The Consumer Goods Industry Strengthens Commitment to Improving Health and Wellness for Consumers Worldwide

PARIS, June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

• The Consumer Goods Forum Board of Directors agrees to new strategic milestones to help ensure the wellbeing of consumers 

Recognising the importance of health and wellness to consumers, The Consumer Goods Forum's Board of Directors has today reaffirmed its commitment to the implementation of its Health & Wellness Resolutions published in June 2011. The Resolutions set out The Forum's belief that manufacturers and retailers have a key role to play in improving the health and wellness of consumers, employees, their families and the communities they serve.

During a meeting of the Board of Directors, held during its annual Global Summit currently underway in Paris, The Consumer Goods Forum has asked its members for increased alignment and engagement on its ambitious five-year plan, which aims to empower the world's population to make healthier product and lifestyle choices.

Responding to the increasing importance of health to consumers, the Board of Directors of The Consumer Goods Forum has committed to lead the industry on a number of specific actions from the Resolutions, namely:

• By 2016: Make company policies public on nutrition and product formulation;
• By 2016: Implement employee health and wellness programmes;
• By 2018: Industry-wide implementation of consistent product labelling and consumer information to help consumers make informed choices and usages; and
• By 2018: Stop targeted advertising to children under 12 for products that do not fulfil specific nutrition criteria based on scientific evidence and/or applicable national and international dietary guidelines.

In addition, the Board has approved the establishment of an External Scientific Advisory Council on Health and Wellness to give directional guidance on this strategic pillar.

In order to measure progress in implementation of the Resolutions, the industry's first ever industry-wide survey is also being conducted. Following on from the 2013 Board pilot, The Forum is now extending the process to the entire membership with a new report describing industry progress to be published in January 2015.

Paul Bulcke, Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé SA and Co-Sponsor of The Forum's Health & Wellness Pillar, added: "The consumer goods industry acknowledges its role in the health and wellness of society, the issues around it, and the imperative need for actions. We have to scale up our efforts. We have to accelerate existing initiatives. We have to engage in multi-stakeholder dialogues and efforts. We believe that The Forum will contribute to a positive impact in this area. Today's outcome shows the commitments that only CEOs can make to demonstrate that the consumer goods industry, through The Forum, is a hugely important partner for organisations seeking to make the world a healthier and better place".

Dick Boer, President & Chief Executive Officer, Royal Ahold and Co-Sponsor of The Forum's Health & Wellness Pillar, commented: "Health and wellness is one of The Forum's key strategic pillars and an area where we can provide strong leadership. The Board is working hard to drive The Forum as a key partner in the global health and wellbeing agenda and we have set clear targets and timelines to ensure that The Forum delivers on its resolutions. We encourage The Forum's entire membership to work towards our objectives and help create a healthier environment for consumers across the world".

The Forum is an influential global organisation with over 400 members, representing €2.5 trillion in sales. Membership is equally represented by retailers and manufacturers. It is in a unique position to create positive change in health and wellness for consumers, shoppers, employees and the communities the industry serves.  

For more information on The Forum's Health & Wellness Pillar, please visit:

Health & Wellness - http://tcgfhealthandwellness.com/

NOTES TO EDITORS 

The Consumer Goods Forum 

The Consumer Goods Forum ("The Forum") is a global, parity-based industry network that is driven by its members.  It brings together the CEOs and senior management of some 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and other stakeholders across 70 countries, and it reflects the diversity of the industry in geography, size, product category and format.  The Forum member companies have combined sales of EUR 2.5 trillion. Their retailer and manufacturer members directly employ nearly 10 million people with a further 90 million related jobs estimated along the value chain.

The Forum is governed by its Board of Directors, which includes 50 manufacturer and retailer CEOs and Chairpersons.

The Forum provides a unique global platform for knowledge and best practice sharing around the following strategic priorities: Sustainability, Product Safety, Health & Wellness, End-to-End Value Chain & Standards, which are central to the advancement of today's consumer goods industry.

The Forum's mission is, "Bringing together consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in pursuit of business practices for efficiency and positive change across our industry benefiting shoppers, consumers and the world without impeding competition".

To fulfil this, its members have given The Forum a mandate to develop common positions on key strategic and operational issues affecting the consumer goods business, with a strong focus on non-competitively sensitive process improvement.  

The Forum's success is driven by the active participation of the key players in the sector who together develop and lead the implementation of best practices along the value chain.

With its headquarters in Paris and its regional offices in Washington, DC and Tokyo, The Forum serves its members throughout the world. For more information, please visit: http://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com.