Library | ESG issues
Food Systems
Food systems encompass all processes and activities involved in producing, processing, distributing, and consuming food. They have a significant impact on population health and the environment, with key challenges including food security, food waste, nutrition-related diseases, and environmental degradation. Investors can assess companies based on factors such as sustainable sourcing, climate impact, sustainable farming practices, and regulatory compliance.
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Food, land, and money: The case for ending the Agribusiness Financial Complex and funding the Peoples’ Food Web
This report examines the 'Agribusiness Financial Complex', where global finance and industrial agribusiness prioritise shareholder profit over food security. It analyses the top 100 agrifood companies, highlights the environmental and social harms of financialisation, and advocates for a transition to a decentralised 'Peoples' Food Web' through agroecology.
Building capacity to identify and assess nature-related financial risks
This report examines nature-related financial risks in the Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil sectors. Using scenario analysis, it evaluates how an intensified El Niño and ecosystem degradation affect production, costs, and credit risk. Findings highlight the vulnerability of upstream producers and the necessity for banks to assess nature-based dependencies.
FAIRR Investor Tool: Agriculture Water Risks
A specialised resource by the FAIRR Initiative that helps investors assess the financial materiality of water scarcity in the livestock sector, offering data on hidden costs and company-specific water risks.
Samenwerken aan een duurzaam en toekomstbestendig agrosysteem
This Sociaal-Economische Raad report provides a strategic framework for a sustainable Dutch agro-system. It advocates for goal-oriented steering, improved chain profitability, and institutional reform through a new public-private organisation. The strategy seeks to ensure economic viability within ecological boundaries, fostering a resilient agricultural sector by 2050.
Opportunities, enablers and requirements in advancing Earth Observation for scaling nature finance
This report by the LEON project assesses Earth Observation (EO) data's role in scaling nature finance. It addresses a €200 billion annual EU funding gap and details pilots in mining, agrifood, and sovereign finance. Key findings emphasise demand for processed spatial data to meet emerging disclosure requirements like TNFD.
Shelved again: Supermarkets’ missing action on methane
This report assesses 20 global food retailers on their methane reduction efforts. Findings reveal a leadership vacuum, with no supermarket reporting methane emissions or setting specific reduction targets. While European retailers outperform US counterparts, the sector overall fails to address the climate impact of meat and dairy supply chains.
What is driving innovation in sustainability systems?
This report examines the key drivers of innovation in sustainability systems, including evolving legislation, data accessibility, and the need for inclusive value creation. It highlights case studies in palm oil, aquaculture, and cocoa, while providing strategic insights for scaling successful innovations through collaboration and robust business cases.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory: Agriculture Sector Emissions
A US EPA resource providing detailed data on greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector, including livestock, manure, and soil management trends since 1990.
U.S. Drought Monitor
A weekly tool monitoring drought location and severity across the U.S., produced by the NDMC, USDA, and NOAA. It offers essential data for assessing agricultural risk and water stress.
Landscape of technical assistance to agri-SMEs: Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean
This report maps the technical assistance ecosystem for agri-SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. It identifies structural gaps in information, pre-investment funding, and coordination. The analysis offers strategies to strengthen the ecosystem, highlighting the importance of nature integration and supporting local providers to improve investment readiness.
From catch to cash: Four seafood giants could increase operating profit by 2% to 9% via improved traceability
This report analyses the financial benefits of digital traceability for seafood giants Nissui, Umios, Thai Union, and Nomad Foods. It finds that investing in full-chain, interoperable systems could increase operating profits by 2% to 9% by reducing costs, mitigating regulatory risks, and enhancing brand reputation through improved sustainability data.
Agribusiness Atlas: Facts and figures about the corporations that control what we eat 2026
The Agribusiness Atlas 2026 details the unprecedented concentration of corporate power within global food systems. It examines how dominant firms influence policy, drive environmental degradation, and impact food security. The report advocates for democratic food governance, fair pricing for farmers, and public sector alternatives to curb corporate control.
Pricing in resilience: The future of financial services for soil health
This research examines how agricultural finance, markets and policy are transitioning soil health from a conservation goal to a financial metric. It details five forces driving structural carbon demand and seven financial innovations, including carbon warrants and digital verification, designed to reprice risk and unlock institutional capital for regenerative agriculture.
Cultivating investment: Resilient agriculture can pay off for food companies
Extreme weather and climate change are destabilising agricultural supply chains, eroding traditional risk-management effectiveness. This report demonstrates how investing in regenerative agriculture builds resilience, potentially safeguarding $500 million in annual profits. It provides a framework for companies and investors to mitigate financial risks and secure long-term value.
The illusion of resilience in a degrading supply chain
Senior UK food executives warn that environmental degradation and climate change pose significant financial risks to supply chains. Current industry focus on short-term growth masks structural vulnerabilities. Investors are urged to challenge board capabilities and demand long-term resilience strategies to secure future profitability and food security.
Sowing the seeds of change through private sector partnerships: Lessons from two seasons of pilots and system-building
This ILO report evaluates the BOUZOUR project's efforts to strengthen Lebanon’s cherry sector through private sector partnerships. By establishing a national phytosanitary framework and improving exporter-farmer linkages, the initiative increased farmer incomes by USD 688,564 in 2025, enhanced worker conditions, and expanded access to high-value international markets.
