Powering Performance: Unilever’s Journey to Centralized, Resilient Energy Procurement

When Unilever faced mounting challenges from volatile energy markets and fragmented procurement practices, the company recognized the need for a centralized, strategic approach to energy procurement. Historically, each facility managed its own utility contracts, leading to inefficiencies, missed opportunities for cost savings, and exposure to market risk. Working closely with Unilever, our week undertook a comprehensive review—contract by contract—aligning all global facilities under a unified procurement strategy. We consolidated and renegotiated utility agreements for gas and power, ensuring every site benefited from competitive market rates and robust risk management.

This transformation was further accelerated by guiding the development and global deployment of a digitally enabled production system, allowing Unilever to monitor, manage, and optimize energy usage in real time. By centralizing procurement and leveraging expert hedging strategies, Unilever not only achieved measurable margin improvement and cost savings exceeding $4 million, but also enhanced operational resilience in an unpredictable market. Today, Unilever’s energy procurement is a model of efficiency and sustainability, supporting the company’s ambitious climate goals and empowering its teams to focus on driving business growth.