CGF Members Join Forces to Launch ‘United for a Healthier Future’ CHL Initiative in Russia

The ‘United for a Healthier Future’ initiative will focus on three areas— self-care, community care, and employee care. Within these three areas, the CGF members driving the initiative plan to launch regular awareness and engagement-building projects. Its educational projects will be aimed at stimulating people’s interest in living a healthier lifestyle, implementing balanced diets, as well as enhancing awareness on how they can help protect the environment through their choices. In addition, the initiative’s partners will regularly conduct scientific and social studies on the topic of living healthier lifestyles to identify changes in consumer behaviour.  

CHL Russia will also draw consumers’ attention to healthier products. In particular, companies’ joint projects will aim to increase the availability of goods with lower sugar, salt, and fat content, and support giving up smoking, as well as encouraging consumers to take care of their bodies, their homes, and their pets. The aim is to develop healthier habits by gradually increasing ‘healthier lifestyle’ products in consumer baskets. Sustainable consumption is a key area of focus for the initiative, which will be tackled through the promotion of eco-packaging and reduction of food waste.

Commenting on the launch on the initiative, Wai-Chan Chan, Managing Director of The Consumer Goods Forum, said, “For many years, local initiatives have been working collaboratively in communities around the world to make it easier for people to adopt healthier lifestyles. The CGF is delighted to have Russia as the newest local initiative to join this global movement, led by manufacturers, retailers, public health authorities and local communities. Their work towards driving healthier and more sustainable lives for consumers and employees, while creating shared value for communities, business and the environment, is a key step in addressing some of the most critical challenges facing the world today”.

Adding to this, CGF Healthier Lives Director, Sharon Bligh, said, “Our Coalition’s work is driven by the premise that health is not a competitive advantage; it’s a basic human right. Having our Russian members and stakeholders on board as the latest CHL local initiative marks a key milestone in our efforts to further amplify our mission, and to drive actions within communities across the globe. As they encourage healthier lives and work towards facilitating more sustainable and responsible choices for consumers, we welcome the Russian local initiative as an important part of the CHL movement to drive positive change at scale”.

Outlining the aims of CHL Russia, Jan Dunning, Magnit’s President and CEO, said, “The main goal of the Initiative is to help people lead a healthier lifestyle and develop a sustainable approach to caring for themselves, their loved ones, and the environment. For us, a healthy lifestyle means not just having a balanced diet, but also taking proper care of ourselves, the people we love, and even our pets. Being the largest retail chain in the country, Magnit will unite the leading international FMCG producers operating in Russia and create a platform that supports consumers to take better care of their health”.

Highlighting the importance of encouraging healthier lifestyles, Lakish Hatalkar, Area Managing Director Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health for Russia, Ukraine and CIS, Co-Chair of Women’s Leadership & Inclusion EMEA, said, “At Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, we take a total health approach to helping people live their healthiest lives. Our Healthy Lives Mission sets ambitious goals to deliver greater benefits for people, communities and our planet. This includes a focus on reducing preventable diseases, such as tackling smoking cessation in Russia through product innovation and programmes for the more than 12 million people in the country trying to quit smoking. We are proud to be part of the important work The Consumer Goods Forum is advancing across industry, and strive to deepen and establish innovative partnerships with other companies, suppliers and retailers who share our goal to drive health forward. We believe that together we can help millions of consumers live healthier lives”.

Commenting on the power of industry collaboration, Martial Rolland, CEO Nestlé Russia and Eurasia, said, “As the world’s largest food and beverage company, Nestlé has been providing consumers with high quality nutrition for over 150 years. Based on our expertise in Nutrition, Health and Wellness, we continue our portfolio transformation to provide nutritious and great tasting products as well as services, whilst at the same time protecting the environment. By doing this we unlock the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come.  With consumers increasingly expecting companies to act as force for good, I am confident that by joining our efforts with other industry players through the ‘United for a Healthier Future’ initiative, we will make an even stronger positive impact on consumers, employees and society at large”.

The ‘United for a Healthier Future’ initiative will be open to new partners and welcomes all stakeholders, including manufacturers, retailers, and scientific institutes, to share expertise and create joint projects to encourage healthier lives for people in communities in Russia.

ENDS

About The Consumer Goods Forum

The Consumer Goods Forum (“CGF”) is a global, parity-based industry network that is driven by its members to encourage the global adoption of practices and standards that serves the consumer goods industry worldwide. It brings together the CEOs and senior management of some 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and other stakeholders across 70 countries, and it reflects the diversity of the industry in geography, size, product category and format. Its member companies have combined sales of EUR 3.5 trillion and directly employ nearly 10 million people, with a further 90 million related jobs estimated along the value chain. It is governed by its Board of Directors, which comprises 58 manufacturer and retailer CEOs. For more information, please visit: www.theconsumergoodsforum.com.

About Collaboration for Healthier Lives Coalition

The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF)’s CEO-led Coalition of Action on Collaboration for Healthier Lives (CHL) is about making it easier for people around the world to adopt healthier lives for themselves and their families. It’s about making healthier decisions easier and habitual for people in every community around the world. CHL is a global movement led by manufacturers, retailers, public health authorities and local communities, delivering local movements in communities worldwide. There are currently nine CHL initiatives running across 14 countries and involving over 100 organisations. As a collective, members of the CGF, and their partners, are exploring, experimenting, innovating and evolving business models to support positive change, while sharing data and knowledge at scale, cross industry. Health is not a competitive advantage; it’s a basic necessity. And, it’s clear no company can solve this issue alone. Collaboration is needed at scale and across sectors if the consumer goods industry is to play the necessary role in the health and wellbeing of people.  To learn more, visit www.tcgfhealthierlives.com.

For more information:

Sharon Bligh
Director, Healthier Lives
The Consumer Goods Forum
hw@theconsumergoodsforum.com

Press contact:

Joelle Mbuya Leclerc
Officer, Communications
The Consumer Goods Forum
j.mbuya.leclerc@theconsumergoodsforum.com