Fund manager Schroders said investors representing £1 trillion (€926 billion) in assets have backed its campaign centred on food and drink manufacturers and the consumption of sugar.
Schroders and Rathbone Greenbank have created a framework as a guide for investors to encourage companies to say how they are adapting to “changing global attitudes towards sugar”.
Elly Irving, environmental, social and governance analyst at Schroders, said: “The rise of global obesity, diabetes and diet-related disease is well known but we think the scale of the issue now makes this an investment concern.”
Schroders said the declining consumption of carbonated soft drinks provided growing evidence that consumers were responding to the medical issue related to sugar.
“As this trend continues, we think companies will have to invest more in R&D, innovation and product reformulation,” said Irving.
Public Health England has challenged the food and drinks industry to cut sugar by 20% by 2020, Schroders said, and a number of countries have also introduced sugar taxes.
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