Truus Huisman

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Aligning European and Global Public Affairs Views
from a global company perspective.
Truus Huisman European External Affairs 5th
March 2008
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Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch company
with operations in over 100 countries
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We make around 400 brands
covering food, household personal care products
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Our brands are sold in nearly every country
and are present in half the households on the
planet
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Our mission
Unilevers mission is to add Vitality to life. We
meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and
personal care with brands that help people feel
good, look good and get more out of life.
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Role of Public Affairs

• Strategic issues management to create space for
  growth and protect license to operate.
• Support Innovation Brand Building remove
  business barriers to market access.
• Reputation management - building trust and
  credibility with external stakeholders.

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National vs European Public Affairsmanageable
variety
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Global Context complexity
Global Connectivity
Economic political power shifts to Asia
Sustainability/ Climate Change
Trust in authority has been shaken
Challenges to International governance models
Growing demandson business
Increasing competition for resources
Rapid developments in boundaries of science
technology
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Globalising Public Affairs is the next logical
step

• Issues are globalising
• and this in a few minutes
• thanks to increasingly networked media
• With governments, NGOs driving their agendas
  internationally, regionally and locally.

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The 8 vectors of Europeanisation(Prof. van
Schendelen)

• From Europe to domestic
• European public sector to national public sector
• European public sector to national private
  sector
• European private sector to national private
  sector
• European private sector to national public sector.

• From domestic to Europe
• National public sector to European public sector
• National public sector to European private
  sector
• National private sector to European private
  sector
• National private sector to European public
  sector.

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Examples of Globalisation Vectors

• From EU/local to Global
• EU is shaping Kyoto Protocol
• EU is calling upon MNEs to implement European
  principles globally
• European businesses work with WTO on NTBs
• Individual Member States/companies to obtain
  global support for domestic systems.

• From Global to EU/local
• UNs GHS on labelling of chemical substances has
  to be implemented regionally
• ISO sets standards for businesses regionally
• MNCs work with global/regional bodies to
  facilitate trade access etc
• NGOs work with regional bodies to drive
  international social, environmental standards.

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Picture is not straightforward
No level playing field for business
National and International Governance
Uncertainties for business
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New trend localisation

• Citizens want to govern themselves
• The Unions role is increasingly being squeezed
  between the local and the global.
• Kemal Dervis - UN Development
• Programme Administrator and
• Turkeys former Economics Minister

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PA to up-skill in order to manage complexities

• The successful PA practitioner will need to
  have/be
• A global mindset with deep understanding of
  global context and drivers
• Multi-lingual literally but also in cultural
  sense
• Globally networked
• A broker for global solutions
• Media-savy

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Reinforce tools and processes to enhance
effectiveness and consistency

• Need to manage global, regional and
  national/local complexities in a consistent
  manner
• Issues prioritisation based on bottom line and
  reputation
• Strategically positioned emerging issues
  management with links to all relevant parts of
  the business
• Stakeholder mapping prioritisation
• Crisis preparedness and management.
• Senior leadership to take ownership,
• make trade-offs, and advocate internally
• and externally.

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Global Issues Management Process
Functions Regions
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THANK YOU