We share the same goals as ATNI to accelerate sustainable access to nutritious and affordable foods for all.
We are also supportive of independent benchmarking which can help differentiate between practices within an industry. When done well, such assessments can recognize leadership and help raise the bar by incentivizing progress.
However, the approach taken by ATNI does not deliver these positive outcomes.
As ATNI itself says, its "research and Indexes do not assess compliance with local regulations or laws, but rather assess private sector performance against international standards and guidance". It is important to note that these standards and guidance have not been implemented in their entirety into local laws, including in the five countries covered for the 2024 Indexes.
Furthermore, ATNI acknowledges that inconsistency in the level of information gathered through companies and service providers means that the Indexes "may not represent the full extent of [the companies’] efforts."
The methodology adopted may unfairly penalize companies with a large portfolio assessed because the absolute numbers used by ATNI can easily trigger lower scoring resulting from a high number of incidences of "non-compliance".
The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and all WHA subsequent resolutions are a set of recommendations to regulate the marketing of food for infants and young children. Implementation of the Code is the responsibility of governments. Everywhere we operate, we comply with all local regulations as a minimum, including on labelling, nutritional composition and quality standards, and the WHO Code and subsequent WHA resolutions as implemented in local law as well as our Policy, whichever is stricter. In fact, Nestlé voluntarily restricts its marketing practices beyond national regulations in many countries of the world. These voluntarily restrictions are codified in the Nestlé Policy for implementing the Code (pdf, 5Mb), that we further strengthened in 2021.
Along with other members of the industry, we informed ATNI we fundamentally disagree with their methodology. We are concerned that their approach could risk stakeholders misinterpreting our compliance record.
At Nestlé, our goal is to contribute to tackling malnutrition by making high-quality, fortified food accessible and available responsibly for infants and young children. Our efforts are focused on responsibly supporting families in their infant feeding choices and contributing to the best possible nutrition for the healthy development of infants and young children driven by evidence-based science.
We will continue to publish on our website audits and assessments of our policies and practices, as well as our actions taken in response. We continue to invite feedback from stakeholders on areas for development.
