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The world’s largest food and drink companies still have a long way to go to participate fully in the global fight against the twin scourges of obesity and undernutrition, a new report claims.
The global access to nutrition index 2016 – which scores 22 leading multinational firms on corporate strategy, availability of appropriate, affordable and accessible products, and positive influence on consumer choice and behaviour – notes that while some have taken steps to address the worldwide nutrition crisis, “the industry as whole is moving far too slowly”.
Unilever tops the rankings, receiving an overall score of 6.4 out of 10, followed by Nestlé (5.9) and Danone (4.9). Also in the top 10 are Mondelēz (4.3), Mars (3.8), Grupo Bimbo (3.6), PepsiCo (3.6), FrieslandCampina (2.8), Ferrero (2.6) and Kellogg’s (2.5). Coca-Cola comes in 12th on 2.4, Ajinomoto 15th (1.7), while Kraft is 18th on 0.8 and Heinz 19th on 0.3.
Mars and the Dutch dairy company FrieslandCampina show the highest rises since the 2013 index: the former moved from 16th to fifth, the latter from 19th to eighth.
With almost 2 billion people overweight – 600 million of them obese, 800 million people lacking enough to eat and another 2 billion suffering from the “hidden hunger” of undernutrition, the report calls for concerted action from industry, governments and civil society.
“On balance, the outcomes of the index show some progress, but companies have a long way to go if they are to play their full part in tackling the global nutrition crisis,” says the report.
“Some companies have given health and nutrition issues increased weight in their corporate strategies; some have made commitments to improve the nutritional quality of some of their products; some have introduced more healthy options and some have adopted and established reasonably comprehensive back-of-pack labels.”
Far less progress has been made on marketing responsibly to children – “no measurable improvement” – and while most companies have signed up to self-regulatory pledges, such agreements are weak in several areas, according to the index.
It does, however, credit the leading companies, Unilever, Nestlé and Danone, with doing more than their peers by building a “commendable” commitment to addressing global nutrition into their core business models.
The index finds that the issue of undernutrition is being largely neglected by companies. It concedes that there are challenges in reaching out to undernourished consumers, but says companies have to take some responsibility for the huge problems that undernourished people face in finding healthy and affordable food, especially in less developed countries.
“Although many companies have business expansion goals in emerging economies … none [has] integrated undernutrition at a strategic level,” it says. “Only four companies have initiatives to reformulate products for undernourished populations. This is particularly important for higher-risk developing markets among priority populations such as women of child-bearing age and children under two.”
It also notes that none of the policies of the four food and drink companies and two of their pharmaceutical peers fully aligns with the international code of marketing of breast milk substitutes, a non-binding agreement intended to help countries regulate the substitutes.
Inge Kauer, executive director of the Access to Nutrition Foundation, said the world was facing a nutrition crisis that affects both developed and developing countries.
“The way people eat is fundamentally affected by the quantity and nutritional quality of processed food available and how it is marketed, priced and distributed, so any change in how companies operate can have a profound impact on people’s eating habits and their health,” she said.
Kauer said the costs of the crisis were massive, with the obesity epidemic alone estimated to cost $2tn a year – 3% of global GDP.
“Given their global reach and the size of the packaged processed food market, companies have great responsibility,” she added. “Of course, governments, civil society and consumers themselves have a role to play, but companies have to be part of the solution … It is not only about social responsibility, there is also an enormous opportunity for companies here with emerging markets and consumers asking for healthier foods.”
Unilever welcomed the news that it had topped the index. “We are extremely pleased to receive this independent recognition of our efforts to improve nutrition,” said Amanda Sourry, the company’s president of foods. “We recognise more hard work is needed to embed nutrition in our global ambition to make sustainable living commonplace.”
