A shareholder investors group has written to the bosses of a raft of leading food companies, calling on them to offer more transparency on the healthiness of their sales.
Investors, including Legal & General Investment Management, Pictet Asset Management, Nest and CCLA, who collectively manage £2.34tn in assets, have today written to the chief executives of PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Mondelez, Kraft Heinz, Kellanova and General Mills.
The letter asks them to follow other food companies such as Unilever and Danone in adopting internationally accepted nutrition standards for publicly reporting the healthiness of their sales.
The move is the latest by responsible investment NGO ShareAction, which claimed a lack of transparency on sales was threatening the long-term success of businesses, as concern grows over the obesity crisis and poor diets.
The group has been hounding major food and drink companies to make their products healthier, with Unilever, Nestlé and Tesco already bowing to pressure since its campaign began in 2019.
But ShareAction said many companies were still lagging behind when it came to transparency.
“We believe health is a systemic risk that affects the whole economy,” said Tom Sanders, senior ESG analyst at Nest.
“The increased consumption of unhealthy products harms public health and could reduce worker productivity, creating externalities that can impact our long-term investment returns as a globally diversified investor. Food and drink companies must take responsibility in helping manage these risks by being more transparent, using internationally recognised nutrition standards as an important first step.”
Thomas Abrams, co-head of health at ShareAction, added: “It’s really encouraging to see the momentum building among the investment community to hold the food and drink sector to account for its impact on public health. By adopting a responsible investment approach to public health, investors can not only manage financial risks but also help more people to enjoy healthier lives for longer.”
No comments yet