Highlights

• IGD’s framework for population diet change instructs companies on healthy and sustainable eating.
• Seven levers shape business strategy, supply chains, consumer behaviour, and innovation.
• Adopting healthier baskets can cut UK food-related emissions and reduce NHS costs.

The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) UK has launched a new framework aimed at helping food businesses guide the population towards diets that match the UK government’s Eatwell Guide, which forms the foundation for healthier and more sustainable eating.

The initiative seeks to combine health and sustainability with commercial growth, and show companies how they can engage consumers and also improve their business performance.

The framework identifies seven practical levers that organisations can use in their operations to influence diet change. These include viewing dietary change as a business opportunity, embedding health and environmental data into decision-making, and working with suppliers through farm-to-fork partnerships.

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It also entails product innovation with attention to health and environmental outcomes, consumer behaviour strategies such as product placement and marketing, and alignment with policy and sector standards.

Kirsty Saddler, Director of Health & Sustainability Programmes at IGD, points to recent data, which shows less than 0.1% of UK adults follow all Eatwell Guide recommendations.

Many people want healthier and more sustainable diets, but costs, complexity, and convenience barriers limit action.

Saddler also added that the levers identified in the framework have been applied successfully by leading food companies, showing that system-wide change can benefit public health, businesses, and the planet.

The report also emphasises the wider risks facing the food sector. The industry is responsible for 30% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, and adopting sustainable diets could cut food-related emissions by a similar amount.

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Poor diets cost the economy £116 billion in productivity losses, while healthier choices can reduce NHS and workforce expenses.

IGD’s framework encourages companies to take a connected approach, which combines healthier baskets, supply chain measures, data use, and consumer engagement to produce measurable impact.

The document includes real-world examples from companies that have applied each lever.

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