Nestlé has been criticised for its “flawed approach” to designing targets to reduce the levels of fat, salt and sugar in its products.
Shareholders, including Legal and General Investment Management and workplace pension scheme Nest, claim the food giant’s new nutrition target falls short of its expected impact on improving public health.
Nestlé’s target, which was announced last week, aims to boost its sales of ‘more nutritious’ products by 50% by 2030 and ‘step up’ measures to help people enjoy balanced diets.
According to responsible investment NGO ShareAction, this target is broadly in line with Nestlé’s overall growth guidance of 4% to 6% per year, and if its sales of unhealthier products also increased at a similar rate, there would be no improvement in the impact of the food it sells on consumer diets.
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It also claims that the Kit Kat and Shreddies owner has chosen to count some products as ‘nutritious’, although they are excluded from government-endorsed nutrient profile models, such as coffee and commercial baby foods.
As a result, ShareAction and the investors have called for a proportional target that would see a shift away from sales of high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) products.
ShareAction director of corporate engagement, Simon Rawson, said: “This flawed approach to designing targets calls into question how committed Nestlé is to driving healthier outcomes for society and the economy.
“If Nestlé is serious about doing its bit to help people enjoy healthier diets it needs to set targets to increase the proportion of food sales classed as healthier using a government-backed nutrient profiling model.”
Nest ESG analyst, Tom Sanders, added: “Nestlé’s target has fallen short of adequately addressing its over-reliance on the sales of unhealthy products. We hope Nestle’s desire to move the needle on health and be a leader in the industry is reflected through creating a more ambitious target.”
A spokeswoman for Nestlé told The Grocer: “We have set an ambitious target that is at the upper end of the growth guidance we have provided for the company.
“We believe that all of our portfolio can be part of a healthy and balanced diet, and intend to grow the more nutritious part by CHF 20-25 billion by 2030. This will be accompanied by strong measures to strengthen responsible marketing and support nutritious choices.”
