Work description: I researched and wrote this piece to deliver as a ghostwritten CSR summary for a client in May of 2015. The draft went through additional revisions after this version, including changes to the working title. 

Top 5 CSR Indicators for the FOOD and Beverage Industry

With global challenges ranging from famine to resource scarcity, it’s the perfect time for Food and Beverage processors to tap into their sustainable development potential. According to Oxfam, just 500 food production companies control 70% of the food choices for seven billion people. Yet, the food production industry accounts for just 10% of the global economy. This means a high degree of responsibility in the hands of relatively few key organizations. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) investors should consider the following five key indicators of Food and Beverage sustainability.

Sourcing

In 2011, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) published a supplemental report to identify the issues that are distinctly significant for the Food and Beverage processing sector’s sustainability reporting. Raw materials sourcing came at the top of the list. Investors should observe the how Food and Beverage processors disclose and strategically manage where and how materials are produced. Materials produced in areas of resource constraint, regional conservation value, and socio-economic vulnerability presents risks. Likewise, natural resource protection, toxicity minimization, fair trade, fair labor compensation, and the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and biofuels are each highly relevant to the majority of the Food and Beverage industry’s stakeholders. Sourcing should reflect transparency and strategic performance towards these factors.

Access to Healthy and Affordable Food

Sometimes the food products that are most desirable according to marketing statistics are the least nutritionally sound and the least cost-effective for the consumer in terms of nutritional content. This irony leads to a challenge for Food and Beverage producers to ensure that the products they create promote access to healthy and affordable food. Similarly, the organizations may choose to engage through charitable and voluntary initiatives to promote these sustainability measures. Investors should observe an organization’s commitment to health and affordability for its consumers. 

Animal Welfare

Farmed food represents a huge portion of our food consumption. The GRI reports that 60 billion terrestrial animals and 52 million tons of aquatic animals are consumed every year. This comes with a set of unique ethical challenges that are significant for the Food and Beverage industry. Stakeholders wish to know that animals are treated ethically throughout their cultivation from breeding and genetics to hormone or antibiotic treatments, from their shelter to their physical alterations.

Providing Nutritional and Food Safety Information

Manufactured goods that are consumed as food impact the health and safety of our bodies. That’s why the Food and Beverage industry has to uphold its responsibility for providing the required nutritional and food safety information on food product labels. Likewise, it should align its marketing strategy with the most accurate information about a food product’s nutritional and safety content to avoid misleading the public. Investors should observe a company’s initiatives towards upholding high standards of food information delivery.

Governmental Influence

When the Chinese and Russian markets opened to food trade, it presented one of the greatest boons to the growth of the Food and Beverage industry, which is otherwise characterized by stable revenues. Trade agreements, governmental subsidies and regulations greatly impact the economic performance of the Food and Beverage industry. Furthermore, in its report, “Behind the Brands” Oxfam notes that the collective influence of the Food and Beverage sector is significant enough to mitigate food price inflation and volatility. That’s why companies should disclose information regarding their lobbying efforts and collective actions towards government so that investors may observe whether these efforts promote sustainable business performance.