Food Based Sectors with both Upstream and Downstream Exposure
The global food sector is frequently cited as the sector primarily driving biodiversity loss globally7. While the sector heavily exacerbates biodiversity loss,8 it is also heavily dependent on biodiversity and faces significant associated risks. In the food sector, the impacts to biodiversity are often indirect, primarily through the sourcing of raw materials, making the topic difficult to manage and measure in part due to the sheer scale of global supply chains.

Overall, most companies in our study were in the early days of addressing the topic of biodiversity as a specific strategic topic, with some companies having almost no awareness of the subject altogether. However, they did demonstrate some awareness and action through commodity specific strategies (i.e. coffee, cattle, palm oil, etc.) or specific impact drivers (such as deforestation, climate change, and packaging). Consequently, biodiversity at the board level is often addressed through these other issues, but not as specific strategic topic that requires board oversight. The one exception was for European companies who performed better likely due to existing pressure from French Regulation (see appendix 3 in the PDF version for more details).
Commodity or activity focused efforts are a great start, but they can leave gaps in their strategies. Mapping supply chains and addressing biodiversity impacts is arguably a huge undertaking for a single commodity, let alone an entire menu of ingredients; however, inaction on other commodities remains a major risk for companies.
On opportunities, companies within the food sector need to more clearly evaluate the business opportunities associated with addressing biodiversity loss. While there will be costs to address the impacts of global food supply chains, there are also business opportunities in the transition. There is a growing consumer focus on the environmental impacts of food (such as demands for organic products and plant based alternatives). It is estimated that the market for plant based foods could be worth more than $162 billion by 2030, making up over 7% of the total global protein market. If food companies better develop their biodiversity strategies, they may be able to react more quickly to growing consumer interest around environmental preservation and animal protein alternatives.
As a guideline for companies, using information from our engagement dialogue and the ENCORE tool, we compiled a list of impacts, dependencies, risks, opportunities for each sector. Table meant for illustrative purposes only, specific items can vary per company based on their specific business operations

Metrics and targets for the sector are often linked to sourcing targets for specific commodities such as % commodity X ethically sourced or that supports deforestation free supply chains. Some companies have time bound targets to eliminate deforestation in supply chains which we support. For example, one company had a deforestation free supply chain commitment by 2030 in line with the CBD’s Global Biodiversity Framework. However, details on how they verify that their supply chains remain deforestation free remains vague. The companies do work with well-respected third parties to verify their claims. However, there remains a disconnect between company statements on being deforestation free and third party reports on the deforestation that is actually occurring. More KPIs and transparency are thus needed to understand how companies are managing these commitments.
Collaboration
Collaborative initiatives within the food sector play an important role by helping to amplify individual company action while enabling companies to collectively discuss the issues with other stakeholders. In particular, this helps companies take action at an ecosystem level or to take location specific actions on key biodiversity topics (plan globally, act locally).9 Common commitments and standards such as being “deforestation free” also helps level the playing field and move the needle on key biodiversity topics.
Unfortunately, the theory of collaboration is sometimes better than the reality. Collaborative initiatives in the food sector have faced numerous controversies and claims on greenwashing. For example, RSPO for palm oil has been accused of failing to adequately audit members to ensure they are not breaking the RSPO standards and failing to penalize companies who broke the rules.
Regardless, the complexity of biodiversity linked issues means there is no easy fix and collaboration is a great first step to address biodiversity issues in global supply chains. However, expectations from investors are growing to for companies to demonstrate how the collective initiative is having a tangible impact on the topic as well as how the membership is furthering a company’s own sustainability objectives.