Unilever joins The Princess of Wales' business taskforce to support early childhood

Unilever is among the global companies launching a new business taskforce on early childhood with The Princess of Wales. 

Kate is hosting an inaugural meeting of the taskforce at NatWest’s headquarters in the City of London today. She will be joined by other businesses, including IKEA, Deloitte, Lego, Aviva, Co-op and Iceland.

The group will discuss how the business community can build a supportive and nurturing world around children and those who care for them. Kensington Palace said the taskforce will play an “essential role” in the princess’s focus on transforming the way society prioritises youngsters in the first few years of their lives.

The Business Taskforce for Early Childhood will be “run by business, for business”, the Palace added.

Amanda Berry, CEO of the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, said: “We all have a role to play in building a supportive and nurturing world around children and those who care for them, and it is fantastic to see business leaders placing the subject of early childhood at the heart of their organisations.

"Businesses play a key role within society and with their huge reach to their employees, consumers and the wider community, their involvement can have a transformative impact on the health and happiness of generations to come.”

The initiative follows the launch of Shaping Us, a campaign spearheaded by Kate and described as her “life’s work”, aimed at raising the profile of youngsters’ early years development.

Last week, Unilever joined a number of companies in signing an open letter to the EU Commission, calling for the upcoming EU Soil Health Law to be more ambitious. The law was proposed in 2021 and is expected to be implemented in June this year, with the aim of protecting and restoring the health of European soils.