Трансформация стратегий устойчивости бизнеса FMCG-компаний в 21 веке на примере компаний Юнилевер и Лореаль

0.1. Relevance of the study
The topic of the master thesis is “Transformation of business sustainability strategies of FMCG companies in the 21st century on the examples of Unilever and L’Oréal”.
Business sustainability strategies are crucial for different industries. They influence on economic, environmental and social aspects of the business. Business sustainability strategy is an integration of economic, environmental and social aims into company’s goals, with the aim to create a long-term value for the company, stakeholders and society1.
In our research we have decided to focus mainly on FMCG industry and its companies — businesses that manufacture and distribute consume goods fast and on relatively low price. Important examples of FMCG companies are Unilever, P&G, Nestle, Coca-Cola. They are the hugest companies in the industry, that are among the first ones who have implemented business sustainability strategies. So, the topic is relevant for FMCG companies, that can use its results for the transformation of their existing sustainable strategies. For our research we will focus on Unilever — leader in FMCG sphere, that is present in more than 190 countries in the world2. Also, we will analyze L’Oréal — one of the biggest FMCG companies, that focuses on beauty products3.
0.2. Research gap and goal
For our analysis we investigated theoretical and practical papers, that can be divided into two main groups. Papers about micro-changes, that influence business sustainability changes and papers about macro-changes, that affect these changes. Many of these papers are devoted to key theories of business sustainability strategies and their implementation. Meanwhile, there is a lack of studies regarding companies’ motivation and need to implement or transform their business sustainability strategies. Also, there are no research about the influence of Covid-19 pandemic on business sustainability strategies. What is more, we used official information of FMCG companies in general and Unilever and L’Oréal in particular.
1 Thomas B. Long, (2019) Sustainable Business Strategy. In Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P.G., Wall, T. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Springer, UK.
2 Unilever/ official website
URL: https://www.unilever.com/
3 L’oreal/ official website
URL: https://www.lorealparisusa.com/
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The real-life problem is that in the 21st century FMCG companies must implement new business sustainability strategies or to improve existing ones. This is needed because in the modern world there are a lot of challenges and problems, connected with sustainability. These problems can be solved only with the help of businesses, society and government. This real- life problem is not fully covered in the existing researches.
Based on theoretical analysis of the topic, we were able to identify the research gap. In the literature there are many information regarding key business sustainability theories, but there is a lack of understanding of companies’ motivation. How companies make plan of their business sustainability strategies transformation? Which factors are the most important for them? How did Covid-19 affect these strategies?
The purpose of the paper is to create recommendations for the transformation of business sustainability strategies of FMCG companies. Key recommendations for sustainable strategies implementation will be based on the analysis of lessons, reasons, recommendations of Unilever and L’Oréal companies. So, the object of the study is FMCG company. The subject of the study is the business sustainability strategies in the 21st century.
We have set four goals in order to achieve the main purpose of the research. The first one is to analyze main papers regarding the business sustainability strategies transformation on macro-level — state, society, world. The second is to understand the sustainable development strategies transformation on micro-level. The third is to cooperate with FMCG companies — leaders in the industry — and understand their motivation regarding sustainable business strategies implementation. What is the level of their business sustainability strategies? What are the key drivers for these strategies? The forth goal is to elaborate key recommendations for FMCG companies’ business sustainability strategies transformation, based on company- leaders experience (L’Oréal and Unilever).
0.3. Research questions and research strategy
From the research problem formulation, we can pose research questions. There are two of them for now:
1) Why do companies implement their business sustainability strategies transformation?
2) What drives companies to transform their business sustainability strategies?
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This paper will consist of five chapters. The first chapter is dedicated to the theoretical research — analysis of macro and micro-level changes that affect business sustainability strategies. The second is devoted to the research methodology, that we used in my research. The third part is about results of the analysis and key recommendations for Unilever company. The fourth one is about our results of the analysis and key outcomes for L’Oréal company. The last chapter is devoted to discussions and conclusion of the paper.
The research has practical importance because it can be used by FMCG companies for their business sustainability strategies’ creation and transformation. What is more, business sustainability strategies are relevant for society, because these strategies create additional social value. That is why, by examining existing business sustainability strategies and by creating a specific recommendation for their implementation, this topic could be beneficial for society.