The two-day Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit 2021 kicked off today with commitments made by leaders of governments, companies, international organizations, the United Nations, civil society organizations, and others. Key among them was the high-level commitment made by Google in the area of GAIN’s workforce nutrition.
Citing the company's partnership with the Workforce Nutrition Alliance, co-founded by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and The Consumer Goods Forum, Michiel Bakker, VP of Global Programs, Real Estate & Workplace Services (REWS), Google presented the company's commitments.
Bakker noted the value of food to the Google culture and its important role in generating "productivity, performance and overall health and wellbeing" - and in recognizing the importance of providing employees with healthy and sustainable food, he said "the time is now" to act.
The value of food to the Google culture and its important role in generating "productivity, performance and overall health and wellbeing". © Toa Heftiba / Unsplash
In Google’s efforts to "act now", the company has committed to the follow, he said:
- Workforce Nutrition Alliance - As a Signatory of the Workforce Nutrition Alliance, and having used the self-assessment Scorecard, Google now has a baseline from which to enhance its workforce nutrition programme.
- Culinary training and education - launching a plant-based curriculum in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America.
- Agro bio-diverse ingredients – increasing agro bio-diverse grains and legumes in Google’s menus.
- Food literacy – improving nutrition education through cooking classes, chef talks, farm-to-table programmes and more.
He concluded his official N4G statement by highlighting the company’s belief that healthy nutrition can have a "significant impact on the overall workplace experience, our company’s culture, and the health and well-being of our workforce."
With support from private sector partners like Google, together we can strive to make workforce nutrition a standard part of employer duty of care
Mr Bakker also called on other companies to join with action of their own, saying "I hope other business leaders will join us in our mission to make healthy and balanced eating the global default at work and beyond."
"GAIN’s Workforce Nutrition Alliance plays a pivotal role in integrating healthy diets into the labour force worldwide", said Lawrence Haddad, GAIN’s Executive Director, "many companies in different settings still lack the necessary information to gain access to nutritious safe food in their work environment. With support from private sector partners like Google, together we can strive to change that on many fronts."
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