By Damien Smith, CEO, Ecodesk
This year’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has been perhaps its most important one yet...
The message was clear, action is needed now. It’s crucial for all industries to wake up and listen to the advice. None more so than the food industry, which is responsible for almost a quarter of the world’s GreenHouse Gas Emissions (GHG) due to extensive crop production, land use, 
livestock, fisheries, and supply chains.
Action means sustainability and Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies that don’t just talk the talk, but instigate real change and improvement. Whilst the food industry has been quick to promote its green credentials, a lot of it has been nothing more than lip service. The stark reality is more needs to be done. In fact, one survey suggests that only around one-in-ten (11%) of businesses actually have a robust and actionable sustainability strategy that can be relied upon. Less than a third (29%) claim their company’s actions align effectively with the sustainability ambitions they communicate to stakeholders.
Meeting ambition with action
Many organisations have introduced mechanisms to bring their business in line with modern day requirements for sustainability, such as integrating targets into performance assessments and incentives. However, whilst setting up goals is good; you don’t win matches unless you actually score. Ambition is certainly to be applauded, but it needs to be melded together with action to be truly impactful.
Then it is a case of properly communicating the good work that has been done. To do so effectively, businesses must report their progress in an easily digestible manner to ensure the results are being fully recognised by stakeholders. All too often there is an action gap, with business leaders unable to actively demonstrate how sustainability targets are being built towards and achieved.
The reality is that many consumers remain unconvinced too. Research of 1,682 adults across the UK suggested that three quarters are sceptical about the environmental claims of organisations, with the vast majority believing that businesses do not do enough to verify claims.
It is important that the food industry takes the issue of sustainability seriously and drives change now. Not only to address the concerns laid out by experts in the 2023 IPCC report, but legislation to make improvements in ESG will be just around the corner. Perhaps even sooner than we thought with the latest warnings for Governments across the world.
Greater transparency is needed
ESG has altered the way the food industry is measured and judged. Whilst regulation has sought to place the onus on corporations to be more responsible and report more clearly on the results of their sustainability initiatives, more needs to be done.
With consumers and retailers increasingly looking for brands and suppliers to do the right thing when it comes to sustainability, it is important that business leaders in the food industry put robust sustainability strategies in place. But importantly, they must then use the latest technology available to deliver meaningful ESG reporting that will help prove their drive towards a more sustainable future. Consumers and buyers are savvy. No longer will they tolerate vagueness when it comes to sustainability. Greater transparency is needed by businesses, especially when it comes to more authentic and reliable sustainability and ESG reporting.
For more information contact: Damien at damien.smith@ecodesk.com
