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SUN Business network

SUN Business Network

The SUN Business Network (SBN) is co-convened by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and World Food Programme (WFP). It is the private sector platform for the SUN Movement and aims to support businesses to integrate and improve nutrition within the context of their country’s national nutrition priorities. The work of SBN is focused on national level activities across many of the SUN Movement’s 60+ countries. The development of national SBNs is demand-driven, which gives the SBN a ‘bottom-up’ focus and national ownership.

SBN works to mobilise business to act, invest, and innovative in responsible and sustainable actions to improve nutrition. To do this, SBN provides a neutral platform to broker partnerships and collaborations between business, government, and other actors on nutrition at the national, regional and global level. This includes balancing planetary health with human health and ending hunger to ensure the sustainable production of affordable, tasty, safe, and nutritious foods for all people, including the most vulnerable.

At a glance

  • Work with businesses to increase the supply of safe, nutritious foods, non-food products and services that support improved nutrition that are accessible, in particular to vulnerable populations.
  • Leverage business and non-business stakeholders to drive demand for healthy diets and improved nutrition among consumers.
  • Advocate to governments to strengthen the enabling environment for business engagement in nutrition.

The SUN Business Network Advisory Group was established to provide strategic advice to the SUN Business Network and to champion the role of the private sector in scaling up nutrition amongst the business community and the SUN Movement. The Advisory Group includes representatives from the public and private sectors.

  • At national level, 44 networks in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are convening over 1,000 business members, assessing their technical, financial and other business support service needs, and advocating the role of business in addressing nutrition.
  • At the global level, the SBN Global Secretariat acts as a focal point for engaging 25 multinational businesses in nutrition activities. Such activities include making workforce nutrition commitments and fostering global partnerships between investors and multinational companies to provide finance or technical assistance to country networks and their members.
  • Drive business action – Businesses in SUN countries sustainably enhance and scale capacity and contributions to nutrition with a focus on safe, healthy, and affordable diets.
  • Strengthen business accountability – National, collaborative mechanisms connect and support businesses to define and track nutrition actions, together with all relevant business and non-business stakeholders, including other SUN Networks.
  • Improve enabling environment – SUN country governments recognise and enable the positive role of business in reaching nutrition goals, particularly in national nutrition plans, policies, and regulations. Ultimately, this contributes to creating a supportive policy and regulatory environment for business action.

Latest progress

Latest articles

Key documents

Network Facilitation