Every day people all around the world use our products from their first cup of tea in the morning, to when they eat there last meal at night.

We continually work to improve the nutritional quality and taste of all our products, using globally recognized dietary guidelines. We develop new products, increase consumer choice, provide consumers with clear information and seek to use advertising to encourage our consumers to adopt healthy habits. We have set ourselves stretching targets for improving nutrition – to double the proportion of our portfolio that meets the highest nutritional standards, based on globally recognized dietary guidelines.

The impact of diet on health

As lifestyles change, there is continuing concern about the effect of diet on general health and well-being.

People are living more sedentary lives while calorie-rich food is becoming more readily available and affordable. This leads to a higher incidence of obesity, caused by people consuming more calories than they use up. This in turn increases the risk of heart disease and other chronic diseases, especially when a large proportion of calories in the diet comes from saturated fat.

At the same time, millions of people around the world remain hungry or lack essential nutrients in their diet, mainly as a result of poverty. Developing and emerging countries in particular increasingly face the double burden of over- and under-nutrition.

The role we can play

We can play a positive part in providing solutions to over- and under-nutrition. This is an opportunity for us not only to make a difference to people's health and well-being, but also to achieve our ambitious growth objectives. To do this, we will need to offer products that meet the needs of consumers, who are growing more conscious of the need for healthy diets and lifestyles but who still want delicious foods, drinks and goods that are easy to prepare. Our efforts to respond to these needs are at the heart of our Sustainable Living Plan.