Polman was perhaps the most vocal advocate for the food industry – and business in general – to embed sustainability in how companies operate. On issues from climate change and water scarcity to energy use and ethical trading, the Dutchman was almost Polman the preacher. In 2010, Unilever launched its Sustainable Living Plan, a ten-year programme to reduce the company's impact on the environment and "decouple" that impact from its growth. "It's our business model. This is the way we do business. This is our permission to operate ten, 15 years from now," Polman just-food in an interview in 2012. Not everyone in the investor community welcomed Polman's position (nor, for that matter, those of peers like Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber), arguing the purpose-led approach to running the business was in danger of being at the expense of shareholders.
This description of the former CEO of Unilever shows that sustainability is not a new value for Unilever. Former CEO Polman introduced many, at the time, controversial practices that were more sustainable. This establishes a history of Unilever caring about ethics and sustainable food.

