Unilever has pledged to pay everyone who works in its supply chain, from direct employees to agricultural laborers, a living wage by the year 2030.
The policy will extend to 65,000 suppliers and thousands of agricultural businesses. Unilever will work with governments and local organizations to determine what a living wage is in the many countries in which it does business.
In addition, Unilever plans to spend $2.4 billion annually by 2025 with suppliers owned by women, Black people and other groups underrepresented in business. It currently spends about $363 million with such suppliers.
"The core of what we're trying to do is make a change that is systemic [and] wide enough that ideally sectors and governments institute living wages as a natural base," chief procurement officer David Ingram told CNN Business.
Third World countries that supply commodities like palm oil will be prioritized in the living wage initiative, the company says.
