Food & Beverages Impact Report: Agriculture, Aquaculture & Fishing Edition, Q1 2025

Digital Traceability and Trade Resilience Transform Agricultural Supply Chains

This comprehensive analysis examines how food and beverage companies operating in agriculture, aquaculture and fishing sectors are increasingly aligning their operations with ESG frameworks and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land). The report examines the transformative impact of advanced technologies on enhancing supply chain transparency and operational resilience.

The analysis also reveals how recent trade policy shifts have forced 54% of companies to restructure their sustainable sourcing strategies creating a complex balancing act between environmental commitments and economic resilience.

Call to Action: Food producers should implement blockchain traceability systems that incorporate trade policy indicators and develop regionally balanced sourcing strategies ensuring sustainability commitments remain achievable despite geopolitical uncertainty.

This analysis reveals how industry leaders, such as Mowi ASA, are leveraging blockchain technology to establish unprecedented levels of supply chain traceability, enabling consumers and regulators to verify the origin, processing methods, and environmental impact of seafood products. This technological integration represents a significant advancement in addressing both financial materiality concerns through risk mitigation and impact materiality considerations through enhanced ecological stewardship, supporting robust double materiality assessment frameworks.

The report examines emerging best practices in sustainability governance, with a particular focus on how companies are integrating biodiversity impact assessments into core business strategies. It analyses how these approaches are reshaping investment decisions, operational practices and stakeholder engagement throughout the agricultural value chain. The financial implications of biodiversity loss are quantified through case studies that demonstrate how nature-related risks are increasingly translating into material financial exposures.

Looking toward future regulatory landscapes, the analysis identifies how proactive companies are preparing for emerging reporting requirements under frameworks such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). Companies implementing comprehensive disclosure systems that address both environmental impacts and dependencies are demonstrating enhanced resilience against transition risks associated with evolving policy landscapes.

The report further explores how AI and IoT technologies are transforming resource management in aquaculture, with advanced systems optimising feeding patterns, monitoring water quality and predicting disease outbreaks. These innovations not only enhance productivity but also contribute to circular economy principles by reducing resource inputs and minimising waste outputs, creating both environmental and economic value throughout complex global supply networks.