Increase the number of Investor Signatories to the Investor Expectations on Nutrition, Diets and Health

Nutrition for Growth (N4G) investor pledge

As institutional investors, we acknowledge the global nutrition crisis. Poor diets provide inadequate nutrition and drive high levels of death and preventable non-communicable diseases, whilst also putting individuals at greater risk of contracting and dying from communicable diseases such as Covid-19. The high individual, societal and economic costs of poor diets and nutrition have an impact on our holdings, portfolios and asset values in the short, medium and long term, both in the food and beverage industry and more widely.

As responsible investors, and consistent with our fiduciary duty to our beneficiaries, we recognise the mutual benefit to investors, businesses and society of taking action on nutrition. The world is taking such action, but much more needs to be done by governments globally to meet the targets set by the World Health Organization (WHO) at the 65th World Health Assembly in 2012.

We therefore urge policymakers to support a global shift to healthy packaged food, using fiscal and regulatory measures where necessary and strengthening commitments to achieving national and global WHO targets.

We also call on all food and beverage companies to commit to the following three key actions:

1. Report annually on the percentage of their sales generated by healthy products and the percentage of their product portfolio that comprises healthy products.

2. Use the nutritional profiling model of the Health Star Rating system (or equivalent independently developed and governed system, such as Nutri-Score) to define healthy products.

3. Use the Investor Expectations on Nutrition, Diets and Health framework to deliver better outcomes on nutrition, adopting the commitments within each of the four pillars of governance, strategy, lobbying and transparency.

Understanding the growing impacts of malnutrition, we recognise the need to scrutinise how well food and beverage companies manage the related risks and opportunities, and we recognise our role in accelerating private-sector action in this area.

We commit to using the Investor Expectations on Nutrition, Diets and Health framework, where applicable and as appropriate, in our style of responsible investment and in our research and engagement with boards and management. We will tailor the application of the framework to each company's business model, exposure to emerging trends and impacts.

We, as a group, commit to engaging directly with all 20 listed food and beverage companies in the ATNi Global Access to Nutrition Index 2021, as appropriate, and/or to require the fund managers who invest on our behalf to do so, using the Investor Expectations on Nutrition, Diets and Health framework.

We will disclose certain information about our engagement within, for example, our standard quarterly or annual stewardship or engagement reports or on our websites, as well as through reports that ATNi will publish on signatory engagement. We will use the insights we generate from our engagement to inform our investment research and, potentially, our investment decisions.

The aim of our engagement will be to ensure that food and beverage companies minimise their business risks and impact associated with global nutrition challenges and capitalise on the related opportunities to enhance investor returns and societal outcomes. Principally, this will be by improving the nutritional quality of their products and encouraging their customers to choose healthy products through appropriate labelling, pricing, distribution, promotion and advertising. We will ask them to adopt consistent, high international standards in all markets and to adhere to stricter national standards where these exist.

By pledging to use these Investor Expectations, we aim to demonstrate our commitment to addressing global nutrition challenges and supporting the realisation of WHO nutrition targets and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. As of 26 November 2021, the following institutional investors, representing US$12.4 trillion in assets under management, are signatories to this pledge:

1. Achmea Investment Management

2. ACTIAM

3. Adrian Dominical Sisters

4. Aikya Investment Management

5. AMP Capital

6. Apostole Funds Management

7. Aviva Investors

8. AXA Investment Managers

9. BancoPosta Fondi SGR

10. BMO Global Asset Management

11. BNP Paribas Asset Management

12. Boston Common Asset Management

13. Boston Trust Walden

14. Candriam

15. CCLA Investment Management

16. Christian Super

17. COMETA Pension Fund

18. CommonSpirit Health

19. Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Louise

20. Domini Impact Investments

21. EdenTree Investment Management

22. EQ Investors

23. Ethical Partners Fund Management

24. Ethos Foundation

25. Federated Hermes

26. Fondo Pensione Gruppo Unicredit

27. Fukoku Capital Management, Inc.

28. Guy's & St Thomas's Foundation

29. Impax Asset Management

30. JLens Investor Network

31. Kommunal Landspensjonskasse

32. Legal and General Investment Management

33. Liontrust Plc

34. The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum

35. Mercy Investments

36. Mirova

37. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking

38. NEI Investments

39. NN Investment Partners

40. Nomura Asset Management

41. Pictet Group

42. Pacific Investment Management Company

43. PosteVita

44. Rathbone Greenbank Investments

45. Resona Asset Management Co.

46. Seventh Generation Interfaith

47. Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

48. Socially Responsible Investment Coalition

49. Storebrand Asset Management

50. Trinity Health

51. Trillium Asset Management

52. UBS Asset Management

53. Vancity Investment Management