Unilever Joins Greentown Labs as Terawatt Partner

Global consumer goods company partners with incubator to support the advancement of sustainable products and supply chains

News provided by

Greentown Labs

Mar 10, 2020, 08:30 ET

SOMERVILLE, Mass., LONDON and ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, March 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Greentown Labs, the largest cleantech startup incubator in North America, today announced Unilever as its newest Terawatt-level Partner—the highest level of engagement with the startup community. Unilever is a multinational, purpose-driven consumer goods company that produces beauty and personal care, food and refreshment, and home care products with more than 400 brands to customers in more than 190 countries.

Greentown Labs' network of early-stage startups will now have the unique opportunity to connect and potentially collaborate with one of the world's largest and most sustainability-minded consumer goods companies.

"At Unilever we have ambitious sustainable growth targets. We're excited to be joining Greentown Labs as a partner and working with a new community of entrepreneurs, exploring innovations and different solutions to work towards our sustainability goals," says Marc Engel, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Unilever.

"Unilever has been a pioneer in deploying science-based sustainability goals and incorporating them into the DNA of the organization," said Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs. "They have helped set the standard for what global corporations can achieve when they commit to courageous climate action goals. We're thrilled to partner with them and eager to see how our organizations will collaborate this year and in many years to come!"

Key elements of Unilever's partnership include:

Startup Pitch Day: Greentown Labs will coordinate meetings with Greentown Labs' member startups or external, regional startups to provide access to vetted deal flow.
Sector Pitch Days: A unique offering for Greentown Labs' Terawatt and Gigawatt partners, Unilever will gain access to events focused on technological, business, and innovation trends within emerging technology sectors. These events will feature sector-specific startup pitches, facilitated discussion among attendees, expert presentations, and networking.
Corporate Innovation Day: Greentown Labs will host an event for Unilever executives to tour and receive an overview of Greentown Labs, learn about the best practices of open innovation, and see presentations from relevant member startups.
Advisory Board seat: Unilever will gain a seat on Greentown Labs' Advisory Board which provides strategic guidance and input to the incubator on growth planning, partnership development, and other areas on a regular basis. Wendy Herrick, Vice President of Digital Supply Chain, will join the Advisory Board.
Immersion into the Greentown Labs Community: Unilever executives will host office hours and informational sessions with Greentown Labs' startup community to showcase their areas of expertise, innovation priorities, and engagement opportunities for startups to connect with the company.

The 100,000 sq. ft. Greentown Labs campus provides startups with a robust network of strategic partners, prototyping lab space, a wet lab, a machine shop, an electronics shop, office space for more than 500 entrepreneurs, a 600-person event space, and a variety of flexible membership options.

About Greentown Labs
Greentown Labs is a community of bold, passionate entrepreneurs creating solutions for today's biggest climate and environmental challenges. Located in Somerville, Mass., and founded in 2011, Greentown Labs is the largest cleantech incubator in North America, operating a 100,000 sq. ft. campus comprised of prototyping and wet lab space, shared office space, a machine shop, electronics lab, and a curated suite of programs and resources. Greentown Labs is home to more than 100 startups and has supported more than 250 startups since its inception. These startups have collectively created more than 6,500 direct jobs and have raised more than $750 million in funding. The incubator's mission is to provide entrepreneurs with the community, resources, and space they need to thrive. For more information, please visit www.greentownlabs.com or connect on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

About Unilever

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. It has 155,000 employees and generated sales of €52 billion in 2019. Over half of the company's footprint is in developing and emerging markets. Unilever has around 400 brands found in homes all over the world, including Dove, Knorr, Dirt Is Good, Rexona, Hellmann's, Lipton, Wall's, Lux, Magnum, Axe, Sunsilk and Surf.

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. The company's sustainable living brands are growing 69% faster than the rest of the business and delivered 75% of the company's growth in 2018.

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 recognised 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 about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.

For more information on the USLP: www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/

Greentown Labs Media Contact:
Julia Travaglini
[email protected]
603-867-3657

Unilever Media Contact:
Global Media Relations:
[email protected]

SOURCE Greentown Labs