The group, led by Rathbone Greenbank Investments, included the Legal and Public Investment Department, Aviva Investors and EOS at Federated Hermes – a full list can be found below.
This coalition called for new legislation on mandatory reporting of sales-weighted metrics, as recommended in the National Food Strategy.
This legislation covers manufacturers, wholesalers, large retailers and others with operations in the UK, with metrics including sales of foods and beverages high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS), sales of protein by species, sales of fruits and vegetables and food waste. .
He also called on the government to consider the full range of regulatory tools at its disposal to promote sustainability in the food system and to be “bold and ambitious” in its response to the “major social and environmental challenge” of the UK food system.
Thinking and Sustainability in the Long Term
The alliance agreed that well-designed regulation can create an essential enabling environment for companies seeking to build long-term thinking and sustainability into their business models.
Anna Taylor, Executive Director of The Food Foundation, said:: “Taking action on the recommendations of the National Food Strategy must be a priority for the UK. Not only is our health deteriorating, as public spending on obesity-related ill health is set to continue to rise, but we will not be able to meet our climate commitments without working on sustainable food.
“We urgently need consistency in how food companies report on health and sustainability metrics, to make sure we have clear, industry-wide evidence of how the food sector is transitioning to sales of healthier and more sustainable food. To make that happen, we need government and investors to work together and help drive This shift to regular and transparent reporting.”
While the open letter acknowledged that some companies have already voluntarily reported healthy and sustainable food, I argued here that there is a marked lack of consistency in how metrics are reported and that some sectors are lagging behind.
unsustainable system
Sophie Lawrence, senior ethics, sustainability and impact researcher at Rathbone Greenbank Investments, described the food system in its current state as unsustainable and that ambitious work is needed to realign it to work for people and the planet.
“One of the main challenges that investors face to date has been the lack of consistent, high-quality and meaningful information on the nutrition and environmental performance of companies within the food sector,” She added.
“While there are examples of good practice in individual disclosures, the lack of common metrics means that investors are often limited in our ability to direct capital toward companies that take a proactive and pioneering approach to sustainability issues. We therefore welcome the recommendation of clear and consistent mandatory reporting requirements companies operating in the food sector.
The complete list of sites
- Rathbone Green Bank Investments
- Castlefield Investment Partners LLP
- CCLA
- Aviva Investors
- EOS at Federated Hermes (on behalf of its supervisory clients)
- Legal and General Administration for Investment
- Rathbone bones
- Guys and St Thomas Foundation
- Newton Investment Management Limited
- BMO Global Asset Management (EMEA), part of Columbia Threadneedle Investments
- Health Foundation
- Valori Asset Management
- Australian ethical investing
- Ethical investors
- Capital fund management
- EdenTree Investment Management Ltd
- Phoenix group
- Food Foundation
- ShareAction
.