Barbara Strozzilaan 336
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org

Item 03 – GRI Sector Standards
Project for Food - Draft Project
Proposal

For GSSB approval
Date

7 October 2021

Meeting

21 October 2021

Description

This document sets out the draft project proposal to develop a Sector Standard forthe food sector. This is presented for Global Sustainablity Standards Board(GSSB) discussion and approval to send to the GRI Board and Stakeholder
Council for feedback.
The proposed scope for the sector includes food retailers as well as tobacco
product and alcoholic beverages manufacturers. For different reasons, this may
be of concern to some stakeholders.
After feedback from the GRI Board and Stakeholder Council has been received
and incorporated, the Standards Division will present the proposal to the GSSB for
final approval, in accordance with the Due Process Protocol.
Please note: the development and submission of this draft project proposal marks
the intention for the GRI Sector Standards Project for Food to be the next tocommence under the GRI Sector Program. The commencement date of thisproject has not been determined and is subject to the resource availability.

This document has been prepared by the GRI Standards Division and is made available to observers
at meetings of the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB). It does not represent an official
position of the GSSB. Board positions are set out in the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards. TheGSSB is the independent standard setting body of GRI. For more information visit
www.globalreporting.org.

© GRI 2021

1

Contents
Project background ................................................................................................................................. 3
Sector overview ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Sustainability impacts .............................................................................................................................. 5
Project objectives .................................................................................................................................... 5
Division of responsibilities ....................................................................................................................... 6
Timeline ................................................................................................................................................... 6

Page 2 of 62Project background3
4In February 2019, the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) approved the GRI Sector
Program to improve clarity and consistency in sustainability reporting.

5678The first sector standard – GRI 11: Oil and Gas Sector 2021 – is finalized and has been released; theStandards for coal, and agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing have completed their public commentperiods and a fourth Sector Standard, for mining, is under development. A draft project proposal for aSector Standard for textiles and apparel is also being presented to the GSSB

9101112

Food1 is the next sector in line to have a standard developed, according to the list of sectors approvedby the GSSB in November 2020. In this decision, consideration was given to the high sustainability
impacts of its activities and to the synergies that this sector will have with the Agriculture, Aquaculture
and Fishing Project.

13

Sector overview

14
15

It is proposed that the Sector Standard for food will apply to organizations whose primary focus lies
on:

16
17
18
19

•
•••Food processing
Manufacturing of beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic
Manufacturing of tobacco products
Retail of these products.

20
21This sector covers manufacturing and retail activities. It excludes primary producers, which arecovered under the Sector Standards Project for Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing.

22

Two parts of the scope deserve special attention:

23

1. Retail.
Most of the key sustainability impacts that food producers identify as material are also applicable tothe retailers, such as labelling and marketing, packaging, waste, and product safety.
Including retailers will have important implications for this Standard; supermarkets will be an importantconstituent that will need to be consulted in the process. It will also have implications for a future retailstandard, that will need to exclude food retailing from its scope. This option and the alternative ofincluding food retailing in a Sector Standard for retail both present risks and challenges that will need
to be overcome.
The Standards Division recommends including retailers in the scope of this Standard but understands
that some stakeholders may have an opposite view and will explicitly enquire about this aspect in theconsultations with the Stakeholder Council.

2425
26
2728292. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco are grouped in the same Standard with food processing companiesby all the classifications in Table 1. They are all manufacturing companies processing agricultural
products and they are similar in terms of technology and industrial structure. Their sustainability
impacts are largely similar as well; food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco producers are equallyconcerned about their impacts on the agricultural value chain, from waste, packaging, and labelling.

1 For the purposes of this project proposal ‘food’ or ‘food sector’ refers to the organizations that fall within the description of thesector included in the Sector overview section, including food, beverages, and tobacco manufacturers as well as retailers.

Page 3 of 6

3031

The impact on human health from alcoholic beverages and tobacco is different to those of foodcompanies, and as such, many stakeholders view these organizations differently.

3233
34
35

The Standards Division recommends including alcoholic beverages and tobacco producers in thescope of the standard subject to consultations with relevant stakeholders. Excluding them from thescope of this sector will either result in these sub-sectors having no applicable Standard or devoting
more resources to produce other Standards specific to alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

363738It is proposed that this project is titled ‘GRI Sector Standards Project for Food’. The scope andname of this standard may deviate from this proposal following recommendations from the FoodWorking Group.

3940
4142Table 1 lists the relevant classifications from external classification standards, specifically the Global
Industry Classification System (GICS ®), Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB), InternationalStandard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC), Industry Classification Benchmark(ICB), and SICS Sustainable Industry Classification System® (SICS®)2.

43

Table 1: Proposed sector key for the food sector project.

Classification Standard

Classification Nº Classification Name

ISIC

10

Manufacture of food products

11

Manufacture of beverages

12

Manufacture of tobacco products

4711

45101010

Retail sale in non-specialized stores with food,beverages or tobacco predominating
Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco inspecialized stores
Brewers

45101015

Distillers and Vintners

45101020

Soft Drinks

45103010

Tobacco45102020

Food Products

45102030

Fruit and Grain Processing

45102035

Sugar

45201010

Food Retailers and Wholesalers

301010Food and Staples Retailing

30201010

Brewers30201020

Distillers & Vintners

30201030

Soft Drinks

30202030

Packaged Foods & Meats

30203010

TobaccoFB-PF

Processed Foods

FB-AB

Alcoholic Beverages

FB-NB

Non-Alcoholic Beverages

FB-MP

Meat, Poultry & Diary

FB-TB

TobaccoFB-FR

Food Retailers and Distributors

472
ICB

GICS

SICS

2 Sustainable Industry Classification System® is the classification system of SASB.

Page 4 of 6

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Sustainability impacts

4546
47

The food sector is present throughout the world and provides for the most basic need of humanity. Itis an important employer (2% of the labor force in the EU, excluding retail) and has numerous
environmental impacts.

48495051

Food manufacturers and retailers have a direct impact on people’s health. Their performance inselecting, processing, packaging, transporting and marketing food and beverages will determine whatpeople consume and will influence their health and wellbeing. Because they are in direct contact withconsumers, they face intense scrutiny and demands for transparency.

5253

Producers of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products are under an increased pressure to label andmarket their products in a responsible way.

54
55
56
57
58

Besides the direct impact of their own activities, the food sector contributes to the sustainability
impacts in the agriculture, aquaculture and fishing sectors through its supply chains. Because very
often these primary producers are small in scale and far removed from consumers, it is foodproducers who face the demands from stakeholders to ensure sustainable practices in agriculture andaquaculture production, and fishing.

59

Project objectives6061

The primary objective of this project is to develop a Sector Standard that improves the sustainability
reporting of food organizations, making reporting more complete and consistent across the sector.

62

This Sector Standard will:

63
64

•

Identify and describe the topics that are likely material for a reporting organization in the foodsector based on the sector’s most significant impacts.

65
66

•

Provide evidence and authoritative references for these topics to assist organizations toidentify if they are material for them.

67•

Identify and list relevant disclosures for reporting on those topics.

68
69

Following the rollout of the revised GRI Universal Standards, organizations in the food sector thatwant to report in accordance with GRI Standards will be required to use this Sector Standard.

70

Recommendations may also be made by the Food Working Group regarding:

71•The scope, key and name of the Sector Standard.

72•Considerations that may be relevant to Sector Standards for related sectors.

73•Revisions or updates to other GRI Standards.

74
75

Impacts identified within this project for which no GRI Standard exists will be assessed and prioritizedby the GSSB for future GRI Standards development.

76777879

Special consideration will be given to the interaction between this standard and the Sector Standard
for agriculture, aquaculture and fishing. Many of the likely material topics in the food sector may
reflect impacts that organizations cause through their suppliers among primary producers. This
project will explore and define the best way to organize this interaction among sectors.
Page 5 of 6

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Division of responsibilities

8182
83
84

A multi-stakeholder working group will be formed to contribute to identifying the most significantimpacts for the food sector and give recommendations on the development of the Sector Standard.
The Standards Division will draft the Standard, and the GSSB will have oversight and final approvalover the Standard before its release.

85
86

The Standards Division will ensure coherence between the Food, Beverages and Tobacco Sector
Standard and any Standards approved or under development.

87

The project will be conducted in accordance with the GSSB Due Process Protocol.

88

Timeline

89
90
91

The starting date of this project has not been determined and is subject to resource availability. Table
2, on the following page, outlines the anticipated project duration. The starting date, along with thepredicted dates of other key milestones will be confirmed once known.

Page 6 of 6

Barbara Strozzilaan 336
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org
Table 2: Estimated duration of Sector Standards Project for Food3

3 Project scheduling changes may occur over the course of the project, including extensions to the duration of project due to approval processes or other circumstances.

This document has been prepared by the GRI Standards Division and is made available to observers at meetings of the Global Sustainability Standards
Board (GSSB). It does not represent an official position of the GSSB. Board positions are set out in the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards. The GSSB isthe independent standard setting body of GRI. For more information visit www.globalreporting.org.

© GRI 2021