Investors urge UK government to implement mandatory health reporting and healthy sales targets

A group of investors with holdings in major food companies is backing the UK Government’s plan to mandate transparency on sales of unhealthy food by requiring food businesses to report and set targets on the healthiness of their sales.

The investor group (managing US$1.33 trillion) — including members of ShareAction’s Long-term Investors in People’s Health coalition and The Food Foundation’s Investor Coalition for Food Policy — is urging the government to prescribe robust metrics for companies’ obligatory reporting and targets using clear, science-based metrics.

Garance Boullenger, healthy markets initiative lead at ShareAction, speaks to Food Ingredients First about how mandatory reporting could shift business strategies for F&B companies.

“More transparency and better disclosures from the food and drink sector are a crucial first step for these companies to be accountable for their influence on diets worldwide. Without these, investors and the public are in the dark on just how reliant these companies are on selling unhealthy products.”

“Poor diets and sicker societies impact economic productivity and threaten long-term business success and financial returns, and without this information, we can’t fully assess the risks being created by an over-reliance on the sales of less healthy products.”

Disclosures and target setting

The investor group argues that mandatory measures are now essential to drive consistent action and hold companies to account. 

Boullenger flags that, armed with the right data, investors can engage with companies based on credible information about the risks they are exposed to through over-reliance on healthy food sales. 

“This could mean encouraging their portfolio companies to mitigate risks and headwinds from unhealthy food sales by focusing on selling more healthier food, whether through R&D, reformulation, or a shift in marketing.”

The investor group’s key points include urging the UK government to adopt clear, science-based metrics and cover all large food businesses within the policy’s scope. 

They call for robust implementation of mandatory measures, claiming they are essential to protecting public health, economic productivity, and long-term investment returns.

Fixing the UK’s broken food system 

Any future policy should cover all large food companies, including food manufacturers, retailers, and the out-of-home sector. It must include mandating transparent reporting based on internationally recognized metrics, like the UK nutrient profiling model, and measuring the proportion of sales that are healthy versus unhealthy.

The calls come after voluntary initiatives have failed to improve public health outcomes in the food sector significantly.

“Many investors who have signed the statement have been engaging with food and drink companies for years, asking them for more transparency on how healthy, or unhealthy, their sales are. This engagement has led to significant progress with some companies, such as Tesco, Unilever, and Nestlé, while other food giants, such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, or Mondelez, haven’t made any progress on their health disclosure,” notes Boullenger.

“This gap between leaders and those who are dragging their heels is exactly why we need mandatory reporting and target setting. Voluntary action has shown that science-based, transparent health reporting is possible for companies, but policy interventions are needed to level the playing field.” 

Boullenger says that currently, most companies fail to disclose credible data on the healthiness of their product sales, making it difficult for investors to evaluate their readiness for stricter regulation, ability to meet rising consumer demand for healthier options, or long-term growth potential. 

“The statement published today follows years of investors’ engagement with food and drink manufacturers, for example, the shareholder resolution filed against Nestlé last year. This shows that investors are acting on health concerns by starting to set expectations for the food and drink sector, addressing the risks being created by an over-reliance on the sales of less healthy products.” 

Any changes to the policy scope need to include the out-of-home (OOH) sector, including fast food chains, restaurants, takeaways, cafes, and delivery platforms.

“In the UK, around 60% of people consume through this sector at least once a week, and its importance has grown significantly since the pandemic. Globally, OOH sales are dominated by foods and drinks high in calories, fat, sugar, and salt, which drive unhealthy consumption patterns.”

“While some manufacturers and retailers have begun setting health-related targets and reporting progress, OOH companies remain far behind, with only a handful offering transparency on the health profile of their sales.”

She believes that excluding this sector from policy would leave a major determinant of public health unaddressed and allow OOH companies to continue influencing diets without accountability. 

“Investors urge the government to include large out-of-home companies in the scope of the policy, Boullenger concludes.