Investor Statement in support of a G7 Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative
To achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, we need transformational change from farm to fork. Providing sustainable livelihoods for farmers, decent employment for workers and nutritious choices for consumers – without depleting natural resources – is essential. As a group of three investors representing over US 1 trillion in assets under management, we welcome the commitment that global food and agriculture businesses are making to boost the sustainability of their operations. These commitments are part of a G7 Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative, that formally launched today, 16th December 2021. Germany, the holder of the G7 presidency in 2022, is an active supporter and looks to take this forward next year. Read more about the G7 Supply Chain Initiative
This G7 initiative has already seen 22 global food and agriculture businesses, who represent over USD 600 billion in revenues and who employ over 2.5 million workers, showing leadership by agreeing to improve the impact they have on the environment, social inclusion and nutrition across the value chain – all critical areas for systems change identified by the World Benchmarking Alliance’s Food and Agriculture Benchmark. As investors, we recognise that the actions of these companies are strengthening the expected norms of sustainable business and have the power to drive up standards across the sector.
In support of this G7 initiative, we value the World Benchmarking Alliance’s role in creating a publicly available and holistic Food and Agriculture Benchmark. This benchmark is proposed as the annual monitoring mechanism for this G7 initiative and equips all stakeholders, including us as investors, with the information needed to exert influence and monitor progress. The 2021 benchmark revealed gaps in the industry’s preparedness for climate change, progress on human rights and contribution to nutritious diets. We believe this benchmark provides a roadmap for food and agriculture companies to apply more sustainable business practices throughout their operations and use their influence to encourage value chain partners to do the same.
More information:
- See the results of the WBA’s 2021 Food and Agriculture Benchmark: Assessing the world’s 350 most influential food and agriculture companies
- To hear more information on the above, please contact Charlotte Reeves and Viktoria de Bourbon de Parme
