The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Collaboration for Healthier Lives (CHL) Coalition held their first bi-annual Steering Committee Meeting of 2021 on 16-17 March. The meetings kicked off by framing the Coalition’s shared ambition to expand their reach and impact, accelerate their learning, set the example for their own employees, and continually support vulnerable communities.

With its new governance model to match a more holistic ambition on healthier lives, the Coalition welcomed its new Board Co-Sponsors: Frans Muller, President & CEO of Ahold Delhaize, Malina Ngai, CEO of A.S. Watson (Asia and Europe), Brian McNamara, CEO of GSK Consumer Healthcare, and Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestlé. In addition, the Coalition welcomed its newly elected Steering Committee Co-Chairs: Marcus Osborne, Vice President of Walmart Health, Ayla Ziz, SVP Global Sales – Chief Customer Officer at Danone, and Rebecca Marmot, Chief Sustainability Officer at Unilever. Commenting on the governing body, CGF Health & Wellness Director, Sharon Bligh, said,

At a time when health has never been so important across the globe, I am delighted to welcome the new CHL Coalition leadership, and for the support from CGF members to drive our ambition of healthier consumers and communities around the world.

In delving into the theme of healthier and more sustainable behaviours and diets, Coalition members discussed the potential to ways to strengthen their collaborations to guide, empower, and support consumers’ lifestyle choices – which will be driven further by a Working Group of volunteers. With the United Nations Food Systems Summit, COP26, and the Nutrition for Growth Summit taking place this year, there are clear milestones to build commitment and progress in this key area. Tackling employee health and wellbeing, the group discussed the newly launched Employee Experts Conversation Series, sharing CHL Japan’s health and safety-first guidebook, the importance of mental health, and supporting the Workforce Nutrition Alliance – for which a digital scorecard and website is set to launch in the coming weeks.

A global CHL update was given with progress from the initiatives across regions. The team acknowledged the progress made in 2020 with over 160 organisations acting in 14 countries (in stores, communities, online and with employees) to impact and engage over 50 million people through approximately 835 interventions. Local CHL CEO sessions took place in Colombia in March and are planned in the UK, and the newest CHL chapter in Russia is set to launch in April 2021. Several clusters of key challenges were highlighted by local CHL teams, including data sharing, cross functional business buy-in, clarity of scope, and digital impact.

An interactive session with BAIN followed on CHL insights, ahead of a report to be published in the second quarter of the year. To reach its 2021 objectives, measurement, learning, and evaluation was a key focus, and members took a deep dive into the CHL KPI framework. The team took part in collaborative breakout groups to unpack topics such as: facilitating and clarifying data processes, local definitions of healthier lives, collaborations with academic partners, and digital media potential, among others. With KPMG, the Coalition will be publishing its enhanced KPI framework to guide CGF members to drive healthier baskets.

Finally, Steering Committee members committed to amplifying their support for the Global Learning Mechanism to continue to grow the platform as the reference point for the latest health and wellbeing insights and resources, and as part of the wider mission to empower healthier lives for consumers around the world.  

For more information and updates from the CHL Coalition, visit our web page.