The Disability Equality Index (DEI®) is a joint initiative of Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). It serves as the nation’s most comprehensive annual benchmarking tool allowing America’s leading corporations to self-report their disability policies and practices.
This evolving index objectively scores each corporation on a scale from 0 to 100—100 representing the most inclusive. The DEI was developed by the two national leaders in consultation with the appointed DEI Advisory Committee, a diverse and voluntary group of experts in business, policy, and disability advocacy.
“We know that an inclusive workplace is good for people and good for business, and we strategically design our policies, benefits and working environments with this in mind,” said Mike Clementi, Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Unilever North America Customer Development and Global Markets. “We are proud of our progress to date, but we also recognize there is always more work to be done to make our workplaces and our world as inclusive as possible.”
Unilever U.S. earned a top-scoring position for its inclusive culture, policies, and benefits. Unilever U.S. has an engaged and impactful employee resource group dedicated to disability inclusion, which provides a supportive network that guides the business in evolving its inclusive practices. The company’s trainings include Disability Etiquette Training, Unconscious Bias Training, and Disability Inclusion Training for Managers. The office headquarters is built to be accessible, emergency procedures are clearly outlined, and employees can request assistive technology like closed captioning for internal video meetings.
“The DEI is designed to promote and advance disability inclusion practices and policies within corporate America that lead to better employment outcomes for and inclusion of people with disabilities, as employees, customers and suppliers,” said Jill Houghton, president and CEO of Disability:IN. “When businesses include people with disabilities, everybody wins.”
Unilever’s commitment to diversity and inclusion supports the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, which includes three goals: 1) improve health and well-being for more than 1 billion people, 2) reduce the company’s environmental impact by half, and 3) enhance livelihoods for millions of people.
About Unilever U.S.
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2.5 billion consumers a day. In the United States, the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Degree, Dollar Shave Club, Dove, Hellmann’s, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Love Beauty and Planet, Magnum, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond’s, Popsicle, Pure Leaf, Q-tips, Seventh Generation, Simple, Sir Kensington’s, St. Ives, Suave, Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, TAZO, TIGI, TRESemmé and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) underpins the company’s strategy and commits to:
- Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020.
- Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030.
- Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.
The USLP creates value by driving growth and trust, eliminating costs and reducing risks. In 2018, the company’s Sustainable Living Brands grew 69% faster than the rest of the business, compared to 46% in 2017.
Since 2010 we have been taking action through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan to help more than a billion people improve their health and well-being, halve our environmental footprint and enhance the livelihoods of millions of people as we grow our business. We have already made significant progress and continue to expand our ambition – most recently committing to ensure 100% of our plastic packaging is fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. While there is still more to do, we are proud to have been recognized in 2018 as sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and as the top ranked company in the GlobeScan/SustainAbility Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders survey, for the eighth-consecutive year.
For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com
For more information on the USLP: www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/
About the DEI:
The Disability Equality Index® (DEI) is a national, transparent benchmarking tool that offers businesses an opportunity to self-report their disability inclusion policies and practices. It was developed by two national leaders, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN, in consultation with the appointed DEI Advisory Committee, a diverse group of experts in business, policy, and disability advocacy.