Journal of Agriculture
and Environmental Sciences

The Role of Sustainability Reporting in the Agri-Food Supply Chain
Jessie Topp-Becker, Jason D. Ellis

Abstract
Agricultural sustainability is a growing concern for the general public because of agriculture’s considerable use of land, water, and other natural resources. In response to this concern, companies have started to publish sustainability reports to highlight sustainable practices. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of sustainability reporting from agri-food supply chain companies. In total, 66 agribusinesses were included in this study, of which 16 had published sustainability reports. Data for the quantitative content analysis were collected using a scorecard based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. Results indicated that sustainability reporting is limited among companies involved in the agri-food supply chain and reports focus primarily on environmental aspects of sustainability. Though better than sectors studied in previous research, agribusinesses need to align sustainability report content more closely with the three components of the triple bottom line model – environmental, economic, and social.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jaes.v6n1a2