Following the National Food Strategy published today, we have joined other investors in addressing a letter to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in broad support of the strategy’s recommendations to promote a healthier food system in the UK.
As a result of the pandemic, health has never been higher on the corporate agenda. However, to make food environments healthier, we encourage the government to implement well-designed regulations. This includes clear and consistent mandatory reporting requirements for companies in the sector.
Alongside that, we call on the government to consider tools such as using fiscal measures, building on the success of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. We want to encourage companies to increase their commitment to health as part of their ESG work and broader sustainability plans. We believe this will drive greater availability of healthy foods and more rapid positive change across the food industry.
Our asks of the government are designed to help create a more enabling environment for food companies to embed sustainability into their businesses and allow investors to more easily assess progress on areas like tackling obesity
Matthias Lomas, Investment Engagement Manager
Using investor engagement to drive change
The call today is part of our work to become a more responsible investor and achieve our endowment’s dual objectives of financial returns and health impact. Over the year, we have engaged with major UK food manufacturers and retailers such as Tesco through an investor coalition led ShareAction. So far, because of our engagement efforts with others, five major retailers covering 60% of the UK grocery market have strengthened their commitments to increase sales of healthier food products.