Sustainable food: M&G puts its money where its mouth is

M&G has made a £200 million commitment into two impact investment strategies to be launched by ResponsAbility, the Swiss-based emerging market impact and ESG specialist it acquired in 2022.

Population growth, and changing diets and consumption patterns, are increasing the demand for healthy and sustainable food. Fruit and vegetable consumption is expected to double over the next 30 years.

The two investment strategies, focused in Asia and Latin America, are designed to improve the production and availability of healthy food worldwide and protect rural livelihoods, while strengthening the agricultural value chain by building resilience to climate change.

Jack Daniels, chief investment officer at M&G, said: “It’s essential that investors play a role in solving the biggest challenges we face. In this instance, investing in strategies that address feeding a growing population in a sustainable way, in economies where the tangible impact will be greater.

“This commitment demonstrates how we can use our investment firepower as an asset owner to provide scale to responsAbility’s specialist capabilities and their expertise to deliver financial returns while having a positive impact.”

The two strategies aim to generate above benchmark financial returns alongside creating tangible impact while positively contributing to the transformation of global agriculture and food value chains.