This title is part of the IDH Case Study Series, published in December 2010.
Another title in this IDH Case Study Series is:
•  nilever sustainable tea, Part II:
U
Reaching out to smallholders
IDH also has a Best Practices Series, whose titles include:
• Marketing sustainability
• Sustainable sourcing among SME’s
• Beyond auditing
• Sustainable trading
• Retailers and sustainability
• Sustainable sourcing and procurement

Case study

Unilever sustainable tea
Part I: Leapfrogging to mainstream  Tania Braga,
By
Aileen Ionescu-Somers and Ralf Seifert,
IMD’s Center for Corporate
Sustainability Management

Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative
(Initiatief Duurzame Handel)
Utrecht, The Netherlands www.dutchsustainabletrade.com office@dutchsustainabletrade.com

Foreword
A tipping point happens when a critical mass of people begin to shift their perception of an issue and take action in a new direction.
As I look across the global landscape, I feel that we are approaching a tipping point concerning global sustainability. It is catalyzed by at least three important realizations by business, government, and civil society:
The first is a realization that the world is finite and that a growing population with a higher ambition for living standards will inevitably lead to a world which will be resource and carbon constrained.
The second is the realization that to solve the challenges for this future world we need systems solutions. We cannot solve individual problems in silos. The connections between energy, climate change, water, food, urban infrastructure and the imperative of functioning ecosystems are very clear.
A third realization is that no part of society can solve this on its own. Individually, governments, businesses, and civil society lack the technology, financial resources, and management skills to build a sustainable world on their own. Yet collectively, we