Diving overview:
- A group of investors has urged Nestlé to increase the proportion of its sales from healthier products, citing regulatory, reputational and legal risks as well as the public health implications of consuming too much unhealthy food. I’m looking for it. The coalition claimed that Nestlé derives 75% of its global sales from products containing high levels of salt, sugar and fat.
- Investors with $1.68 trillion in assets under management support the following resolutions: nestle To increase sales of healthy products based on internationally recognized standards, According to the investment nonprofit share action. The measure is expected to be voted on at Nestlé’s annual general meeting in April.
- As consumers seek healthier diets, food manufacturers are under pressure to improve the nutritional aspects of their portfolios. An unhealthy diet is associated with many diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. World Obesity Organization estimates The economic impact of overweight and obesity is expected to exceed $4 trillion by 2035.
Dive Insight:
Last September, Nestlé vowed to increase sales of more nutritious products by 50% by 2030.
but be The ShareAction-led investor coalition said the initiative had “fallen far short” of investors’ expectations in improving public health. The group pointed out, for example, that the pledge includes products such as coffee and baby food that ShareAction claims have no nutritional value.said nestle By selling more of these products, you may be able to reach your goals more easily.
Maria Larson Ortino, senior global ESG manager at Legal & General Investment Management, one of our shareholders, said: nestle Although the company has announced its goals, talks with the company have stalled.she also said this nestle failed to set specific goals to increase sales of products that meet sound standards.
“Therefore, we felt that co-filing this shareholder proposal was the appropriate next step,” Larson Ortino said. ”
To pass this bill, bloomberg said Support for this bill will require at least 50% plus one vote of the registered share capital represented at the April Annual General Meeting.
In its 2023 annual report, Nestlé estimates that net sales are 38% of sales.comes from products considered “healthy,” excluding pet care and specialty nutrition, according to a widely used ranking platform known as the Health Star Rating System. This number is an increase of 1 percentage point from 2022.Nestlé said it would spend “significant” to modernize existing products and drive innovation to meet its 2030 targets.
In a statement to Food Dive, Nestlé said:I agree to accept ShareAction. objected to They claim that 75% of their sales come from unhealthy products. The Switzerland-based company said it is fiThe first food and beverage company to provide transparency on the nutritional value of its entire portfolio against government-approved nutrition models.
Nestle too It disagreed with arguments that products such as plain coffee, vitamins, minerals and supplements should be excluded because they are “part of our portfolio and are consumed by people on a daily basis”. He added that the company has been working for decades to make its portfolio healthier.You can accomplish even more by asking other companies to level up. ”
“ShareAction is targeting the wrong companies. … While we note the ShareAction perspective, we do not subscribe to the idea that you should aim to limit growth in certain areas of your portfolio. ” nestle I have written. “Achieving proportionality goals requires weakening valuable parts of the portfolio and creating opportunities for competitors, without delivering public health benefits.”