A new Ratio Institute report on the state of sustainability reporting in the food retail industry reveals new opportunities for sustainability leadership through greater transparency.
The “State of the Industry” report identifies where the food retail industry is strong on reporting and how it can improve reporting, processes, operational performance, and profits. Ratio Institute will update the report annually to track industrywide reporting trends.
The inaugural report uses publicly available information to evaluate the transparency of reporting by 107 of the largest North American food retailers. The evaluation is based on criteria drawn from Ratio Institute’s new Food Retail Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting Standard. Ratio Institute focused on the quality of reporting and did not evaluate sustainability performance.
“The good news is that we know the path forward,” said Jonathan Tan, Ratio Institute co-founder. “Our analysis shows how Ratio Institute’s Food Retail ESG Reporting Standard can provide a standardized, systematic way for retailers to report their successes and goals to key stakeholders. Companies should adopt the standard as the first step toward improved operational performance and profits.”
The report is a key part of Ratio Institute’s Reporting with Purpose initiative, which seeks to extend the ESG Standard’s benefits across the food retail industry. The initiative features the Chain Reaction Webinar Series, in which industry thought leaders will offer valuable insights on ESG reporting and how it drives sustainability and profits.
The first webinar on Oct. 12 will feature a conversation with Ratio Institute’s Tan and John Ross, CEO of the Independent Grocers Alliance. They will discuss the value of reporting to key stakeholders, communicating sustainability performance to consumers and sharing cost-saving energy efficiency opportunities. Register for the webinar here.
“Ratio Institute’s practical sustainability tools directly correlate to store profitability—they make it simple for retailers to save money while being more sustainable,” Ross said. “This is the win-win the industry has been seeking.”
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