25/09/2003 : Unilever has decided to double the Royal Award for Food Innovation prize money to €40 000 and to donate it to three initiatives that encourage sustainable agriculture:
A study of the sustainability aspects of agriculture by Wageningen University,
The 'Duurteelt' (Sustainable Cultivation) Foundation, which promotes sustainable agriculture in the Netherlands by providing knowledge to farmers free of charge,
The Blijdorp Thandiza Foundation, which supports small-scale projects in Africa and promotes public awareness of the need to conserve the natural world and its communities.
This was announced today by Kees van der Waaij, chairman of Unilever Nederland, in Ede, where he accepted the Royal Award for Food Innovation on behalf of Unilever. This award, which was created by the partners of Food Valley in Wageningen and the surrounding area, is given to people or companies in the Agro-Food Sector that have made their mark by implementing a sustainable and innovative policy the successes of which can be clearly recognised in the market and in society.
Van der Waaij pointed out that sustainability and corporate governance have played an important role in Unilever's policy for quite some time. In the area of sustainability, Unilever has identified three core areas: water, agriculture and fisheries. "We appreciate the jury's vision not to limit itself to the two nominations that were submitted by Unilever but to include the company's entire policy in its decision to award the prize. Translating our sustainability concepts into product designs is difficult and so we are pleased that the jury considers that we have done so successfully", said Van der Waaij.
The award is part of the European Royal Award Foundation which was established by the European Environmental Agency and is based in Copenhagen.
The Netherlands :
Unilever NV
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3000 DK Rotterdam
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tanno.massar@unilever.com
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