Shared Value Represents Our Strategic Vision of Sustainability- Unilever South Africa Boss
Enver Groenewald, Media Director – Africa, Unilever South Africa, disclosed that shared value represents Unilever’s strategic vision of sustainability. In this interview, Groenewald explains why his company is sponsoring the Loeries award.
Unilever is the sponsor of the Shared Value Award, why have you chosen to partner with the Loeries and why specifically this category?
The Shared Value Award recognises sustainable marketing that supports creativity, innovation and companies who do good while doing well in their daily business practices. It is closely aligned to Unilever as it represents our strategic vision of sustainability.
As a global brand with exposure to various markets – how would you rate the concept of ‘shared value’ in an African context compared to the developed market, what are the gaps, if there are any?
Africa provides corporates with numerous opportunities for them to develop products that solve problems experienced by society. The challenges and opportunities faced by Africa are a fertile ground for innovation. Understanding local communities, their challenges and aspirations is the first step to creating shared value.
Shared Value is more than charity, it is about adding value in a way that benefits the bottom line, as the sponsor of this category at the Loeries – how does Unilever add value to its target market?
In 2010 we launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) which is our blueprint for sustainable business and commits us to:
- Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020.
- Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030.
- Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.
The value we add is through our sustainable farming, empowering communities by creating jobs, and brand driven health, hygiene and sanitation programmes in schools.
Loeries promotes excellence in creativity and innovation, how can brands and creative agencies up their game to ensure that sustainable marketing activities are achieved?
We need to learn from each other. One just has to look at the campaigns that received accolades in the past Loeries Awards to see how brands and creative agencies have started to embrace the impact marketing has on addressing social issues and shaping communities.
What are your expectations for the Shared Value entries this year’s Loeries?
The award has been gaining momentum over the years and if last year’s entries are any indication, competition will be tough.
As a previous winner and top ranked brand, what are your hopes for Unilever in #Loeries2017?
The Loeries provide us with an opportunity to compete against the best and being selected as a finalist is an indication that our campaigns meet the Loeries creative standards. Receiving a Loerie award confirms that we connect with our consumers in a creative and meaningful way.
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