of tens of millions of people and the natural resources they depend on. For this reason, companies, NGOs, and governments are actively seeking solutions to render commodity value chains more sustainable ‘Unilever’s commitment to fully convert to certified sustainable tea sent a powerful signal to the supply chain that certification was now a market reality.’ This case emphasizes both the intangible (e.g., brand/reputation) and tangible (e.g., supply chain security) business benefits that drove Unilever’s value creation strategy. It is an excellent example of how companies, by carefully building multidimensional business cases for sustainability and strategic execution plans that account for the specific challenges of sustainability and partnerships, can grasp opportunities and forge new markets. It shows how companies can become first movers and leaders in contributing to more sustainable business models, while simultaneously ensuring the financial and longer-term sustainability of their core business. Most interestingly in this case, the moves made by Unilever have had a knock-on effect of contributing to a “tipping point” for sustainability in the tea sector.
