Table 5 Corporate policies (voluntary self-regulation) adopted by Big Formula on marketing, lobbying and political financing
Corporation | Nestlé | Danone | RBMJ | Abbott | RFC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Policy name (date of latest version) | Policy and Procedures for the Implementation of the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes (2017) | Policy for the marketing of breast-milk substitutes; Procedures manual (2018) | Infant & Child Nutrition Pledge; Policy and Procedures on the Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes (2018) | Policy on the marketing of infant formula – global policy (2017) | Corporate Policy for the Marketing of Infant Foods; Corporate Standard for the Marketing of Infant Foods (2017) |
Year of first corporate policy (revisions) | 1982 (1996, 2004, 2010, 2017) | 2011 (2012, 2013, 2016, 2018) | 2017 (IFM’s policy before this) | 2016 (IFM’s policy before this) | – |
Compliance with The Code 2018 (2016); ATNI score (#rank) | 45% (36%) #2 | 46% (31%) #1 | 10% (5%) #5 | 34% (7%) #3 | 25% (24%) #4 |
General compliance statement | Corporate policy, or national regulations, whichever stricter | Corporate policy, or national regulations, whichever stricter | Corporate policy, or national regulations, whichever stricter | Corporate policy, or national regulations, whichever stricter | Corporate policy, or national regulations, whichever stricter |
Scope of countries included | ‘Higher-risk countries’ onlyα | Worldwide and ‘Higher-risk countries’α | ‘Higher-risk countries’ onlyα | Worldwide and ‘Higher-risk countries’β | Worldwide |
Products covered worldwide in corporate policy | – | Standard formula (0-6 m); any other BMS (0-6 m); delivery products; excludes specialised formulas | – | Standard formula (0-6 m); any other BMS, including complementary foods (0-6 m) | Standard, follow-up and special formulas (0-12 m); some products with same brand name / logo |
Products also covered in ‘higher-risk’ countriesα | Standard & follow-up formula (0-12 m); certain specialised formulas; bottles and teats | Follow-up formula (6-12 m); complementary foods & drinks (0-6 m) | Standard & follow-up formula (0-12 m); delivery products; complementary foods (0-6 m); excludes specialised formulas | Standard & follow-up formula (0-12 m); bottles and teats (0-12 m) | – |
Corporate third-party auditors listed on website | FTSE4Good since 2011 (PWC audits every 18 months); Bureau Veritas (audits 3 countries / year); ATNI | FTSE4Good since 2016 (PWC audits every 18 months); ATNI; others | ATNI | ATNI | ATNI |
Policy on corporate lobbying | Policy on Transparent Interactions with Public Authorities | Global Advocacy Policy 2017 | Global Responsible Advocacy Policy | Corporate political participation | – |
Policy on political financing | Allowed with executive permission; allowed by third parties | Not allowed; allowed by third parties | Not allowed; allowed by third parties | Allowed (US); allowed by third parties | – |