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* ShareAction resolution backed by Tesco investors
* ShareAction says COVID-19 shows need to tackle obesity
* Tesco says it works hard to help customers make healthy
choices
By James Davey
LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Tesco shareholders will
vote on a resolution at this year's annual meeting calling for
Britain's biggest food retailer to set targets to increase the
proportion of healthy products it sells.
The supermarket group is the first company in the FTSE 100
index to be hit with an investor resolution on health grounds,
responsible investment group ShareAction, who are co-ordinating
the move, said on Tuesday.
"With severely obese people three times more likely to be
admitted to intensive care with COVID-19, the pandemic has
highlighted the urgency of tackling mounting obesity levels," it
said.
ShareAction has previously targeted Barclays and
HSBC on climate change.
The Tesco resolution is being co-filed by institutional
investors including Robeco, JO Hambro and Guys and St. Thomas’
Charity, as well as 101 individual Tesco shareholders.
They argue that though Tesco is the UK's largest groceries
retailer with 27% of the market, its efforts to encourage
healthy eating lag behind peers, including Sainsbury's
and Marks & Spencer.
They also said consumer trends and new regulations to combat
obesity present a financial risk to Tesco if it fails to take
action.
The special resolution requires 75% of shareholder votes
cast at the meeting to pass.
If passed, Tesco would be forced to disclose the share of
total food and non-alcoholic drink annual sales by volume made
up of healthier products and develop a strategy to significantly
increase that share by 2030.
If the resolution receives 20% or more support, Tesco would
have to issue a formal response detailing how it would address
the concerns raised.
“We are working hard to make it easy for our customers to
make healthy choices, and we have set very clear targets on
health and sustainability, published in our Little Helps Plan,"
Tesco said in a statement.
It said a reformulation programme had removed more than 50
billion calories from its products since 2018, its "helpful
little swaps" events offer healthier alternatives to family
favourites at the same price, and it had given away over 100
million pieces of free fruit to children.
It said it had also announced a target to increase sales of
plant-based meat alternatives by 300% by 2025.
Tesco's annual general meeting (AGM) is usually held in late
June or early July.
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
