Reporting on the Menu for UK Food Strategy
Investor coalitions are setting priorities for policy-level engagement amid mounting evidence of threats to resilience from systemic risks.
Institutional investors view the UK government’s proposed national food strategy as a vehicle for progress on key environmental and social concerns, including mandatory reporting, supply chain transparency and animal welfare.
Engagement-focused coalitions are seeking clarity from policymakers and investors as they gear up to leverage the planned reforms, following a spate of official announcements.
“The new food strategy presents a really great opportunity for the investors to engage,” said Sarah Buszard, Responsible Investment Engagement Lead at The Food Foundation, a food-focused UK charity which convenes the Investor Coalition on Food Policy.
“The government has said that there will be a wide range of mechanisms to draw on the expertise of civil society and other key stakeholders into the process.”
The coalition, which represents 35 asset owners and managers with £6 trillion AUM (US$ 7.89 trillion), has called for mandatory health and sustainability reporting from firms across the UK food system in line with the recommendations of the independent national food strategy released in 2021.
Last month, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs unveiled the Food Strategy Advisory Board – with members including Food Foundation Executive Director Anna Taylor – which will advise on the cross-functional food strategy announced last December.
The strategy is intended to improve health outcomes, boost food security and resilience, promote investment and innovation, and support the transition of UK farming to practices that reduce negative impacts on climate and nature.
The UK government has also committed to developing a 25-year farming roadmap and in January launched a consultation on land use, aimed at balancing food security with other priorities including affordable housing and clean energy infrastructure.
Several details remain unclear about the new strategy, including when it will be finalised and published. A key concern of investors is maintaining momentum on disclosures, which was prioritised in their engagement with the previous Conservative administration.
The coalition, alongside other stakeholders and experts, provided input via the Food Data Transparency Partnership, established in 2023 to improve the availability, quality and comparability of data in the food supply chain.
“We’re waiting for clarity as to how the processes that started under the last administration will feed into the new food strategy process,” added Buszard.
Investor demand is increasing not only for information about the environmental impact of food production, but also its nutritional value, said Addy Windsor-Clive, Investor Relations Manager – Private Equity at Regenerate Asset Management, which specialises in regenerative agriculture and agtech investments.
“Creating a level playing field for corporate reporting in the UK food sector stops greenwashing in terms of how food is being produced, meaning that [information about] what’s happening downstream filters back upstream,” she said.
An enabling environment
At the Food Foundation’s second Investor Summit, held in London earlier this month, asset owners and managers voiced frustration at the slow pace of corporate and policy action on systemic risks facing the UK food sector.
As well as mandated requirements for disclosure by food businesses of data on key metrics, investors are seeking progress toward a legislative framework that provides the basis for future policy development.
“There is no need to reinvent the wheel with the food strategy,” said Rachel Crossley, Head of Stewardship, Europe, BNP Paribas Asset Management, speaking at the event, referencing the 2021 report.
According to the foundation’s latest ‘State of the Nation’s Food Industry’ report, only seven of the 36 major UK food businesses analysed had acted to disclose data or set new targets for increasing sales of healthy and sustainable food in the 12 months to November 2024. The study also found that 42% of firms were not “transparently reporting on their progress” on targets for reaching net zero and reducing Scope 3 emissions.
“With voluntary reporting, it’s difficult for companies to know which ones to report against when they’re getting requests for reporting against different frameworks. And for investors, it’s difficult to have an accurate picture of which companies are managing risks well and capitalising on the opportunities,” said Buszard.
“Well-designed regulation would create an enabling environment for businesses, with streamlined reporting allowing companies to know where to put their focus, and providing investors with that kind of accurate, reliable, comparable data that they need.”
The need for a more urgent and coordinated response from the UK food sector to supply chain risks and other negative impacts of climate change and nature loss were highlighted in a recent anonymous memo circulated by campaign group Inside Track.
Attributed to a group of current and future senior food sector executives, the memo warned that the global food system was under intense strain, calling on investors to increase engagement with UK-based food retailers and producers aimed at bolstering risk management and supply chain resilience.
Buszard said the memo highlighted the need for better data to help the industry manage its multiple systemic risks. “It showed that there’s vague data being given to investors and that the companies aren’t acting on the insights being driven by the data,” she said.
“The risks are just far too complex and wide-ranging for companies to tackle them in isolation. Having better visibility of the risks would enable companies to better manage them, and would also help investors to know which companies are on the right kind of path and which ones are not managing those risks.”
Transparency through technology
Mandatory reporting requirements for corporates on sustainability metrics have been watered down recently in Europe over concerns they increase management burdens and take attention from efforts to improve growth and competitiveness.
According to Windsor-Clive, advances in technology are increasing transparency across upstream, midstream and downstream processes in the food sector, from enabling consumers to check the nutritional density of end-products to measuring carbon, water and biodiversity outcomes along different supply chains.
“Larger firms have pushed back, saying that it can be incredibly hard to track their supply chains. But they have a responsibility to know this information and increasingly technology is enabling better reporting, meaning there won’t be anywhere to hide,” she said.
“Some supply chains are trickier than others, but as technology improves, it shouldn’t be as hard to be able to track and report openly.”
Investors are also engaging with corporates on health and sustainability disclosures during the proxy voting season. According to UK sustainability-focused charity ShareAction, members of its Long-Term Investors in People’s Health initiative will be asking 17 food sector firms to align with evidence-based and globally accepted standards of reporting on health.
While multinationals including Unilever and Danone have adopted standardised reporting methods, others have been slower to engage with shareholders on the subject, with at least one US-listed firm recently seeking ‘no-action’ protection from a transparency-related proposal.
At the global level, investors have also supported the Paris Declaration on Business & Nutrition 2030, with calls for increased and standardised disclosures as part of a roadmap for the creation of a “healthier and more sustainable nutrition economy”.
Higher standards
The UK’s new food strategy is also seen as a potential opportunity for investors to push for higher animal welfare standards across the country.
The secretariat of the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is consulting with – and beyond – the 29 members of its global investor collaboration, which represent US$2.4 trillion AUM, on increasing their shared policy advocacy efforts as part of a wider survey project.
“We’re exploring a few different avenues through survey, including opportunities for joint advocacy where legislation can help level the playing field or raise baseline standards of corporate animal welfare. And collective advocacy on the UK food strategy is an area we could look at,” said Jemima Jewell, Responsible Sourcing Specialist at Chronos Sustainability, which provides BBFAW’s secretariat.
As part of efforts to better understand the role and importance of animal welfare in their decision-making processes, BBFAW is also consulting member and non-member investors on their appetite for expansion to greater coverage of emerging themes such as aquaculture and regenerative agriculture.
Released last month, BBFAW’s 2024 report revealed that 14 firms increased their ranking, with UK retailer Greggs joining Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods and Waitrose among top performers. However, it also reported that 79% of firms analysed – including household names like Nestlé and McDonalds – remained in its lower tiers for a second consecutive year.
Jewell said investors were increasing scrutiny of firms’ adherence to upcoming deadlines for existing commitments to phasing out produce from caged animals, as well as voicing their support for related legislative change.
The EU is expected to introduce legislation to improve animal welfare in 2026, having previously postponed action despite a European Citizen’s Initiative in favour of a cage ban.
“The viability or otherwise of cages is going to be on the EU legislative agenda, and investors might also want to better understand and potentially play an active part in that conversation,” Jewell added.
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