The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has commenced the development of a new Sector Standard for the food and beverage industry, marking the first application of a streamlined framework designed to accelerate the publication of sector-specific sustainability guidance.
The project will establish disclosure guidelines addressing operational and value-chain impacts across food and drink processing and manufacturing, including tobacco products. The standard will evaluate key industry impacts spanning climate change, biodiversity loss, labour conditions, public health, and primary supply chain links to agriculture, aquaculture, and fisheries.
Under the revised development process approved by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), the streamlined format reduces drafting timelines while maintaining GRI’s multi-stakeholder due process. The format identifies likely material topics for the sector, outlines primary environmental and social impacts, and directs reporting entities to relevant existing GRI Topic Standards.
Peter Dawkins, Senior Manager at GRI Standards, stated that the food and beverage sector was selected for the pilot due to its extensive environmental and social footprint. He noted that the standard aims to provide focused guidance on material issues, enabling consistent reporting to support business resilience and informed decision-making.
GRI is currently recruiting up to 20 international experts to join a multi-stakeholder Peer Review Group to inform the drafting process. Applications for the group remain open until 23 October 2026.
According to GRI’s State of Sustainability Reporting research published in June 2026, evaluating nearly 15,000 listed companies globally, 43 per cent of food and beverage companies currently utilise GRI standards, representing 70 per cent of the sector’s global market capitalisation.
The new addition expands GRI’s existing suite of Sector Standards, which includes published frameworks for oil and gas, coal, mining, agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing.
