Unilever Sri Lanka took home the category award for Best Performance in fostering Employee Relations at the recent Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards 2022. The award was conferred on Unilever by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in recognition of the company’s best-in-class Employee Agenda and People Practices in employee engagement, training & career development, wellbeing, youth empowerment and diversity & inclusion, which in turn has created a corporate culture of resilient and productive employees across the company.

The Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards are widely considered Sri Lanka’s highest corporate honour, recognizing the best contributors to the local economy, community, and the environment.   

Ananya Sabharwal, HR Director – Unilever Sri Lanka said, “We are humbled to receive this recognition which testifies our efforts to foster a workplace that truly makes a difference in the lives of our people through timely and progressive policies. Unilever was a source of strength to our vast eco-system of employees, work force and business partners throughout the economic crisis. Some of our notable people interventions include robust financial support schemes and non-monetary support schemes such as the facilitation of discounted product offers and training 100% of our factory workforce and 90% of our office employees as Mental Health Champions to support our people and their families during this difficult period for everyone.”

Ananya further added, “The humanitarian approach taken by Unilever when it was most needed for our people and probably most difficult for corporates, helped build a stronger sense of purpose within our people which in turn helped the company and the country in this hour of need. I strongly believe that the role of Human Resources is to create an enabling environment to unleash the true potential, innate resilience, and purpose of our people.”

Said Hajar Alafifi, Chairperson and Managing Director - Unilever Sri Lanka, “We are honoured to be recognised once again as a good corporate citizen and thank the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce for providing a platform to showcase our efforts in business sustainability. Driven by our purpose of making sustainable living commonplace, we owe all our efforts and achievements to our greatest asset - Our people. In line with our commitment to contribute to a fairer and more socially inclusive world, we will continue to focus on building the tools and resources to meet the real needs of our people to better enable and empower our Unilever family to thrive at what they do.”

Over the past 2 years, the company has introduced three industry first policies in Sri Lanka including its Fertility Support Policy, Domestic Violence Support Policy and Menstrual Leave Policy. Unilever also offers extended Maternity and Paternity Leave, as well as Career Breaks which enables its people to pursue their personal goals while in employment.

Unilever also leads in women representation. With a high percentage of females employed throughout the company – 55% in the Management Committee, 35% overall and 50% among interns and contractual employees, the company encourages greater participation of females across the board. Recently, it crossed the 40% mark in gender balance for the first time among its management employees and is in pursuit of reaching 50-50 gender balance by 2025.

In 2022, Unilever was recognised as 'One of Asia's Top 50 Employer Brands’ by the World HRD Congress, ‘The Organisation with the Highest Youth Contribution’ by Women in Management and the National Youth Services Council as well as ‘The Organisation with the Most Women-Friendly Company Policies in Sri Lanka’ by SATYN Magazine and CIMA.

Ananya Sabharwal, Unilever HR Director and Nayani Peiris, Unilever Head of Employee Relations & Senior HR Business Partner – Supply Chain, receiving the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award for Employee Relations from Manjula de Silva, Secretary General and CEO - Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; and Dr. Ananda Mallawatantri, Sri Lanka Country Representative of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

Photo caption : From left to right - Aruna Uthpala, Unilever Factory Manager – Horana; Nayani Peiris, Unilever Head of Employee Relations & Senior HR Business Partner – Supply Chain; Ananya Sabharwal, Unilever HR Director; Rumal Fernando, Unilever Head of Customer Service and Logistics; Neluka Wikramanayake, Unilever Corporate Communications Manager; Bathiya Dayaratne, Unilever Customer Development Director; Anusha Kotalawala, Unilever Factory Manager – Agarapathana; and Ridma Pathirana, Unilever Senior Corporate Communications Executive.

Funds school supplies to children with every employee manhour invested in e-learning

Unilever Sri Lanka has embarked on the ninth year of its annual ‘Learning to Make a Difference’ initiative, designed to convert every employee manhour - spent on self- e-learning - to Rupees, to support the schoolchildren of its Saubhagya entrepreneurs. The funds collected are used to provide essential school supplies to aid the children in their education.  

Saubhagya is one of the oldest government - private sector partnerships, operating in collaboration with the Samurdhi Authority of Sri Lanka. It helps rural women earn a sustainable livelihood by becoming direct-to-home ambassadors of Unilever products. Launched in 2003 with five brave women, the programme now engages with 5,000 Saubhagya entrepreneurs today.

‘Learning to Make a Difference’ has positively impacted the lives of over 7,000 schoolchildren since 2013, nourishing their learning ambitions. Among other things, each sponsored child receives a schoolbag, notebooks, colour pencils, pencil cases, mathematical instruments for geometry, and so on. In 2021, Unilever’s wellbeing team also contributed by converting their fitness hours towards this donation.

Said Ananya Sabharwal, HR Director of Unilever Sri Lanka, “We believe that the most meaningful way to learn, is to help others learn. Many of our employees shared with me that they took the time to engage in our e-learning courses knowing that it would make a difference in the life of a child. That is the power of purposeful learning which we have unlocked with our employees. Our ‘As you learn, they learn’ mindset has also given us the opportunity to invest in our own self-learning, digital and growth journey to sharpen our knowledge, skills and become more future-fit”.

To unlock the donation, employees are required to complete any number of courses that contribute to their individual and business growth on Unilever’s e-learning platforms. This is also based on the company’s global goal to ‘Reskill or upskill employees with future-fit skills by 2025’, a target which Unilever Sri Lanka hopes to accomplish sooner.

The Unilever Saubhagya programme also awards scholarships to the extended families of active Saubhagya entrepreneurs, who have excelled in diverse academic milestones such as Grade 5 scholarships, GCE O/L or A/L examinations. The programme also identifies students who display exceptional talents in arts and sports. Saubhagya so far has awarded 680 scholarships out of which, over 200 children have succeeded in their academic journeys and gained admission to Sri Lankan universities and vocational training centres. 

Recognised for its commitment to empower Sri Lankan youth at the New Generation Awards 2022

Unilever Sri Lanka was recently honoured with the Youth Focus Corporate Award at the New Generation Awards 2022, for making the biggest youth impact in the country during 2021-2022, as a corporate entity. The event was organised by the New Generation Chapter of Women in Management (WIM), in partnership with the National Youth Services Council in Sri Lanka. This was the only corporate award category presented at the event.

The New Generation Awards aim to identify, nurture and groom young, talented Sri Lankans and celebrate their contribution to the nation. The event comprised of over 50 Awards being presented across 20 award categories, including awards for schoolchildren, young entrepreneurs, schools, institutions and corporates.

Commenting on the award, Ananya Sabharwal, HR Director of Unilever Sri Lanka said “We are truly humbled to receive this award in recognition of our efforts to upskill the youth of the country. At Unilever, we offer flexible and short-term youth initiatives that cater to undergraduates. So, by the time they graduate, they have already gained vital skills and corporate exposure that are necessary to lay a strong foundation for their career. Our talent scouts who are our own employees collectively contribute to Unilever’s youth investment by volunteering their time to conduct campus sessions and share experiences with undergraduates. This kind of real-time industry experience sharing, really enables youth in deciding the kind of career they want to have”.

Unilever Sri Lanka has committed to empower and equip 100,000 Sri Lankan youth with essential skills by 2025 and has already enabled 30,000+ local youth to become more employable over the last five years through its campus engagements, strategic industry – academic student partnerships and career opportunities. Some of its youth initiatives include its SPARKS Student Ambassador Programme which invites undergraduates from top Sri Lankan universities to become Unilever ambassadors within their universities; the Unilever Challenge which is a real time brand centered case study competition that gives first-hand experience in working with leading brands and building disruptive thinking; the Unilever Leadership Internship Programme which offers internship opportunities to undergraduates across all functions; and many others. It is noteworthy to mention that this year, 48% of the company’s contractual employees were absorbed into the management cadre.

The company has also partnered with John Keels Holdings and London Stock Exchange to launch ‘Fast-Track’, a cross-industry Summer Internship for Sri Lankan students studying locally and abroad; and has partnered with CIMA, the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University (KDU), AIESEC Sri Lanka and Gavel clubs, to help support dynamic capability building in Sri Lankan youth.

From left to right: Amasha Sirimanna - HR Intern (Unilever Leadership Internship Programme), Unilever Sri Lanka; Shehani Fernando - HR Projects Assistant - Employer Brand & Talent, Unilever Sri Lanka; Aaqilah Hanifa - Talent Advisor & Learning Specialist, Unilever Sri Lanka; Hiruni Perera - Reward Manager, Unilever Sri Lanka; Tahanee Harris - Assistant Manager - Talent & Employer Branding, Unilever Sri Lanka; Keshavi Puswewala - Senior HR Business Partner - Corporate Functions and Talent and Organisation & Employer Brand Lead, Unilever Sri Lanka; Ananya Sabharwal - Human Resources Director, Unilever Sri Lanka; Jency Paul - HR Business Partner - Go To Market, Unilever Sri Lanka; Ishan Dissanayake - Assistant Manager - Workplace Services, Unilever Sri Lanka; and Anjalie Jayatunge - HR Strategy, Learning & Engagement Lead & Assistant HR Business Partner for HR, Unilever Sri Lanka

Image Caption : Ananya Sabharwal - Human Resources Director, Unilever Sri Lanka, and Keshavi Puswewala - Senior HR Business Partner - Corporate Functions and Talent & Organisation & Employer Brand Lead, Unilever Sri Lanka, accepting the Youth Focus Corporate award from Dr. Rohantha Athukorala - President - Clootrack Sri Lanka, Maldives & Pakistan and Kasthuri Chellaraja - Executive Director & Group CEO, Hemas Holdings

Shines at Women Friendly Workplace Awards 2022

Unilever Sri Lanka was recently crowned ‘The Organisation with the Most Female Friendly Company Policies in the Sri Lankan Workplace’ by AICPA, CIMA and SATYN Magazine at the 2022 Women Friendly Workplace Awards. The company was also recognised as ‘One of Sri Lanka’s Most Outstanding Women Friendly Workplaces’, underscoring its commitment to ensure more inclusion, development, and representation for women to thrive in their careers and life.

The Women Friendly Workplace Awards recognises companies that foster measures to empower and support women in the workplace and encourages organisations to address UN Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality, prevailing in the country, to ensure a safer and thriving workplace for women.

Commenting on the award, Ananya Sabharwal, HR Director of Unilever Sri Lanka said “We are honoured to receive this esteemed recognition and thank AICPA, CIMA and SATYN for providing a platform to be recognised for our efforts. We have been striving to foster equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace for decades by launching meaningful policies which support women and diverse groups. Apart from our Anti-Harassment Policy which we already have in place, last year on International Women’s Day (IWD), we launched a Fertility Support Policy and Domestic Violence Support Policy. This International Women’s Day, we decided to #BreaktheBias and end the stigma around #MenstrualHealth by launching Menstrual Leave as part of our Medical Leave Policy and making sanitary napkins available across our office and factories, at the cost of the company. We also have other inclusion enabling policies for both men and women such as our Career Break Policy to help people bring their full selves to their life and work. I myself have benefitted from this Career Break policy that gave me the space to volunteer, travel, pursue advanced Yoga courses and to really invest in myself as a human being.”

Unilever Sri Lanka focuses on developing women, enabling them to succeed in their careers. The company’s women employees are groomed and pipelined to take up senior leadership roles through a carefully curated unbiased career development process. 80% of its female managers have been sent on development visits overseas.

Adding her thoughts, Hajar Alafifi, Chairperson & Managing Director of Unilever Sri Lanka said, “We’re determined to nurture a culture where all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, and where their uniqueness is celebrated. As such, we’ve set clear goals to accelerate diverse representation in our leadership and have even achieved some of them. 55% of our Country Management Committee are women and last year, we crossed the 40% mark in gender balance for the first time among our management employees and are in pursuit of reaching 50-50 gender balance by 2025. We continuously strive to create an environment where we can truly collaborate beyond all differences.

In 2021, Unilever created history in diversity in the company by recruiting 27 female employees to its Horana factory shop floor. Over the last few years, the company has also witnessed the appointment of its first female Factory Manager and first female Area Sales Manager. These milestones have enabled the company to break traditional gender stereotypes while encouraging female participation in traditionally male-dominant industries.

The company also supports new parents by offering extended Maternity Leave for 6 months and Paternity Leave for 3 weeks. The company also has a ‘buddy system’ in place that makes sure that new mothers have the right support system at work when they return from maternity. Unilever Sri Lanka also recently reopened its créche facility inclusive of a structured pre-school education system for working parents who need childcare support whilst at work. The facility also caters to children with disabilities.

Going beyond its own employees, Unilever also has a flagship women’s empowerment programme, ‘Saubhagya’, which provides sustainable livelihoods to 5,000 females through the sale of Unilever products in their communities. The initiative won the Merit Award in the ‘Best Sustainability Projects’ category at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards in 2020.

Image Caption : Standing (L – R) : Nayani Peiris - Head of Employee Relations & Senior HR Business Partner - Supply Chain & R&D, Unilever Sri Lanka; Keshavi Puswewala - Senior HR Business Partner - Corporate Functions and Talent and Organisation & Employer Brand Lead, Unilever Sri Lanka; Hiruni Perera - Reward Manager, Unilever Sri Lanka; Anjalie Jayatunge - HR Strategy, Learning & Engagement Lead & Assistant HR Business Partner for HR, Unilever Sri Lanka; Ruvini Perera - HR Business Partner - Supply Chain & Diversity & Inclusion Lead, Unilever Sri Lanka; Jency Paul - HR Business Partner - Go To Market, Unilever Sri Lanka; and Tahanee Harris - Assistant Manager - Talent & Employer Branding, Unilever Sri Lanka.

Empowers 30,000+ youth to help build a purposeful Sri Lanka

Sharing her thoughts, Ananya Sabharwal, Human Resources Director of Unilever Sri Lanka said, “We are truly humbled to receive this coveted recognition which underscores our commitment to building leaders of tomorrow. Many of our employees say that Unilever is like a university. I myself am grateful to have received a rich variety of exposure across the globe since my Unilever career gave me the opportunity to work and learn across India, USA, UK, the Netherlands and now most recently Sri Lanka. We want our youth to also experience development opportunities to become future fit citizens of the world. We not only invest in classroom trainings for students, but also offer flexible development interventions where our youth get to continue their studies whilst getting first-hand corporate exposure that help form a strong foundation for meaningful careers ahead. We truly believe that investing in our youth is one of the most promising ways in which we can invest in the growth and future of Sri Lanka, especially during these challenging times”.

The company’s Unilever Challenge which is a real time brand centered case study competition, offers undergraduates and fresh graduates the opportunity to represent Sri Lanka at the Global Unilever Future Leaders League, giving them first-hand experience in working with leading brands and building their disruptive thinking. This year, the local team coached by Unilever Sri Lanka emerged as runners-up, beating over 54,000 applicants and 500+ undergraduates worldwide.

ULEARN is another novel intervention of Unilever for undergraduates to volunteer for short-term business projects with Unilever Sri Lanka. These structured programmes enable flexibility and provides first-hand corporate exposure to students at a very early stage in their careers.

In its quest to enable youth employability and unlock future talent to reverse the current brain drain trend in the country, the company has also partnered with John Keels Holdings and London Stock Exchange to launch ‘Fast-Track’, a cross-industry Summer Internship for Sri Lankan students studying locally and abroad; and has partnered with CIMA, the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University (KDU), AIESEC Sri Lanka and Gavel clubs, to help support dynamic capability building in Sri Lankan youth.

'Asia's Best Employer Brands 2022' award presented to Unilever Sri Lanka

Unilever workforce from International Women's Day celebrations at Unilever Head Office

Iamge Caption: Unilever SPARKS student ambassadors at a Unilever Youth Forum Event

Unilever Sri Lanka recently joined forces with the ‘Manudam Mehewara’ multi-corporation humanitarian alliance initiated by Dialog Axiata PLC, MAS Holdings, Hemas Holdings PLC, execution partner Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement and independent auditor PwC Sri Lanka, together with CBL Group, Citi, Sunshine Holdings PLC and Huawei Technologies Lanka Co Pvt Ltd, to provide emergency relief to families affected by the ongoing economic crisis in the country. Unilever has donated in cash, and also in kind - courtesy of its flagship brands - Sunlight and Lifebuoy.

Whilst taking steps towards building the nation, the emergency relief aims to assist 200,000 vulnerable Sri Lankan families. The relief is currently being distributed across all 25 districts, where over 100,000 families in need have been assisted to date. The funds are utilized to purchase dry rations - dietary staples such as rice, dhal and so on, to address the critical requirement of providing emergency relief until a sustainable benefit transfer system has been executed in the country through an effective economic recovery plan.

Expressing her views on this project, Nilushi Jayatileke, Marketing Director, Personal Care and Beauty & Wellbeing of Unilever Sri Lanka’s said, “It moves us deeply to see the economic hardships and unprecedented challenges faced by our fellow Sri Lankans. At Unilever, we believe in making sustainable living commonplace. Many of our purpose-led brands have always considered it a responsibility to help build a sustainable Sri Lanka by facilitating a better quality of life for our people. Whilst all of us have been doing our part as corporates, the national crisis which we are faced with today is of a much greater magnitude than what a single brand or single corporate can do to make an impactful change. This is where the power of the collective plays an important role. I would like to congratulate Dialog and Sarvodaya as well as the other founding partners for launching Manudam Mehewara, to create a platform to bring together the power of the collective, in order to help our fellow Sri Lankans in a way that would make a scalable impact.”

Speaking on this occasion, Navin Pieris, Group Chief Officer, Dialog Enterprise, Dialog Axiata PLC said, “As a trusted digital companion for over 17 million Sri Lankans, we have recognised the emergency to step forward and assist those in dire need. Teaming up with an entity like Unilever will be both beneficial and resourceful as we need to work together to alleviate the problem that is taking place in our nation. Working alongside like-minded companies will bring much gratitude to all of us when supporting families across Sri Lanka.”

Speaking about the programme, Kamal Gamage, Acting Executive Director, Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement stated, “We at Sarvodaya are thrilled to have Unilever join us in this humanitarian effort and be a part of this timely initiative. As a social service organisation, working with our like-minded partners in harmony will help ease the strain on our people who are going through these difficult times. I would like to extend our thanks to Unilever for partaking in this initiative, for we are confident that it will strengthen our programme further.”

Over the past 84 years, Unilever has been deeply rooted in Sri Lankan society, curating a landscape that preserves and nurtures the true Sri Lankan way of life. It is one of the largest FMCG companies in the country and produces 96% of its products locally to the strictest manufacturing standards. The company’s portfolio comprises 30 market leading brands including Sunlight, Signal, Lifebuoy, Knorr, Vim and many others, through which it positively impacts the lives of 21 million Sri Lankans every day. Enhancing the livelihoods of the communities it operates in will continue to be at the forefront of its efforts.

Chandika Dayaratne, Head of Distributive Trade - Customer Development, Unilever Sri Lanka distributing an emergency relief pack to a family in Grandpass, Colombo

Neluka Wikramanayake, Corporate Communications Manager, Unilever Sri Lanka distributing an emergency relief pack to a family in Grandpass, Colombo

Manudam Mehewara emergency relief packs

Image Caption : Photographed left to right - Harsha Samaranayake, Senior General Manager – Brand and Media, Group Marketing of Dialog Axiata PLC; Kamal Gamage, Acting Executive Director, Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement; Navin Pieris, Group Chief Officer, Dialog Enterprise, Dialog Axiata PLC; Nilushi Jayatileke, Marketing Director – Personal Care and Beauty & Wellbeing, Unilever Sri Lanka; Sharmila Bandara, Marketing Director – Home Care & Nutrition, Unilever Sri Lanka; Channa Tennakoon, Head of Media & Activation, Unilever Sri Lanka; and Harini Rajadasa, Head of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs and External Communications, Unilever Sri Lanka

Declared Sector Winner in ‘Consumer Products’ and ‘Multinational’ categories

Unilever Sri Lanka has been ranked the Number 1 Most Respected FMCG company in the country in LMD’s Most Respected Entities publication for 2022. This marks the 17^th consecutive time that Unilever has been ranked in the list, moving 4 places up from 2021 to claim the overall 6^th position from over 100 varying companies. Unilever was also declared the Sector Winner in both the ‘Consumer Products’ ‘Multinational’ categories yet again, maintaining its winning streak.

 The company also emerged as the highest rated FMCG company to appear in LMD’s Top 12 performance measures/ indicators for awarding the rankings, namely: ‘Financial Performance’, ‘Quality Consciousness’, ‘Management Profile’, ‘Honesty’, ‘Innovation’, ‘Dynamism’, ‘Corporate Culture’, ‘CSR & Sustainability’, ‘Vision’, ‘National Perspective’, ‘HR & People Management’ and ‘Crisis Management’.

Sharing her comments on the recognition, Hajar Alafifi, Chairperson and Managing Director of Unilever Sri Lanka said, “It is truly a proud and honourable moment for us to be ranked as Sri Lanka’s Most Respected FMCG company once again, and more so for the 17^th consecutive time of being recognised by the people of Sri Lanka. This underscores the positive impact we have made in the lives of Sri Lankans across the years, through our purposeful brands, our corporate vision to make sustainable living commonplace, and the unwavering commitment of our people towards integrity and excellence in all that we do. We also offer our heartfelt appreciation to LMD and its management for creating a platform to encourage and recognise good corporate conduct across the economy, society and the environment.”       

 Over the past 84 years, Unilever has been deeply rooted in Sri Lankan society, curating a landscape that preserves and nurtures the true Sri Lankan way of life. It is one of the largest FMCG companies in the country and produces 96% of its products to the strictest manufacturing standards at its manufacturing facility in Horana and local third-party manufacturing sites. The company’s portfolio comprises 30 market leading brands including Sunlight, Signal, Lifebuoy, Knorr, Vim and many others, through which it enhances the lives of 21 million Sri Lankans every day.

 The company was ranked the ‘Number 1 Employer of Choice’ for the 10^th consecutive year in 2021 by NielsenIQ, awarded the ‘Most Effective Marketer of the Year’ award for the 6^th consecutive year at the 2021 Effie Awards, adjudged the ‘Most Awarded Entity’ in the ‘Consumer Products’ and ‘Multinational’ Categories in Sri Lanka in LMD’s 2021 ‘Most Awarded’ Edition, and had 15 Unilever brands ranked as the ‘Most Loved Brands’ in Sri Lanka in LMD’s 2022 Brands Annual Ranking. Unilever’s Horana factory was also honoured with the ISO 14001:2015 certification by the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI) for its commitment to identify, manage and reduce its impact on the environment through its operations.

The ‘Most Respected Entities in Sri Lanka’ ranking is based on an annual survey conceptualized by Sri Lanka’s leading business magazine - LMD and conducted by NielsenIQ. This year’s survey covered the opinions of 800 respondents from listed companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), in LMD’s Top 100 list (2020/21) and in the Brands Annual 2021 list. The final rankings were based on the total sum of value of the weighted scores for each company.

Hajar Alafifi, Chairperson and Managing Director of Unilever Sri Lanka

Unilever Sri Lanka Head Office

Standing as a testament to its commitment to innovation, to meet the changing needs of Sri Lankan consumers, Unilever Sri Lanka’s leading laundry detergent brand, Surf Excel, recently launched its latest 2-in-1 laundry detergent product, fused with the premium fragrance of Comfort Fabric Conditioner.

For the first time in Sri Lanka, consumers can experience Surf Excel’s all-inclusive superior stain removal with the premium fragrance of Comfort Fabric Conditioner, which gets rid of tough stains from deep within fabrics. Comfort’s premium floral fragrance will leave washed laundry smelling fresh and fragrant after every wash. The new formulation is also gentle on hands, making every handwash a pleasant experience.

Speaking on the launch, Sharmila Bandara, Marketing Director – Homecare and Nutrition, Unilever Sri Lanka said, “When children go out and play, they don't just get their clothes dirty or stained, but experience life, observe, make friends, or learn to share. This helps them get stronger, develop well rounded personalities and brave the world outside.” She further added “For generations, Surf Excel has been taking care of tough stains for mothers around the country. Now, with the addition of the premium fragrance of Comfort, washing and wearing clothes will become a much more memorable experience for all.”

Surf Excel 2-in-1 with the added premium fragrance of Comfort Fabric Conditioner comes in a pink and blue pack and consumers may purchase the product in seven different sizes at retail outlets and supermarkets island wide.

Over its 26+ year presence in the Sri Lankan market, Surf Excel has established itself as a washing powder that provides premium care for clothes, which has become an essential part of many households. The launch of its new product builds on the brand’s constant drive to offer innovative experiences to consumers in different product formats, catering to the contemporary needs of Sri Lankan consumers.

As a leading Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company in the country, Unilever has maintained a firm footprint in Sri Lanka for over 84 years. It pioneered the branded laundry market in Sri Lanka in the 1930s with the entry of Sunlight soap and introduced Sri Lanka’s first washing powder in the 1960s with Rinso, making laundry convenient and efficient to consumers. This was followed by the introduction of Surf Excel and Sunlight detergent powder to offer even greater choices for consumers.

• A step forward in upholding environmental responsibilities through the company’s commitment to sustainability

 Unilever Sri Lanka has been honoured with the ISO 14001:2015 certification for its Horana based manufacturing facility by the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI). The internationally accredited standard recognises the company’s commitment to identify, manage and reduce its impact on the environment from its operations, through a comprehensive Environmental Management System.

Commenting on the certification, Gerard Irudayaraj, Supply Chain Director – Unilever Sri Lanka said, “With great diligence and commitment, our Horana Factory has acquired this certification with zero nonconformities. As a company that is dedicated to protecting and conserving the environment through sustainable business practices, we consider this a big triumph towards our long-term goals and vision.”

Unilever’s Horana facility has successfully adhered to its Environmental Management System by bringing about positive changes to its operations. A few of these key achievements include - a 97% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 68% drop in overall energy usage, and a 68% reduction in overall waste generation over the past 9 years (2012-2021).

Furthermore, the facility has implemented plans to mitigate its water footprint, which has resulted in a 78% reduction in annual water usage (2012-2021). Unilever has achieved this remarkable feat through various water consumption optimisation projects as well as a rainwater harvesting system, which harvests 25,000 tons of rainwater a year for its operations.

The ISO 14001:2015 standard is an International Standard that stipulates requirements for an Environmental Management System that an organisation can use to enhance its environmental performance, fulfil its compliance obligations, and achieve its environmental objectives. The certification endorses a company’s ability to manage its environmental responsibilities in a systematic manner that contributes to the environmental pillar of sustainability.

Takes bold new steps to relaunch its Consumer Engagement Centre

Unilever Sri Lanka, one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods companies in the island, has relaunched its Consumer Engagement Centre in partnership with Scicom Lanka, a leading technology and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company in the country, to offer improved, premium and customised services to its consumers and customers. In support of its ambition to contribute to a fairer and more socially inclusive world, Unilever has embraced differently abled 3^rd party staff at its new Consumer Engagement Centre, reinforcing its agenda to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

To facilitate the needs of these differently abled 3^rd party employees with walking disabilities, Unilever has invested heavily behind supporting infrastructure and provided comprehensive work from home facilities. The revamped Consumer Engagement Centre is a digitally enabled, omni channel consumer support system and remains the only call center in Sri Lanka’s FMCG sector with a universal toll-free short code (1323).  It consists of an easily contactable and highly specialised team to assist consumers and customers with relevant and accurate information, addressing their concerns on time and in full.

Commenting on this achievement in diversity and inclusion, Ananya Sabharwal, Human Resources Director – Unilever Sri Lanka said, “We celebrate our employees for who they are and have been striving over the years to create an inclusive environment where our people can truly collaborate beyond all differences. From our frontline employees to our leadership team, we are proud and humbled that we have been able to embrace people from all walks of life no matter their background, increase gender balance, and now also create an opportunity for differently abled employees to join our ecosystem. We recently launched several inclusive policies such as Fertility Cover, Domestic Violence Support and Special Wellbeing Leave, and we look forward to continue sharing and learning with other organisations in Sri Lanka who would like to join us on this wonderful journey of creating a diverse and inclusive Sri Lanka.”

Speaking of the relaunch, Sukitha Premaratne, Consumer Engagement Center, Country Lead – Unilever Sri Lanka said, “With an ambition to be Sri Lanka’s leading futuristic demand generation centre, we have been providing engaging consumer & customer experiences over the past two decades, touching over 1,000 people every day. We couldn’t be more excited to come onboard with Scicom to help us come one step closer to achieving this ambition with a new team of diverse and talented individuals.”

Adding his thoughts, Chandan Agarwal, Consumer Market Insights (CMI) Director - Unilever Sri Lanka & People Data Centre (PDC) Cluster Director – South Asia said, “At Unilever, our consumers have always been our number one priority. It is their insights that enable us to offer products and services that cater to the ever changing needs and wants of our consumers year on year. Now, more than ever, it has become imperative that we respond with speed and agility. This is why our improved Consumer Engagement Centre will help us stay ahead of the curve by redefining consumer engagement through a unique, diverse and inclusive team that possesses strong product knowledge, business acumen, problem solving skills, empathy, a friendly attitude and all the other traits required to provide a premium service to our consumers.”

Unilever Sri Lanka has over the years driven several initiatives to create an equitable workplace, with several policies, procedures and practices in place to offer fair opportunities, information and resources to its employees. The company has already achieved 50/50 gender diversity globally and is striving to reach this goal locally. Currently 55% of its Management Committee are women, 31% of its workforce are females, its baby cologne manufacturing plant is fully operated by women and most recently it introduced its first ever female shopfloor employees at its Horana manufacturing facility.