In early 2021, Newton Investment Management Ltd identified the sustainability of our food system as one of its engagement policy objectives for the year. Our objective is to engage with companies around their strategies to reduce the social and environmental impacts of food products and operations across the full value chain. Our intended outcome of this engagement topic is to see improvements in the nutritional quality of food without placing a greater strain on the environment, and to help ensure that global populations have access to affordable, healthy and sufficient food.

The Environmental Impacts of Our Food System

We have previously discussed why we believe food sustainability is such an important theme. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that agriculture is responsible for 10-12% of global human-induced greenhouse-gas emissions.1 Moreover, around half of all habitable land is taken up by agriculture,2 while 70% of all the freshwater consumed globally is used for agricultural purposes,3 much of this to support the production of animal protein. The negative environmental impacts of food production are extensive and often interlinked, ranging from contribution to climate change to biodiversity loss, both also key engagement priorities for us. Animal agriculture specifically is responsible for a significant portion of this damage to our environment. For example, in the European Union (EU), it is estimated that nearly 70% of agricultural greenhouse-gas emissions are derived from the animal sector.4 For this reason, we are members of Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return (FAIRR), an investor network which aims to raise awareness of the environmental, social and governance issues around intensive livestock production, and we use this as part of our engagement strategy.

What are the Environmental Impacts of Food and Agriculture?

What are the environmental impacts of food and agriculture

Source: Our World in Data, 20205

Collaborative Engagement With FAIRR

In recent years, Newton has supported FAIRR’s sustainable protein engagement, which focuses on encouraging food retailers and manufacturers to use protein diversification to help towards mitigating climate risks, and to meet evolving consumer demand preferences. FAIRR observes that the Covid-19 outbreak and ensuing pandemic have highlighted the fragility of animal supply chains, as well as the risks these pose to human health. This engagement now focuses on 25 global companies and encourages these businesses to set time-bound commitments in order to support the transition to diets containing fewer, higher-quality animal proteins, and more plant-based and alternative proteins. Positively, this year, 23 of the 25 companies provided some form of response.

As part of this engagement, we have supported letters to eight investee companies, participated in FAIRR coordinated collective discussions with businesses as equity and debt holders, and engaged directly with a number of large companies on this topic. We have been pleased to see four companies in the engagement set board-level, public commitments around portfolio transformation, and receive recognition as strong performers by FAIRR. In addition, 14 of the 15 food retailers in FAIRR’s engagement have launched plant-based private-label products in 2021, and all manufacturers assessed have expanded their alternative protein product portfolio in the last 12 months.

The role of protein diversification as a climate-mitigation tool and/or driver of growth has become a key agenda item in corporate board-level discussions. All 25 companies in the engagement now recognize protein diversification as a material issue for their business… This is in stark contrast to five years ago, when none of the companies in the engagement recognized the need for a protein transition.

FAIRR: Progress update – summary of findings6

The Market for Plant-Based and Alternative Food Products

Our engagements have provided us with deeper insights into how retailers and manufacturers are embracing opportunities where consumer demand is growing and where they see opportunities for future product expansion. For example, at a multinational food and beverage conglomerate, approximately 10% of research and development personnel are focused on plant-based foods, and it has developed an option to fast-track the process to ensure that products reach the market quickly. The company sees opportunities in more complex plant-based products, beyond the already commoditized milk alternatives, in areas such as pizza, frozen meals and ice creams. The company also views plant-based seafood as an exciting opportunity, which could reduce the damage on the biodiversity within our oceans.

In addition, one of the largest global food retailers was the first in the UK to set a target specifically relating to alternative protein: to increase sales of these products by 300% by 2025. Our discussions highlighted that the company set this to reflect the pace of change, and to encourage further development from its supplier base. The business believes cost parity with traditional meat is essential given that price is a key driver of consumer sales, and as scale increases, costs should continue to fall. It is also prioritizing store promotions, and hopes that stores of all sizes and locations will have at least one promotion on alternative proteins at any point in time.

Looking to the Future

We have been pleased to see the evolution in corporate thinking over the course of our engagements on animal and diversified proteins alongside FAIRR. As scrutiny on the environmental impacts of animal products grows, in particular given its links to deforestation, antibiotic resistance and pandemic risks, as well as its impact on climate change and water scarcity, we expect to see an acceleration in corporate strategies offering protein products that are healthy for consumers, the environment and society at large.

We will continue to engage with investee companies on this topic, encouraging further public commitments around plant-based sales, and ensuring that companies are held accountable for meeting the ambitions they set. We also hope to better understand how internal and capital resources will be allocated to this transition, and the role that product portfolios will play in companies meeting their climate and broader environmental goals.

1 Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU), Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014
2 Half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture, Our World in Data, 11 November 2019
3 Water use in agriculture, OECD, accessed 8 October 2021
4 ECA based on Poore, J. and Nemecek, T.: Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers, 2018.
5 Environmental impacts of food production. Published online at OurWorldInData.org., June 2021
6 Progress update – summary of findings, FAIRR

Authors

Rebecca White

Rebecca White

Responsible investment analyst

Important Information

This is a financial promotion. This material is for institutional investors only.

Material in this publication is for general information only. The opinions expressed in this document are those of Newton and should not be construed as investment advice or recommendations for any purchase or sale of any specific security or commodity. Any reference to a specific country or sector should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell this country or sector. Please note that strategy holdings and positioning are subject to change without notice. Newton manages a variety of investment strategies. Whether and how ESG considerations are assessed or integrated into Newton’s strategies depends on the asset classes and/or the particular strategy involved, as well as the research and investment approach of each Newton firm. ESG may not be considered for each individual investment and, where ESG is considered, other attributes of an investment may outweigh ESG considerations when making investment decisions.

Issued by Newton Investment Management Limited, The Bank of New York Mellon Centre, 160 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4LA. Registered in England No. 01371973. Newton Investment Management is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, 12 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1JN and is a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. ‘Newton Investment Management Group’ is used to collectively describe a group of affiliated companies that provide investment advisory services under the brand name ‘Newton’ or ‘Newton Investment Management’. Investment advisory services are provided in the United Kingdom by Newton Investment Management Limited (NIM) and in the United States by Newton Investment Management North America LLC (NIMNA). Both firms are indirect subsidiaries of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (‘BNY Mellon’). Newton Investment Management Limited is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Newton Investment Management Limited’s investment business is described in Form ADV, Part 1 and 2, which can be obtained from the SEC.gov website or obtained upon request.

Personnel of certain of our BNY Mellon affiliates may act as: (i) registered representatives of BNY Mellon Securities Corporation (in its capacity as a registered broker-dealer) to offer securities, (ii) officers of the Bank of New York Mellon (a New York chartered bank) to offer bank-maintained collective investment funds, and (iii) Associated Persons of BNY Mellon Securities Corporation (in its capacity as a registered investment adviser) to offer separately managed accounts managed by BNY Mellon Investment Management firms, including Newton.

Certain information contained herein is based on outside sources believed to be reliable, but their accuracy is not guaranteed. Unless you are notified to the contrary, the products and services mentioned are not insured by the FDIC (or by any governmental entity) and are not guaranteed by or obligations of The Bank of New York or any of its affiliates. The Bank of New York assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the above data and disclaims all expressed or implied warranties in connection therewith. © 2020 The Bank of New York Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

In Canada, Newton Investment Management Limited is availing itself of the International Adviser Exemption (IAE) in the following Provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec and the foreign commodity trading advisor exemption in Ontario. The IAE is in compliance with National Instrument 31-103, Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations.

Explore topics