Unilever continues to make progress towards its ten-year sustainability goals, the senior leadership team reported today during a briefing on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan Progress Report 2011 before key opinion leaders in Washington, D.C.

By 2020, the company aims to help more than one billion people improve their health and wellbeing, halve the environmental footprint of its products, and source 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably. In addition, Unilever is designing new products which are more sustainable and encourage people to consume more sustainability. For example, the company manufactures food products with recyclable packaging and other products that will help consumers use less water while washing and showering.

Other highlights of Unilever’s progress include:

• Sustainable sourcing – 100% of its palm oil used in the U.S. is now sourced sustainably (find out more information on sustainable palm oil here).
• Hygiene – 48 million people reached with Lifebuoy soap’s handwashing programs in 2010 and 2011.
• Nutrition – good progress in reducing saturated fat in products and eliminating trans fat.
• Drinking water – 35 million people gained access to safe drinking water from Pureit system since 2005.

Kees Kruythoff, Head of Unilever North America, noted that the company is committed to building upon the progress it has made so far as part of its ten-year plan. We look forward to tracking the company’s success as it continues to enhance the sustainability of its products, its operations and supply chain.

We saw our first “Dream Machine” recycling container on a downtown street corner yesterday evening. The photos are of the northeast corner at 13th and F NW.
From “Nation’s Capital is First City to Partner with PepsiCo Dream Machine Recycling Initiative, Quadrupling Recycling Bins in Downtown D.C.”

WASHINGTON, March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) today announced a partnership with the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) and the District Department of Public Works (DPW) that will make Washington, D.C. the nation’s first city to partner with the Dream Machine recycling initiative. A total of 363 recycling bins will be placed throughout the DowntownDC BID area, offering a convenient and rewarding recycling option for people while they are on-the-go and advancing the BID’s Greening Downtown DC initiative.

PepsiCo’s Dream Machine recycling initiative, which aims to place both interactive kiosks and bins, was created in partnership with Waste Management (NYSE: WM) and Keep America Beautiful.

With approximately 1,500 Dream Machines located in more than 20 states to date, the program aims to increase the U.S. beverage container recycling rate from 34 to 50 percent by 2018….

Jeremy Cage, senior vice president of Innovation and Insights at PepsiCo and head of the Dream Machine recycling initiative, commented, “We are thrilled that our nation’s capital is the first city to offer the Dream Machine program to its community. With collaborative partnerships like this one, we are confident that we can help provoke behavioral change by making recycling more convenient, and we encourage others to join us as we strive to make positive change for our planet.”

For all the bottles and cans recycled in a Dream Machine bin or kiosk in Washington, D.C., and across the nation, PepsiCo will make a contribution to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), a national program offering free, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 U.S. veterans with disabilities.

Seattle Times, “Seattle voters don’t buy shopping-bag charge,” reporting on the 58-42 referral vote rejecting the City Council’s 20 cent tax on disposable bags.

The response from a defeated activist is a classic of the art: Blame big business and express disdain for the voters. “Big money can come in and run deceptive scare campaigns, but in the end, people who care will defeat the people who scare,” said Green Bag Campaign spokesman Brady Montz.

So if you voted no, you don’t care? Mr. Montz should read the comments to the Times’ editorial, “Voters reject disposable-bag fee,” to better assess the vox populi. Yes, there’s the usual frothing from the left, but also some quite reasonable explanations for a no vote.

From Seattle Joe: “I voted ‘no’ because I like using the grocery store bags around the house, thus, making them go through several uses before they end up in a landfill. If the ‘yes’ people had their way, I would have to BUY garbage bags, dog-poop bags and lunch sacks. Then, these single-use items would then be disposed of. To some of you, the cost to the pocketbook and environment of single-use garbage bags is fine, but to some of us that cost is too high.”

And from HerrBrahms: “I’m a leftist, cyclist, Bush-hater emeritus who had resolved to vote down the bag tax long before the industry money arrived. I did so for many of the same reasons that I’m reading on this board: the tax would disproportionately hit the poor, the nanny state element, and the fact that I reuse my plastic bags several times each before I finally dispose of their withered remains.”

Herr Brahms also notes a public health consideration, that is, the potential harm from mixing of fresh vegetables and meats in a single bag.

A good point: As we threw one of our canvas bags into the wash last weekend, we noted a noxious residue of banana sludge, flank steak blood, and sugar from the pastries. Mmmmm. Reusable bag.