A group of 26 investors responsible for US$3 trillion in AuM have requested the world’s largest food and drink manufacturer Nestlé commit to setting targets to improve its impact on population health. The investors, coordinated by responsible investment NGO ShareAction, said that the company needs to rebalance its sales towards healthier products if it is to fulfil its ambition of “bringing balanced diets within reach for people around the world”. The investors said they support the company’s recent nutrition-focused disclosure that saw the company report on the healthiness of sales globally, as well as using recognised, government-endorsed nutrient profiling models for 13 key markets. But investors said that this is still not going far enough. Simon Rawson, Deputy CEO at ShareAction, said: “Nestlé has said it wants to sell healthier food, but it hasn’t given assurances that it will also address its less healthy food sales, which is essential to turn the tide against the harmful effects of diet related ill health. Nestlé, as the world’s largest food and drink manufacturer, could do so much more to support population health.”
Nestle’s has commitment to improve health across the world, but its profits rely heavily on the sales of unhealthy products.
Ahead of its annual general meeting today we’re calling on @Nestle to set a target to grow its proportion of healthier sales ⬇https://t.co/VxnjnJ6qG2 pic.twitter.com/7S160GxzcO
— ShareAction (@ShareAction) April 20, 2023
