Oxfam says Nestlé improving social and environmental policies

Nestlé is among the top companies slowly improving their social and environmental policies, according to information released by Oxfam's Behind the Brands campaign on 17 September. The campaign, launched seven months ago, ranks the world's 10 biggest food and drink companies on their relevant policies and how they conduct business in poor countries. The campaign urges them to better strengthen their efforts to prevent hunger, fight poverty and protect the environment, according to Oxfam. “The top 10 food and drink companies have enormous power to improve the lives of thousands of people, whose work contributes to the products they sell for a huge profit,” said Oxfam Australia's Acting Public Policy and Advocacy Manager Kelly Dent, in a statement. Nestlé was credited with more comprehensively recognising land rights and is the first company of the 'Big 10' to fully support Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) for local communities in its supplier guidelines, used for the sourcing of sugar, soy, palm oil and other commodities. Oxfam said that the updated scorecards are being shared two weeks before it will release a major new investigation revealing land grabs in the sugar supply chains of major food and drink giants. The organisation also stated that 31 major investment funds, representing nearly $1.4 trillion of assets under management, have called on food industry giants to improve their environment and social policies and transparency.