Recent global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, and an unprecedented global economic recession, have overshadowed the urgent environmental issues that our planet is facing, putting all of us and our future in great danger.
As a consumer goods company, serving over 3.5 billion consumers worldwide, Unilever understands that our business growth and success are inextricably linked to consumer and environmental wellbeing. Therefore, it is crucial for us to protect both by ensuring sustainable business practices. We are committed to combating climate change and integrating sustainability at every operational level. This involves using less energy, reducing waste, and finding greener ways to operate. As we progress on our sustainability journey, a collective effort is essential to tackle this challenge as one nation. Therefore, this world environment day, our focus has been on raising awareness and inspiring action, through a multifaceted approach.
Aligning with the theme 'Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience,' this World Environment Day, we launched an awareness Online Video Commercial (OVC), which paints a vivid 
picture of how proactive plastic waste management can rejuvenate our lands. Like our fictional narrative, many playing fields in Bangladesh have been overwhelmed with unmanaged dumping of waste, hindering the community's children and youth from using these spaces. The volume of plastic waste in Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) generated annually alone could cover 350 soccer fields. The awareness OVC reflected the power of collective community effort and effective waste management in restoring the environment.
Since 2022, in partnership with Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) and CCC, we have been driving a plastic waste management initiative in Chattogram, successfully managing 10% of the city's mismanaged waste. This project also requires multifaceted community involvement, including the youth playing an instrumental role in raising awareness and driving action. To amplify this collaborative effort, we introduced a Youth Journalism Programme in 2024, equipping a diverse group of local young volunteers with the skills necessary for environmental reporting, guided by seasoned journalists. 20 shortlisted youth volunteers were given the opportunity to attend a 2-day long environmental journalism workshop and visit our Chattogram initiative, gaining firsthand insight into the operations. Their subsequent reports reflected a rich tapestry of learnings from the programme, the best 8 of which were published in a special feature report in one of the leading Bangla daily newspapers, Samakal.
This World Environment Day, to engage the young minds in schools, we launched the AwareWave campaign under our employee volunteering platform, Proyash, where 31 Unilever employees volunteered at various schools across Dhaka and Chattogram to educate students on plastic pollution and effective ways of plastic waste management. The campaign was designed to initiate a ripple of change—students, equipped with new knowledge, are expected to share their insights with family and friends, potentially expanding the campaign's impact from the initial 1,000 individuals to an estimated 20,000 - harnessing the power of education in amplifying awareness exponentially.
At Unilever Bangladesh, our commitment to sustainability is a core value and a strategic imperative. Our sustainability journey highlights our commitment to a sustainable future for all Bangladeshis, setting an example and inspiring collective action.
