On the go: Nest has backed a resolution calling on consumer goods giant Unilever to make its food products healthier.
As first reported by The Times, under the resolution, filed by ShareAction, Unilever would be forced to disclose more information on its many food and drink brands, such as Marmite and Ben & Jerry’s, as well as set itself targets for improvement.
Nest is one of a host of investors to support the resolution. The group of backers has a combined £215bn of assets under management and includes more than 100 retail investors, ShareAction said.
It calls, specifically, for Unilever to disclose the proportion of total food and drink annual sales by volume and revenue that are made up of healthier products. It also demands that Unilever uses government-endorsed, “nutrient-profiling models” to define these healthier products, to set and publish targets to “significantly increase” these sales by 2030, and to publish an annual revenue setting out progress made against these targets.
ShareAction said the resolution was vital as obesity, which has tripled since 1975, now has a public health cost akin to the impact of smoking.
It said it was targeting Unilever because, though it acknowledged the company had “a strong strategic focus on sustainability”, its existing metrics and level of disclosure “do not provide sufficient information to understand the company’s position relative to its competitors and its exposure to regulatory risk”.
Georgina Chiu, senior environmental, social and governance analyst at Nest, said: “Responsible investors need access to clear and timely data if we are to manage key risks within our portfolio.
“We’re seeing rapidly evolving regulatory trends and consumer expectations towards healthier food and drink ranges. This resolution will help us better understand Unilever’s impact on public health and encourage them to grow its portion of sales from healthier products.”
