Unilever’s vice president of marketing for food has encouraged fellow marketers to make sustainable choices for consumers a top priority.

Paul Nevett told Marketing Week that marketing campaigns with a personal edge are more likely to make consumers sit up and take notice of pressing issues such as global warming, health and sustainability.

Nevett stressed the importance of making it easier for consumers to play a part in tackling these issues. He also hopes that by offering consumers more sustainable choices, Unilever will gain the upper hand on their competitors.

Unilever featured in marketing news columns earlier this week after their Chief Executive, Paul Polman, outlined his vision for future sustainable retailing and manufacturing. Speaking at the Consumer Goods Forum in London, Polman and his Tesco counterpart Terry Leahy urged retailers to operate in a more sustainable manner and to help consumers to make more informed choices.

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is fast becoming the flagship product for Unilever’s vision. The brand has pledged to convert all of its ingredients to Fairtrade by 2012, and a recent high-profile advertising campaign highlighted the importance it places on sustainability.  

While Unilever’s recent moves have drawn fresh attention to responsible retailing, they are certainly not the first manufacturer to use sustainability as the basis for their marketing campaigns. In 2009, Kraft Foods launched a £7.5m campaign for its Kenco coffee brand, claiming that its new “Eco Refill” packs had 97% less packaging than traditional glass jars.

As public awareness for global issues continues to grow, manufacturers are clearly recognising the need to act more responsibly and provide consumers with more sustainable choices. Retailers can benefit greatly from this change in ethos, so we can expect to see many others follow Unilever and Kraft’s lead soon.

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