UN awards Unilever for sustainable and water neutral investment

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, commended the dti for nominating Unilever for the award as it reflected the world-class standard of investments being made in South Africa. "As a Department responsible for manufacturing and trade relations, we have been most proud of the efforts that Unilever South Africa has made in ensuring they assist government in greening the economy, empowering communities and investing in sustainable agriculture.

"The activities of the Indonsa factory form part of the agro-processing value-chain, one of the largest sub-sectors of the South African economy. The real value resides in sustainably turning the raw material into products such as the ones the Indonsa factory produces. As a country we need to further invest in manufacturing, but more importantly, build sustainable agro-processing capability within our communities in order to support investments such as Unilever's Indonsa facility," said Davies.

The Indonsa factory is one of four Unilever factories in KwaZulu-Natal and is based in Riverhorse Valley in Durban. The factory manufactures products such as Aromat, Knorr, Knorrox, Rajah and Robertson's spices. The facility is a global first for Unilever in terms of advancing its focus on progressive sustainable green technology.

World class technology

According to Sandeep Desai, Unilever's vice-president for manufacturing in South and Southern Africa, the factory is one of Unilever's largest investments in the world and it is Unilever's second largest savoury plant. The factory boasts world class technology from around the globe. A major part of the investment in this project has gone towards making the plant environmentally sustainable in three areas, namely carbon reduction, water neutrality and zero landfill.

The advanced technology in operation at Indonsa sets new global standards in responsible and sustainable dry food production. "This factory forms part of a multi-year, multi-billion investment plan by Unilever South Africa to cater for our growth. The investment also forms part of the company's Sustainable Living Plan, which aims to double the size of the business whilst reducing our environmental impact.

"It is envisioned that the technology being utilised at Indonsa will enable Unilever to meet strict sustainability standards at this site, providing a working model to be implemented at other sites in the future. We are proud of this achievement and will continue to promote foreign direct investment and environmentally friendly practices at all of our plants," concluded Desai.