IMPORTANT INFORMATION
All data as at 31 December 2025, unless specified otherwise. This document is issued for information purposes only. It does not constitute the provision of financial, investment or other professional advice. We strongly recommend you seek independent professional advice prior to investing. The value of investments and the income derived from them may fall as well as rise. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested and may lose money. Any forward-looking statements are based on CCLA’s current opinions, expectations and projections. CCLA undertakes no obligations to update or revise these. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. All names, logos and brands shown in this document are the property of their respective owners and do not imply endorsement. These have been used for the purposes of this document only. CCLA Investment Management Limited (registered in England & Wales, No. 2183088, at One Angel Lane, London EC4R 3AB) is part of the Jupiter Group, and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Foreword
What is Good Investment?
Our responsible investment approach
2025 a year in action
Stewardship and engagement
Appendix 1: 2025 engagement record
Appendix 2: Shareholder proposals
Appendix 3: Investors supporting CCLA engagement
Appendix 4: Governance and our portfolios
Appendix 5: Climate pledge and portfolio carbon footprint
Appendix 6: Memberships and initiatives
Appendix 7: Industry recognition
Appendix 8: Standards, frameworks and initiatives
2026 Better World
Stewardship outcomes for the year 2025
Share
result
Better Health
Engagement case studies
Engagement case studies
Mental health
Mental health
Mental health directly affects workforce productivity, corporate performance and long-term value creation. Companies that proactively support mental health are better positioned to reduce costs, enhance performance and create sustainable value for investors.
Case study:
Engaging with Novo Nordisk* on workplace mental health
Novo Nordisk is a leading global pharmaceutical company and the largest producer of insulin. It specialises in treatments for diabetes, obesity, rare blood disorders and growth hormone deficiencies.
Reason for engagement
As one of the world’s largest listed companies and with more than 10,000 employees, Novo Nordisk is in the scope of the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark – Global 100+. With about 77,000 employees across 80 countries, it has a significant opportunity to improve the wellbeing of its people.
What we did
We have been engaging with the company on this theme since 2022, when it was ranked in tier 5 (worst) in the first CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark. It has been assessed and ranked annually since then. We have written to the company’s CEO four times on behalf of a sizeable investor coalition. We have met representatives of the company to discuss this theme six times over the past four years.
Outcomes
In essence, we have been asking the company to enhance its mental health policy and plan; to define clear roles, responsibilities and accountability for its development; to secure senior leadership buy-in to establish a workplace mandate for mental health; and to consistently communicate both its commitment and its implementation progress.
By 2025, the company had published a video of its CEO setting out a leadership commitment to workplace mental health, which is housed on the company’s external webpage. A vocal leader helps to seal senior manager buy-in and to break down the stigma associated with poor mental health at work. In addition, the company has now published a comprehensive mental health policy, which clearly describes the processes in place to ensure that it is effectively implemented. The policy is universal to all employees and contingent workers, and to all business areas and geographies where the business operates.
The company has clearly assigned senior management and day-to-day operational management responsibility for this theme and has set targets related to workplace mental health based on reducing the share of employees reporting symptoms of stress. It also clearly explains the mechanisms by which it aims to achieve its objectives (e.g. through customised training and interventions by internal organisational psychologists).
Between 2022 and 2025, the company increased its benchmark score by 44 percentage points, resulting in a jump from tier 5 (worst) to tier 3, making it the third most improved company in the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark – Global 100+ and placing it in the top quartile of global companies.
In the company’s words, ‘We at Novo Nordisk are humbled and honored to be recognized for our performance on improving our efforts on ensuring a working environment fostering mental well-being for our people. … This recognition serves as a powerful motivator for our ongoing efforts to further improve and support health and well-being in our workplace and beyond.’
Case study:
Engaging with Prudential* on workplace mental health
Prudential is a major international financial services group headquartered in London and Hong Kong, specialising in insurance, asset management and retirement solutions.
Reason for engagement
As one of the largest UK-listed companies and with more than 10,000 employees, Prudential is assessed and ranked in the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark – UK 100.
What we did
We have been engaging with the company on this theme since 2022 and have spoken to its representatives 15 times over the past four years. We have written annually to the company’s CEO on behalf of a sizeable investor coalition and the company has been assessed and ranked every year to track its performance.
Outcomes
Prudential was assessed as performance tier 3 (middle) in the benchmark in 2022 and 2023. In 2024 it moved to tier 2, before moving up to tier 1 (best) in 2025. Its score increased by 36 percentage points over that time, making it the sixth most improved company in the UK benchmark since 2022.
In order to achieve tier 1, the company first took steps to understand CCLA’s guidance. Representatives from the firm studied the benchmark, reviewed best practices and adapted them to fit Prudential’s culture. Where gaps existed, they found ways to close them. For example, the company introduced a programme to train line managers on workplace mental health and set clear targets on completion rates.
In addition, Prudential worked to navigate the complexities of the business. To gain the necessary buy-in internally, support was needed across business functions, including human resources, legal, investor relations, health and safety, and corporate affairs. It took many months of internal negotiations, but ultimately the company published a statement by the CEO in support of mental health.
Finally, the company went to great lengths to document its efforts, measure key outcomes, and tell a compelling story of strategic purpose and progress. All of these measures together worked to create an open and psychologically safe culture, free of stigma.
We are told that the impact has been both cultural and practical, changing how people think, speak and feel about mental health at Prudential. In the company’s words, ‘Three years ago, the word “mental” wasn’t used at all – it was considered too sensitive or taboo. Today, it’s no longer a scary word. Today, it’s part of everyday conversations. That shift reflects a deeper cultural change.’
Case study:
Engaging with Experian on workplace mental health
Experian is a global data and technology company focused on lending practices, fraud prevention, health care, digital marketing solutions, and provision of insights across industries using a combination of data, analytics and software.
Reason for engagement
As one of the largest UK-listed companies and with more than 10,000 employees, Experian is assessed and ranked in the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark – UK 100.
What we did
We have been engaging with the company on this theme since 2022, when it was ranked in tier 3 (middle) in the first CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark. It has been assessed and ranked annually since then. We have written four times to the company’s CEO on behalf of a sizeable investor coalition. We have had in‑depth meetings every year to discuss areas for improvement.
Outcomes
In 2022, while the company scored relatively well on the benchmark in terms of policy and related disclosures, there was work to be done to strengthen oversight, targets and performance measures. We provided the company with detailed feedback and recommendations for improvement. Towards the end of the year, it duly notified us of a new publication, its ‘Global approach to mental health and wellbeing’.
The document is comprehensive, covering Experian’s overall commitment and approach, its mental health offering (including programmes, benefits, support, resources and initiatives), its governance and oversight (from the CEO and board down to line managers and employees), and various measures of progress and impact evaluation. The company’s performance and impact metrics include reporting on the proportion of line managers who are trained in mental health and reporting on uptake of and engagement with mental health initiatives and programmes. Experian also publishes an ongoing key performance indicator based on the percentage of employees who say that the company is a psychologically and emotionally healthy place to work.
As a result of these efforts, Experian improved its benchmark score by 33 percentage points between 2022 and 2023 and was able to move from tier 3 to tier 1 (best), a position that it has maintained for three consecutive years. By 2025, it had improved its score by a total of 41 percentage points since 2022, making it the third most improved company of the 85 UK companies that had been in all four editions of the benchmark. In the company’s words, ‘The Benchmark has had a fantastic impact internally, driving meaningful change and progress year after year.’
Case study:
Engaging with Procter & Gamble on workplace mental health
Procter & Gamble (P&G) is a multinational corporation headquartered in Ohio, United States. It is one of the world’s largest and most influential producers of consumer goods, operating in more than 180 countries and employing over 100,000 people worldwide. Its portfolio of brands includes Ariel, Gillette, Lenor, Olay, Oral-B, Pampers and Pantene.
Reason for engagement
As one of the world’s largest listed companies and with more than 100,000 employees, P&G is in the scope of the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark – Global 100+.
What we did
We have been engaging with the company on this theme since 2022, when it was ranked in tier 4 (second to worst) in the first CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark. We have written annually to the company’s CEO on behalf of a sizeable investor coalition and the company has been assessed and ranked every year to track its performance. We are supported by Mercy Investment Services in this engagement. We have had four meetings with the company and also visited its European headquarters in Geneva in 2024 to meet the director of global benefits and wellbeing in person.
Outcomes
P&G was assessed as performance tier 4 (second to worst) in 2022, 2023 and 2024, nonetheless showing consistent, incremental improvement in its overall score year on year. In 2025, it moved up into tier 3. Its score increased by 28 percentage points between 2022 and 2025, making it the seventh highest improver in the global benchmark.
The increased score was driven by various activities. P&G strengthened its internal communications and awareness campaigns, and increased the number of its reporting metrics on this theme. Such metrics included reporting on the proportion of people trained in mental health, tracking and reporting on the uptake of mental health programmes and initiatives, and reporting on engagement by employees in this theme.
Additionally, the company published a statement by its CEO, Jon Moeller, setting out the business drivers for good workplace mental health: ‘P&G provides a variety of wellbeing solutions that can be adapted to personal needs, because when P&G people are at their best, they thrive professionally and personally – delivering for consumers, customers, each other, society and shareowners.’
At a meeting with the company in June 2025, we learned anecdotally that due to the increased focus on workplace mental health internally, the wellbeing score from the company’s pulse survey had increased by double digits for four years in a row. We were told that P&G had been focusing on engaging with leaders and on building mental health into the strategy of the business. We learned that employees had been extensively engaging with the company’s mental health initiatives. Finally, we were informed that P&G was working on a new wellbeing strategy to be housed on the company’s careers website ready for the next CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark assessment.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is a critical focus for investors due to its profound influence on the health and wellbeing of individuals, communities and entire societies. There is a well-established connection between inadequate nutrition and the rise of chronic non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. These health issues not only strain health-care systems through increased costs but also reduce workforce productivity. Both of these outcomes pose significant economic challenges.
Case study:
Engaging with Nestlé on nutrition
Nestlé, headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, is the world’s largest food and beverage company, with a global presence across nearly every category of nutrition and wellness. Its key global brands include Gerber, Häagen-Dazs, KitKat, Maggi, Nescafé, Nespresso, Perrier and Purina.
Reason for engagement
More than a billion servings of Nestlé products are consumed every day worldwide, making the company a key player in the fight against diet‑related ill-health.
What we did
We have been engaging with Nestlé on nutrition since 2017 via our membership of ShareAction’s Healthy Markets Initiative. In 2024 we pre-disclosed our support for a nutrition-related shareholder proposal, and in early 2025 we took the role of lead investor in the Access to Nutrition index’s investor coalition. We coordinated an investor letter to the company and attended the company’s AGM in the spring to ask a question of the board. We asked the (now former) CEO to prioritise this theme.
Our question led to an invitation to visit Nestlé’s research and development site in Lausanne, Switzerland, to tour its laboratories and meet key personnel in the nutrition space. These included Stefan Palzer (chief technology officer and executive board member) and Nestlé’s global head of nutrition, health and wellness, its chief nutritionist and head of applied nutrition and dietetics, and its global head of public affairs. The tour took place in October 2025 and included an entire afternoon to discuss investor priorities, with a focus on disclosure and target-setting.
Following the visit, we were invited to meet the new CEO, Philipp Navratil, in person in London. This meeting took place in December.
Outcomes
Since 2022, Nestlé has increased its age threshold from 13 to 16 for marketing unhealthy products, improved its nutrition disclosure, and set a target on sales of healthier products (although we believe the current target lacks ambition and falls short of investor expectations). Shortly after we attended the company’s 2025 AGM to pose a question, the company announced new commitments on nutrition disclosure.
Our key priority is for the company to set a target to increase the sales-weighted average Health Star Rating of its food and beverage portfolio. At the meeting in October, the company acknowledged the important role of investors in bringing nutrition up its corporate agenda but asked for time. The promised disclosure – which will report on the sales-weighted average Health Star Rating of Nestlé’s entire food and beverage portfolio for the first time – is due to be published in February 2026.
At our meeting with Mr Navratil in December 2025, further assurances were made that nutrition remains firmly on the management agenda, and we were told that Nestlé would work towards the targets we are looking for in the coming months. We also received confirmation that we would be invited to meet Mr Navratil again in person in mid‑2026 to continue the negotiations.
Nestlé has the potential to be a leading company on nutrition. At the meeting in December, investors agreed to support the company’s efforts to improve. We will continue to push Nestlé forward with realistic and stretching asks.
Case study:
Engaging with the UK government on nutrition
Through our membership of the Investor Coalition on Food Policy, we have been engaging with the UK government to strengthen its approach to nutrition.
Reason for engagement
In the UK, poor diets are one of the leading risk factors for preventable ill-health, posing significant risks for businesses, investors and the wider economy. As obesity rates rise, so too do the financial risks: in 2025, the total estimated cost of overweight and obesity in the UK was £126 billion, including £30.8 billion in lost productivity. The government has an important role to play in tackling these issues.
Our policy engagement on nutrition mirrors our engagement with companies on this theme, with an emphasis on nutrition reporting and target-setting. While some companies have made encouraging progress voluntarily, enhanced government-led regulation and legislation have the potential to transform the food system for the better.
What we did
The Investor Coalition on Food Policy exists to engage with policymakers to advocate for well-designed regulation aimed at creating a healthier, more sustainable and more affordable food system. We joined the coalition when it was founded in 2021 in response to the publication of the UK’s National Food Strategy. We were involved with meetings with the then Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as well as representatives from the Department of Health and Social Care.
We have continued to participate in the intervening years. In August 2025, we added our support to an investor statement – coordinated by ShareAction, the Food Foundation and the Investor Coalition on Food Policy – calling for rapid and robust implementation of the government’s plan to make disclosures and target-setting around healthy food sales mandatory in its NHS 10-Year Health Plan.
Outcomes
The Investor Coalition on Food Policy has long been calling for the government to introduce mandatory nutrition reporting and target-setting for food companies operating in and selling into the UK. In June 2025, we learned of an exciting UK policy announcement setting out an ambition to introduce mandatory healthy food sales reporting for ‘all big food businesses’ by the end of this term of government. If implemented effectively, this measure could create a level playing field, mitigate both enterprise and systemic risks, and lower the long-term costs faced by public services. This was a huge win for the group, which has been campaigning for these measures for several years.
The August 2025 investor statement sought to support the government in its ambition, advocating for the rapid and robust implementation of this plan. We called for the policy to cover all large food companies – including food manufacturers, retailers and the out-of-home sector – to ensure it meaningfully tackles the wider public health challenges facing the UK and to ensure a credible enforcement mechanism.
A small number of investors, including CCLA, are due to meet with representatives from the Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury in early 2026 to pursue this engagement.
*Not held in CCLA portfolios as at 31 December 2025.