Private sector accountability for nutrition: from global commitments to practical action
Across global nutrition and food systems debates, one message is becoming increasingly clear: nutrition outcomes cannot be achieved by governments and civil society alone. The private sector plays a critical role in shaping food environments, supply chains, innovation, and consumer choice. At the same time, growing private sector involvement raises important questions about power asymmetries, accountability, transparency, and alignment with public health goals. How can business engagement genuinely contribute to improved nutrition outcomes – especially in low- and middle-income countries – while avoiding unintended harm?
Against this backdrop, the Netherlands Working Group on International Nutrition (NWGN) organised two Knowledge Exchange Sessions (KES) in 2025 focused on private sector accountability for nutrition. These sessions responded to heightened global attention on the topic, following moments such as the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit and the launch of the Paris Declaration on Business and Nutrition 2030, discussions around UNFSS+4. The updated Dutch foreign policy also explicitly emphasises cooperation with the private sector for international development and food security.
Together, the sessions provided NWGN members with a space to reflect, learn, and debate how the private sector can contribute to public healthy goals, but while ensuring adequate guardrails mechanisms for ensuring accountability.
KES session 1: Setting the parameters: accountability as a foundation for engagement
The first Knowledge Exchange Session, held in September, focused on defining the parameters for responsible private sector engagement in nutrition. Rather than treating accountability as an abstract concept, speakers explored how it can be embedded in partnerships, commitments, and business practices.
ATNi opened the session by sharing lessons learned from its work assessing company performance on nutrition and by introducing the Paris Declaration on Business and Nutrition. The Declaration, developed in the context of N4G, emphasizes measurable commitments, transparency, and alignment with national and global nutrition priorities – key elements of accountability that go beyond voluntary goodwill.
DSM-firmenich shared its experience navigating public-private partnerships and delivering on N4G commitments, illustrating how nutrition goals can be integrated into corporate sustainability strategies while working alongside public institutions.
The Micronutrient Forum highlighted core principles for responsible engagement, stressing the need to safeguard public health objectives, manage conflicts of interest, and ensuring that partnerships are evidence-based and impact-oriented.
UNICEF shared their First Foods Africa initiative, which supports local production and consumption of nutritious, safe, affordable and sustainable first foods for young children, focusing on the principles they have established for screening companies, emphasizing child nutrition, equity, and alignment with national food systems priorities.
The discussion that followed underscored a central insight: private sector engagement for nutrition is not one-size-fits-all. Accountability depends on context, clear roles, shared objectives, and ongoing monitoring. The session helped establish a more common language around what “responsible” engagement entails – and why accountability is essential for trust, legitimacy, and impact.
Presentation can be found here.
KES session 2: From principles to practice: making the business case for nutrition
While the first Knowledge Exchange Session focused on setting shared parameters for responsible private sector engagement, the second session explored how these principles translate into practice across different parts of the food system. Drawing on experiences from Max Foundation, Wageningen Social and Economic Research, GAIN (N3F), ATNi, and Wageningen Food and Biobased Research, the discussion highlighted how accountability for nutrition can be embedded into business models, investments, and partnerships.
Speakers illustrated how nutrition outcomes depend on a clear understanding of the nutrition problem and the market context in which businesses operate. Examples ranged from community-based entrepreneurship and demand creation, to consumer behaviour insights and market approaches that shape food choices. Several contributions emphasized that nutritious products only achieve impact when they align with consumer needs, affordability, and local food environments.
A strong focus of the session was the role of finance and investment as levers for accountability. Experiences from N3F and ATNi showed how technical assistance, blended finance, and investor engagement can encourage companies – including SMEs – to integrate nutrition objectives into growth strategies. By linking financial incentives to nutrition performance, accountability moves beyond voluntary commitments toward more measurable and sustained impact.
The session also highlighted the need to work along the value chain to increase access to more nutritious foods , including post-harvest management and cold chain development. These examples reinforced that private sector accountability for nutrition extends beyond individual products or companies, and requires coordinated action across value chain actors.
Overall, the second Knowledge Exchange Session demonstrated that making the business case for nutrition is possible – but only when nutrition is intentionally integrated into decision – making by businesses, investors, and partners alike. Together with the first session, it reinforced the message that responsible private sector engagement requires both clear principles and practical mechanisms to turn commitments into impact.
Presentation can be found here.
A shared agenda for healthier food systems
Taken together, the two sessions offered NWGN members a richer, more nuanced understanding of private sector accountability for nutrition. The first clarified why accountability matters and what responsible engagement should look like; the second explored how nutrition can be integrated into business models, investments, and food system interventions.
These conversations also reflect broader Dutch policy directions. For over a decade, the Netherlands has consistently positioned the private sector as a key partner in achieving SDG 2, combining public funding and policy with business innovation, entrepreneurship, and trade. The challenge – and opportunity – now lies in ensuring that this engagement remains firmly anchored in public health goals and delivers measurable nutrition outcomes.
As NWGN continues to convene diverse stakeholders, these Knowledge Exchange Sessions reaffirm the value of dialogue across sectors. Nutrition may be everyone’s business – but accountability ensures that business involvement truly contributes to healthier, more equitable food systems. By keeping this conversation alive, NWGN aims to help turn global commitments into practical, responsible action.
*The views expressed reflect those of Babs Ates and Katherine Pittore, Co-Chairs of the NWGN and may not necessarily represent those of all NWGN members or ATNi.
Blog Authors
NWGN co-chairs – Babs Ates & Katherine Pittore