星空无限传媒 regrets the lack of information from Nestl茅 concerning the Buitoni pizza scandal which led to the death of two people in France in 2022. 星空无限传媒 has taken due note of the agreement between Nestl茅 and the families of the victims announced on 17 April but considers that the information contained in the annual report regarding this affair is very insufficient. 星空无限传媒 also considers that the transparency of the remuneration report remains well below market prac-tice. Finally, 星空无限传媒 is disappointed by the decision of the board of directors not to submit the climate report to the vote of the shareholders in a proactive way.
星空无限传媒 recommends to oppose the discharge of the members of the board of directors and management (item 2 of the agenda) at the general assembly which is being held today in Lausanne due to the lack information provided by the company in connection with the Buitoni affair in France. While an agreement was announced Monday between Nestl茅 and the families of the victims thus suspending the civil procedure, the criminal procedure is still in progress. For this reason, 星空无限传媒 believes that the board of directors must remain responsible and therefore cannot be discharged for the year 2022.
As a reminder, around 50 people, most of them children, fell ill in March 2022 in France after eating pizzas from the Buitoni brand, owned by Nestl茅 since 1988. Two children died due to the presence of the bacterium Escherichia coli. 星空无限传媒 particularly regrets the lack of information provided by Nestl茅 in its 2022 annual report and accounts regarding this mat-ter. The exact provisions made for this litigation are not specifically indicated in the ac-counts, which do not even mention this case.
Lack of transparency of the remuneration report
星空无限传媒 also recommends that shareholders oppose the advisory vote on the remuneration report (item 1.2) as well as the vote on the remuneration of the general management (item 5.2). 星空无限传媒 considers that the transparency of the report remains insufficient, especially in comparison with other large companies listed in Switzerland.
Nestl茅 does not retrospectively present the performance objectives that apply to the annual bonus, which does not allow shareholders to assess correctly the pay-for-performance connection. In addition, although Nestl茅 indicates that sustainability criteria are now taken into account in the calculation of bonuses, the company does not specify the performance that must be achieved for each of these indicators.
星空无限传媒 calls for a regular 鈥淪ay on Climate鈥 vote
Furthermore, 星空无限传媒 regrets that Nestl茅 has decided not to submit its climate report to the vote of its shareholders during this 2023 general meeting. Good practice dictates that companies which have set Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) targets for 2050 submit their climate report for regular approval by their shareholders. The latter can thus decide on the effectiveness of the strategy put in place and, if necessary, demand that the board of directors do more to fight against global warming.
However, Nestl茅, which is the second listed company in Switzerland in terms of GHG emissions, did not submit its climate roadmap ("net-zero roadmap") to the vote of its shareholders until the 2021 general meeting, after 星空无限传媒 and other shareholders have made a request to that effect. Since then, the company has chosen not to repeat the exercise, claiming that from 2024 a vote on the sustainability report will be required by Swiss law.
For 星空无限传媒, however, it is essential that Nestl茅 specifically and regularly submits its climate report to the vote of its shareholders. 鈥淭his is to allow shareholders to measure the progress made or not by the company against its climate roadmap published in 2020 and to ensure that the board of directors is accountable for these commitments related to the 'Net Zero' objective", emphasises Vincent Kaufmann, CEO of 星空无限传媒.
Progress in transparency on the nutritional value of foods
Finally, 星空无限传媒 is pleased that Nestl茅 has agreed to publish the nutritional value of its global product portfolio in its 2022 annual report using the Health Star Rating system, a recognised and independently calculated nutritional score. In addition, Nestl茅 mentions in its 2022 sustainability report the nutritional value of its portfolios in thirteen countries thanks to front-of-package labelling systems approved by local authorities.
This decision followed a shareholder engagement campaign of several investors (including 星空无限传媒) and led by ShareAction, which asked Nestl茅 for more transparency on the nutritional value of the products in its portfolio. Although this decision represents a step in the right direction, Nestl茅 still needs to set clear objectives and accompanying measures to increase the share of its sales linked to healthy products, as well as to improve transparency to-wards its end consumers. The company has committed to setting a goal for the volume of products with a rating greater than 3.5 out of 5 stars in calendar year 2023.