GRI to launch new sustainability reporting standard for food and beverage companies

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🗞️ Driving the news: The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is developing its first dedicated Food and Beverages Sector Standard, aimed at helping companies report more consistently on impacts across their operations and global value chains, including agriculture, aquaculture and fishing

🔭 The context: GRI is using the food and beverage sector to pilot a faster standard-development process while retaining multistakeholder review
• The framework will identify the sustainability issues most likely to be material for the sector and point companies toward relevant existing GRI Topic Standards
• GRI is also seeking up to 20 experts for a peer-review group, with applications open until October 23.

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Food and beverage supply chains are closely linked to climate change, biodiversity loss, land and water use
• More consistent disclosure could make these impacts easier to identify and compare, particularly beyond companies’ direct operations

⏭️ What’s next: The peer-review process will test whether faster standard-setting can preserve credibility and stakeholder input
• If successful, GRI could apply the streamlined model to additional sectors, potentially accelerating the development of industry-specific sustainability guidance

💬 One quote: “The food and beverage sector touches almost every part of society, while its value chains are closely connected with some of the most pressing sustainability challenges we face,” said GRI Standards Senior Manager Peter Dawkins

📈 One stat: 43% — the share of listed food and beverage companies reporting GRI use, representing 70% of the sector’s global market capitalization

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