Sustainability Reporting for Food & Beverage Manufacturers: A Step-by-Step Compliance Guide (2025)
Maikel Fontein
June 3, 2025
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5
min read
Sustainability reporting has quickly become just as important as financial reporting — especially for food and beverage manufacturers. Why? Because today’s consumers, investors, and regulators all want to see how companies are managing their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts — not just their profits. It’s no longer enough to just deliver great products; brands need to show they’re doing good for the planet and people too.
With new regulations like the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) rolling out, the pressure is on. These rules don’t just bring compliance challenges — they also open doors to new opportunities. Companies that get ahead of the curve can build stronger trust with customers, attract responsible investors, and even uncover efficiencies in their operations.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through exactly what sustainability reporting means for food and beverage manufacturers in 2025 — step by step. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to sharpen your existing processes, we’ve got you covered.
2. Core ESG Regulations & Frameworks for 2025
Sustainability reporting can feel overwhelming, but understanding the main regulations and frameworks guiding the process will give you a clear path forward. For food and beverage manufacturers, several key standards shape what you need to report and how.
First up is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its detailed companion, the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). These require companies to embrace the concept of double materiality — which basically means looking at things from two angles: not only how sustainability issues affect your business, but also how your business affects the environment and society. For food and beverage companies, this could mean reporting on how water use impacts local communities, as well as how drought risks might affect your production.
Beyond that, frameworks like the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the combined Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) / International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) focus on making ESG disclosures more standardized and financially relevant. While GRI tends to emphasize transparency for a broad set of stakeholders, SASB and ISSB guide companies on which sustainability issues are most likely to affect financial performance.
The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) remains a cornerstone for climate risk reporting, pushing companies to clearly explain how climate change affects their governance, strategy, and risk management — plus how they measure and manage climate-related metrics.
And then there’s CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), which asks for detailed data on climate, water, and forests, and scores your company’s transparency and impact. Don’t forget the deadline is this year September 15th — the clock is ticking!
For F&B teams, the practical upshot is a need to focus on several core compliance areas:
Scope 1-3 greenhouse gas emissions: This means measuring your direct emissions from company operations (Scope 1), indirect emissions from purchased energy (Scope 2), and importantly, emissions across your entire supply chain (Scope 3). Given the complexity of food supply chains, Scope 3 often presents the biggest challenge and opportunity.
Water usage and management: Water is a critical resource in food and beverage production. Regulators and stakeholders expect detailed reporting on how water is used, conserved, and managed throughout your operations and supply chain.
Packaging transparency: Increasingly, sustainability reporting must include clear information about packaging materials, recyclability, and waste management efforts. This ties into both environmental goals and consumer expectations.
Social and governance KPIs: Beyond environmental metrics, F&B companies need to report on social issues like worker health and safety, fair labor practices, diversity and inclusion, as well as governance structures that ensure accountability and ethical decision-making.
Practical tip: To keep data collection manageable and efficient, assign specific regulatory requirements to individual data owners early on. Whether it’s someone from procurement handling Scope 3 emissions data or your sustainability manager overseeing social KPIs, clear ownership helps prevent confusion and speeds up reporting.
The 10-Step Sustainability Reporting Playbook
Sustainability reporting can seem tricky at first, but breaking it down into simple, manageable steps makes the process much easier. Here’s a detailed guide with tips to help you get started, stay organized, and build a strong, credible report:
Build Governance and Scope Start by forming a cross-functional team including people from sustainability, finance, operations, procurement, and other relevant departments. Defining who’s responsible for what ensures accountability. Clearly set the scope of your report — decide which business units, sites, products, or regions will be included. This clarity prevents scope creep and keeps your efforts focused.
Identify Legal and Voluntary Requirements Research and list all the ESG regulations that apply to your business, like the CSRD if you operate in Europe. Also, look at voluntary frameworks and certifications that may benefit your brand or stakeholders. Create a compliance calendar to track deadlines and reporting obligations, helping you stay ahead of requirements and avoid last-minute rushes.
Choose Reporting Frameworks Select the reporting standards that best fit your company’s maturity, industry, and stakeholder expectations. If you’re new to sustainability reporting, starting with a broad framework like GRI can help cover essential topics. As your program matures, consider layering on more specific standards like ESRS or TCFD for climate risk. This phased approach prevents overwhelm.
Create a Data Capture Plan Map out where your ESG data currently lives — whether in ERP systems, quality management software, spreadsheets, or supplier reports. Assign data owners for each key metric to ensure accountability. Use standardized templates or digital tools to gather data consistently and reduce errors. Document your data collection process for transparency and future reference.
Engage the Supply Chain Your supply chain often represents the largest part of your ESG impact, so involving suppliers early is key. Communicate clearly what data you need and why it matters. Provide simple, user-friendly questionnaires or leverage digital platforms for easier submissions. Consider offering training or resources to help suppliers improve their reporting capabilities.
Gather and Validate Data Collect all required data and implement quality control checks — cross-check numbers, look for outliers, and confirm data sources. Small random audits or spot checks help catch mistakes early. Reliable data builds the foundation for a credible report and reduces risks of non-compliance or reputational damage.
Analyse and Set Targets Review your data to identify trends, strengths, and areas needing improvement. Benchmark your performance against industry peers or your own past reports to track progress. Use this insight to set SMART targets (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) that motivate tangible improvements and align with your overall sustainability strategy.
Draft and Structure the Report Write your report following the chosen framework’s guidelines but focus on clarity and storytelling. Use plain language and avoid jargon so it’s accessible to all readers. Include real-world examples and transparent discussions of challenges alongside achievements — this honesty builds stakeholder trust.
Obtain Assurance and Approvals Before publishing, secure reviews and sign-offs from leadership and key departments. If possible, seek third-party assurance or audits to enhance credibility, especially if your report is publicly shared or required by law. Internal reviews by diverse teams help catch inconsistencies or unclear points.
Publish, Communicate, and Improve Make your report accessible via your website, newsletters, or stakeholder meetings. Encourage feedback to understand what worked well and what could improve. Sustainability reporting is an ongoing journey — use lessons learned to refine processes, improve data quality, and set stronger goals for next time.
4. Best Practices & Common Pitfalls
Best Practices
Automate ESG data flows. Manual data entry is not only time-consuming but also prone to mistakes. By integrating data directly from sources like IoT sensors, ERP systems, or quality management software into your sustainability reporting platform, you create a seamless flow of accurate information. For example, IoT meters can track water usage or energy consumption in real time, feeding that data automatically into your reports. This automation reduces human error, speeds up data collection, and frees your team to focus on analysis and improvement instead of chasing spreadsheets.With Passionfruit, this process is even easier: our platform pulls answers directly from your company’s existing data sources and lets you filter what to share per question or location. That means no more hunting for info or manual copying — just fast, accurate, and customizable ESG reporting at your fingertips.
Link executive pay to ESG KPIs. When sustainability goals are tied to leadership incentives, everyone takes ESG seriously — from the factory floor to the boardroom. This helps ensure accountability and drives real progress across your plants and brands.
Tell a balanced story. Your report doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful. Share your successes but also be honest about the challenges you’re facing. Transparency builds trust with stakeholders far more than polished spin ever will.
Pitfalls to Avoid
Greenwashing It might be tempting to highlight only your best sustainability achievements, but overstating or making claims without solid evidence can seriously backfire. Regulators are cracking down on misleading ESG disclosures, and stakeholders—especially consumers and investors—are quick to spot inconsistencies. If your data doesn’t support your claims, you risk losing trust, facing fines, or even legal action. Always stick to transparent, data-backed reporting, and don’t be afraid to share where you’re still improving.
Ignoring Scope 3 Emissions Many food and beverage companies focus on emissions within their own operations (Scope 1 and 2), but the biggest environmental impact often lies in the supply chain—think agriculture, packaging production, and transportation. This is known as Scope 3 emissions, and ignoring it means you’re overlooking the largest part of your footprint. Plus, many regulations and investors expect comprehensive reporting that includes Scope 3. Start by mapping your supply chain emissions and engage with suppliers to gather reliable data—it’s a challenging step but essential for an honest picture.
Data Silos ESG data lives across multiple departments — finance, environmental health and safety (EHS), procurement, quality, and more. If these teams don’t communicate and share information effectively, you end up with fragmented data, inconsistencies, and delays. Creating a centralized ESG data platform or “data lake” where all teams contribute and access the same data can solve this problem. This promotes accuracy, speeds up reporting, and makes it easier to analyze trends and identify improvement areas.
5. Real-World Examples
Nestlé:Nestlé has made significant strides in sustainable packaging, with 90% of its packaging now recyclable or reusable. The company has introduced innovative paper-based solutions, such as paperboard canisters for its Vital Proteins brand, reducing plastic use by 90% compared to previous packaging.
PepsiCo: PepsiCo's "Pep+" strategy focuses on sustainability across its value chain. In 2023, the company reduced its total greenhouse gas emissions by 4% from the 2015 baseline and improved its operational water-use efficiency by 18% in water-scarce areas. Additionally, 93% of PepsiCo’s electricity needs were met with renewable energy.
Coca-Cola: Coca-Cola's "World Without Waste" initiative aims to make 100% of its packaging recyclable globally by 2025. The company has introduced significant packaging changes, such as adding "Recycle Me Again" labels to its iconic bottles, to encourage recycling and reduce new plastic use.
6. FAQs
Q1. What’s the difference between GRI and CSRD? GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) is a voluntary global standard for sustainability reporting, designed to help companies share their impacts transparently. CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), on the other hand, is a mandatory EU law requiring companies to report according to specific European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). While aligning with GRI can make CSRD reporting easier, it doesn’t replace the legal requirements of CSRD.
Q2. Do SMEs need to comply? Yes—non-listed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU will need to comply with CSRD starting from the financial year 2028. However, many companies choose to adopt sustainability reporting earlier voluntarily to prepare for the transition and streamline future compliance.
Q3. How much time should I budget for the first report? For food and beverage companies preparing their first sustainability report, it typically takes between 6 to 9 months from defining the scope to publishing the final report. The timeline depends largely on how mature your existing data systems and processes are.
7. Next Steps & Helpful Tools
Getting started with sustainability reporting can feel overwhelming, but breaking it down into actionable steps makes the journey manageable. Here are some practical first moves for food and beverage ESG teams:
Hold a Materiality Workshop: Gather key stakeholders from across your company to identify which ESG topics matter most to your business and your stakeholders. This helps focus your reporting efforts on what truly counts.
Pilot Data Automation: Test automating data collection on a small scale—such as energy use at one facility or packaging data from a specific product line. This helps you iron out challenges before rolling out automation across the company.
Explore Digital ESG Questionnaire Tools: Tools like Passionfruit simplify collecting, managing, and answering ESG data. Passionfruit connects directly to your existing company data, automates answers to complex questionnaires, and lets you control what information to share by location, department, or question—making compliance easier and faster.
Conclusion
Sustainability reporting is more urgent than ever — but it’s also a chance to show your company’s commitment to a better future. As ESG regulations evolve, food and beverage manufacturers who act now will not only stay compliant but also build stronger relationships with customers, investors, and communities.
By taking the practical steps outlined in this guide and using smart tools like Passionfruit, you can simplify the process and make your reporting more accurate and impactful. Remember, every small improvement counts and adds up over time.
So take that first step today. Embrace sustainability reporting as a way to drive positive change and unlock new opportunities for your business.
Ready to simplify your sustainability reporting?Try Passionfruit today and automate your ESG questionnaires with ease. Pull accurate data directly from your company systems, customize what you share, and stay compliant—without the stress.
