The Dutch-British Food and cleaning products group Unilever intends to cease fossil fuels usage in the cleaning products by 2030. The company reports on Wednesday that it is investing 1 billion euros to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the production process.

The group, which makes, inter alia, the brands Omo, Cif, Glorix, Sun and Andy, has announced its intention to replace petrochemical substances with plant and substances made of algae and recycled material.

Chemicals used in cleaning and washing products account for 46% of greenhouse gas emissions from Unilever’s domestic care division. These emissions will be reduced by a fifth. The overall footprint of Unilever is 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide worldwide.

Due to the COVID-19 disease the group is facing an unprecedented demand for cleaning products.

“People want more affordable, sustainable products that are as good as conventional ones,” says Peter ter Kulve, head of the Household Care division. “We need to stop pumping coal from the ground if there is enough above the ground and we can learn how to use it on a large scale.”

The EUR 1 billion investment will be used to finance biotechnological research and to explore how carbon dioxide can be sequestred. Biodegradable products and formulas that cost less water are also developed.