Unilever faced a tense annual general meeting (AGM) as activists confronted the board over the company’s impact on people and the planet. The Marmite and Dove owner is considered a trailblazer in environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance but it recently came under fire for reducing the scale of its targets and extending some deadlines. The executive leadership team, which has undergone several changes in the last year, also published a new growth strategy aimed at driving greater shareholder returns after a “disappointing” performance over the last few years. But the board was forced to defend its new direction at the AGM on Wednesday as shareholders expressed concern over the firm compromising on sustainability for growth. Before it started, dozens of protesters lined the street outside the Hilton Bankside London, holding placards reading “Unilever: Stop greenwashing” and “No economy on a dead planet”. Inside, chairman Ian Meakins’s opening remarks were immediately interrupted by Greenpeace activists, who set off a confetti canon and presented an open letter with 140,000 signatures to the board calling for it to ditch single-use plastics. As security staff escorted them out, one woman addressing Unilever’s chief executive, shouted: “Hein Schumacher, you and your board are cheap...