Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL), major FMCG player, has inked pact with Maharashtra Government as a part of its parent company Unilever’s sustainable living plan to source all its agricultural raw materials through sustainable practice by 2020. It has entered into a public-private partnership for the first time and started sourcing tomatoes.

The company will also provide farmers with a buy-back guarantee for their produce as part of the sourcing arrangement. Some 579 farmers in Nashik and Pune districts have benefited from the partnership between HUL and State Government. It plans to source all 100% of the tomatoes used in its ketchups locally from sustainable sources by 2015 and aims to make India an export hub for Unilever.

The company has registered a surge of 112.26% in its net profit at Rs 1331.19 crore for first quarter ended June 30, 2012 as compared to Rs 627.16 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Moreover, the total income of the company has increased by 16.99% at Rs 6597.38 crore for Q1FY13 as compared Rs 5639.46 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.