How Unilever Unites Values, Wellbeing, and Results Through Purpose
In a world where corporate wellbeing strategies are under the microscope, Unilever continues to stand out, not through gimmicks or generic perks, but by embedding purpose at the heart of its culture.
As one of the world’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, Unilever is showing how sustainability and wellbeing can work hand in hand, for people, for the planet, and for performance.
Purpose as a Catalyst for Wellbeing
Unilever’s entire wellbeing philosophy is built on a simple but powerful premise: people perform better when they believe in what they’re doing. That’s why purpose, both organisational and personal, is not a sideline at Unilever, but a central pillar of their people strategy.
With iconic, purpose-driven brands like Dove (championing real beauty and self-esteem), Persil (powering dirt is good), and Ben & Jerry’s (activism through ice cream), employees are reminded daily that their work matters beyond profit.
And the results are clear. In Unilever’s own internal engagement surveys, a strong sense of purpose is regularly cited as one of the top reasons employees feel motivated, loyal, and fulfilled. In fact, Unilever employees who strongly identify with the company’s purpose are shown to perform better, stay longer, and report higher overall wellbeing.
The Unilever Compass: A Framework for Sustainable Success
Central to this approach is the Unilever Compass, the company’s strategic framework for delivering sustainable business success. Unlike traditional business plans that silo growth and wellbeing, the Compass fuses economic, environmental, and social goals into one clear vision.
This means that every Unilever employee, from the factory floor to the boardroom, can see how their role contributes to building a better world. Whether they’re innovating new packaging solutions or leading local community initiatives, the alignment between daily tasks and global impact is crystal clear.
It’s this clarity that creates psychological safety and motivation: employees feel not only useful, but valuable. And that’s a huge driver of wellbeing.
Sustainability in Action: Engaging the Workforce
Plastic Free July is just one of many initiatives that brings Unilever’s values to life in a visible, inclusive way. From employee-led clean-ups to reducing plastic in office spaces, the business rallies its people around a shared challenge.
But Unilever goes beyond symbolic gestures. The business is committed to achieving 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging by 2025. Employees are actively engaged in co-creating solutions, through innovation hackathons, sustainability training, and product development sprints that welcome cross-functional collaboration.
These efforts are not only eco-conscious but human-centred. They help staff feel part of something bigger, creating pride, unity, and a sense of shared purpose, powerful antidotes to the burnout, isolation, and disengagement seen in many large organisations today.
Embedding Purpose into Everyday Culture
Unilever has also invested in culture-building programmes that weave purpose into the employee experience. For example:
- Discover Your Purpose Workshops allow employees to reflect on their personal values and how they align with Unilever’s mission. These sessions have reached over 50,000 employees globally.
- Unilever’s “U-Work” Model gives people greater flexibility in how they contribute, supporting autonomy and work-life balance, a key part of wellbeing.
- The Sustainable Living Plan, now evolved into the Compass strategy, empowers business units to create their ownsustainability targets, owned and led by employees.
This decentralised, values-led approach gives individuals a voice and a sense of agency. It’s not wellbeing done to employees, but with them, creating a psychologically safe and intrinsically motivated workforce.
Measurable Impact: Linking Purpose to Performance
Unilever doesn’t just assume these efforts are working, it measures them. The company tracks not only traditional performance metrics, but also purpose-related KPIs such as:
- Employee engagement and retention linked to mission alignment
- Wellbeing scores across global locations
- Brand performance tied to sustainability credentials
The data speaks volumes. Teams that feel connected to purpose report up to 30% higher engagement and reduced absenteeism. Meanwhile, purpose-led brands grow twice as fast as others in the portfolio, proof that what’s good for people and planet is also good for profit.
The Bottom Line: People, Planet, and Performance
Unilever’s model offers a compelling case study for businesses navigating the future of work. While many organisations still treat wellbeing and ESG as separate agendas, Unilever brings them together under one strategic roof, demonstrating that purpose isn’t a soft extra; it’s a powerful performance driver.
As businesses seek new ways to attract, retain, and energise their workforce, Unilever shows what’s possible when you design a company not just around productivity, but around principles.
Purpose is no longer a buzzword, it’s a wellbeing strategy. And Unilever is leading the way.
About Your People Power
Spotlight Features are brought to you by Your People Power, the workplace performance and wellbeing experts helping large organisations build high-performing, happy, and healthy cultures. Founded by award-winning workplace wellbeing speaker and transformation expert Gina Buckney, we work with businesses across the globe to help their people and performance thrive.
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Did you enjoy reading about Unilever’s Power of Purpose? For similar features, check out last weeks SPOTLIGHT FEATURE on KPMG.