The Integrated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Approach project aims to set ESG assessment criteria and proposes an approach that will address sustainability in the food supply chain from a holistic perspective.
The food and beverage sector faces major challenges, not least the need to produce more food for a growing population, while doing this in a safe and sustainable way. Organisations are being driven by increasing compliance and reporting needs, surging capital allocation following ESG principles, and increasing demands for transparency by customers and consumers. Most of the efforts to introduce new regulations are focused on the ESG dimensions as independent spheres. In addition, companies are mainly focusing on environmental sustainability by assessing carbon footprint and underestimating the relevance of the Social and Governance aspects.
Sustainability assessment framework
Within the Integrated ESG approach concept, rather than looking at each of the three elements of ESG in isolation, the aim is to develop a sustainability assessment framework, a means to evaluate the sustainability of a product, a company, or a complete supply chain by considering all three dimensions and their interconnections as a whole.
The project centres on footprint management which is one of the four focus areas in the new R&D program sustainable food systems and supply chains. The approach is based on the key characteristics of adaptability, modularity and flexibility, so that the resulting assessment framework can meet the needs of multiple stakeholders.
The Integrated ESG approach also relates to the clear definition, measurement, verification and validation of relevant data flows and processes, and supports stakeholder commitment towards sustainable operations and the UN SDG targets.
