Unilever reaches settlement with European Commission on laundry detergents

Unilever has reached a settlement with the European Commission after its investigation into the implementation of the European detergents industry’s Code of Good Environmental Practice.

As part of the settlement, a payment of ?104 million has been agreed. This amount falls within the provision made by Unilever in its 2010 results.

The settlement relates to the implementation of an industry-wide initiative to concentrate laundry detergents with proven benefits for the environment. The Commission’s investigation found that certain aspects of the implementation of this complex initiative infringed European competition rules.

Unilever believes it is in the best interests of the company for Unilever and the Commission to have reached this settlement. Unilever has used the findings from this investigation to strengthen further its internal compliance programme. All key managers in Europe have been retrained on the European competition rules and are well placed to participate fully in industry-wide environmental initiatives.