Requirements – the United States

Both NV and PLC are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and must therefore comply with such of the requirements of US legislation, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, regulations enacted under US securities laws and the Listing Standards of the New York Stock Exchange as are applicable to foreign private issuers. In some cases the requirements are mandatory and in other cases the obligation is to 'comply or explain'.

We have complied with the requirements concerning corporate governance that were in force during 2007. Attention is drawn in particular to the remit of the Audit Committee and the Report of the Audit Committee.

Actions already taken to ensure compliance that are not specifically disclosed elsewhere or otherwise clear from reading this document include:

• the issuance of a Code of Ethics for senior financial officers;
• the issuance of instructions restricting the employment of former employees of the audit firm; and
• the establishment of a policy on reporting requirements under the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to the standards of professional conduct for US attorneys.

In each of these cases, existing practices were revised and/or documented in such a way as to conform to the new requirements.

The Code of Ethics applies to the senior executive, financial and accounting officers and comprises the standards prescribed by the SEC, and a copy has been posted on our website at www.unilever.com/investorcentre/corpgovernance

The Code of Ethics comprises an extract of the relevant provisions of Unilever's Code of Business Principles and the more detailed rules of conduct that implement it. The only amendment to these pre-existing provisions and rules that was made in preparing the Code of Ethics was made at the request of the Audit Committee and consisted of a strengthening of the explicit requirement to keep proper accounting records. No waiver from any provision of the Code of Ethics was granted to any of the persons falling within the scope of the SEC requirement in 2007.

We are required by US securities laws and the Listing Standards of the New York Stock Exchange to have an Audit Committee that satisfies Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act and the Listing Standards of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). We are fully compliant with these requirements. We are also required to disclose any significant ways in which our corporate governance practices differ from those typically followed by US companies listed on the NYSE. In addition to the information we have given you in this document about our corporate governance arrangements, further details are provided in 'The Governance of Unilever', which is on our website at www.unilever.com/investorcentre/corpgovernance

We are fully compliant with the Listing Standards of the New York Stock Exchange applicable to foreign private issuers. Our corporate governance practices do not significantly differ from those followed by US companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

We also confirm that our shareholders have the opportunity to vote on equity compensation plans.