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| HNF Logo / Courtesy of Herbalife Nutrition |
By Kim Jae-heun
With the rise of conscious consumerism and investing, companies around the world are increasingly incorporating environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles into their business operations.
This trend is particularly true of Millennials and Generation Z, who are often characterized as expressing their values through their consumption choices and are actively demanding ESG practices, prompting many companies to start investing in sustainability regardless of the industry.
Premier global nutrition company Herbalife Nutrition views ESG as essential to its business strategy and performance. Operating in 95 countries, the company combines high-quality, science-backed nutrition products, social support and the opportunity to build a business.
Over the past few years, the company has made significant efforts to strengthen its ESG practices, and its Global Responsibility strategy is shaped by ESG drivers that are embedded in the overall long-term sustainability of the business strategy.
Nourishing healthy communities through corporate social responsibility, philanthropy and social support
Given the company's expertise in nutrition, one of the areas of focus within global responsibility is nourishing healthy communities.
Through its flagship Casa Herbalife Nutrition Program, the Herbalife Nutrition Foundation (HNF) is dedicated to improving the lives of children in need by partnering with existing charities to provide healthy meals and nutrition education to children around the world.
In 2021, HNF teamed up with 167 non-profit organizations to support more than 200,000 people in over 59 countries.
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In Korea, HNF's Casa Herbalife Nutrition Program has partnered with six institutions to improve the lives of children: including the Child Fund, Sangrok town, Daegu Children's Welfare Center, Solbaram Center in Seoul's Songpa District, Hyesimwon orphanage in Yongsan and Yang Joon-hyuk Baseball Foundation.
Herbalife Nutrition is also helping to tackle global challenges, including the eradication of hunger. They have launched a global initiative, Nutrition for Zero Hunger, which is aimed at tackling global hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by prioritizing the role of nutrition in reaching these objectives. Nutrition for Zero Hunger aligns with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal No. 2, Zero Hunger.
"Our company is built around improving people's lives. We combine high-quality nutrition products, social support and the opportunity to build a business and invest in local communities. We will ensure that our commitment to nourishing people and the planet is embedded in both our day-to-day activities and our long-term business strategy," General Manager of Herbalife Nutrition Korea Chung Seung-wook said.
Actively implementing ESG practices to build brand trust
In 2020, Herbalife Nutrition established an ESG committee with a board of directors to oversee the company's Global Responsibility strategy, and significant environmental, social and related governance activities and practices. Furthermore, the company created an ESG Scorecard Index, which provides a benchmark of the company's prioritized ESG topics, such as business ethics, governance of sustainability, product quality, diversity and inclusion and environmental management.
To increase supply chain transparency, Herbalife Nutrition is evolving its operations to be more digital, bringing new meaning to its "seed to feed" strategy ― in which the company works with farmers, vendors, distributors, customers and others every step of the way to develop and manufacture products.
With the implementation of new digital technology, Herbalife Nutrition will be able to share the entire supply chain process for a specific product via a scannable code on its labels.
That scan leads to a site containing information about where the ingredients came from, the science behind the product's health claims and all the ESG considerations that were made along the way.
Through its Global Responsibility Report released early this year, Herbalife Nutrition announced that it is aiming to create 50 million instances of positive impact by 2030, the company's 50th anniversary.
In fact, in 2020 alone, Herbalife Nutrition created more than 3.8 million instances of positive impact, including donations of 874,000 servings of its nutrition products to local communities, and more than 975,000 meals and food subsidy boxes to families and communities in need. Given its track record, the attainability of this target is looking positive.
As the world is working towards carbon neutrality by 2050, Herbalife Nutrition is also making various efforts, such as reducing plastic usage and eliminating plastic bags globally from sales and distribution centers, to minimize negative impacts on the environment. As part of these efforts, the company aims to use 25 percent post-consumer resin (PCR) in its Formula 1 Healthy Meal canisters globally over the next two years.
