(Thursday 22nd February) Reacting to the publication of Nestlé’s annual report today, Holly Gabriel, Registered Nutritionist and Consumer Health lead at ShareAction, said:
“Nestlé’s failure to follow government backed methods for reporting on health makes it impossible to tell whether it is making any progress to help people access healthier products.
“This lack of transparency undermines the company’s commitment to be leaders in ensuring balanced diets are within reach for people around the world.
“To get the change needed from Nestlé and protect public health, shareholders and investors need to bring pressure on them to report openly and transparently around the progress they are making on health and set an ambitious target to meet growing consumer demand for healthier products.”
Notes to editors
For more information or to request interviews, please contact the ShareAction press office at press@shareaction.org or +44 20 7183 4184
Nestlé included products such as coffee in its reporting on healthy products today, which, according to the Health Star Rating (HSR) has no nutritional value and so would contribute to an inflated score.
Research by Oxford University and youth campaign group Bite Back released today suggests that 70% of Nestlé’s food sales in the UK come from less healthy products.
ShareAction’s Healthy Markets team works with investors to urge the food industry to lead the drive for healthier food options for all. Our coalition calls on food and drink companies to report transparently around the healthiness of their portfolios as well as to set ambitious targets to reduce overreliance on sales of high fat, sugar and salt products.
ShareAction is an NGO working to shape a world where the financial system serves our planet and its people. We mobilise global investors to use their influence to drive up labour standards, tackle climate change, protect the natural world, and improve people’s health. We push policymakers to ensure the financial system is working in the best interests of society. We work with people to create a movement for change. Visit shareaction.org or follow us @ShareAction to find out more.
