Through our membership of the Investor Coalition on Food Policy, we have been engaging with the UK government to strengthen its approach to nutrition.
Reason for engagement
In the UK, poor diets are one of the leading risk factors for preventable ill-health, posing significant risks for businesses, investors and the wider economy. As obesity rates rise, so too do the financial risks: in 2025, the total estimated cost of overweight and obesity in the UK was £126 billion, including £30.8 billion in lost productivity. The government has an important role to play in tackling these issues.
Our policy engagement on nutrition mirrors our engagement with companies on this theme, with an emphasis on nutrition reporting and target-setting. While some companies have made encouraging progress voluntarily, enhanced government-led regulation and legislation have the potential to transform the food system for the better.
What we did
The Investor Coalition on Food Policy exists to engage with policymakers to advocate for well-designed regulation aimed at creating a healthier, more sustainable and more affordable food system. We joined the coalition when it was founded in 2021 in response to the publication of the UK’s National Food Strategy. We were involved with meetings with the then Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as well as representatives from the Department of Health and Social Care.
We have continued to participate in the intervening years. In August 2025, we added our support to an investor statement – coordinated by ShareAction, the Food Foundation and the Investor Coalition on Food Policy – calling for rapid and robust implementation of the government’s plan to make disclosures and target-setting around healthy food sales mandatory in its NHS 10-Year Health Plan.
Outcomes
The Investor Coalition on Food Policy has long been calling for the government to introduce mandatory nutrition reporting and target-setting for food companies operating in and selling into the UK. In June 2025, we learned of an exciting UK policy announcement setting out an ambition to introduce mandatory healthy food sales reporting for ‘all big food businesses’ by the end of this term of government. If implemented effectively, this measure could create a level playing field, mitigate both enterprise and systemic risks, and lower the long-term costs faced by public services. This was a huge win for the group, which has been campaigning for these measures for several years.
The August 2025 investor statement sought to support the government in its ambition, advocating for the rapid and robust implementation of this plan. We called for the policy to cover all large food companies – including food manufacturers, retailers and the out-of-home sector – to ensure it meaningfully tackles the wider public health challenges facing the UK and to ensure a credible enforcement mechanism.
A small number of investors, including CCLA, are due to meet with representatives from the Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury in early 2026 to pursue this engagement.