Transparency on sustainable and inclusive value chains
Value chain transparency is essential for creating fair and sustainable food systems. We make the environmental, economic, and social impacts of production and consumption visible throughout the value chain. Transparency helps businesses comply with regulations, manage risks, and improve decision-making, while fostering trust with stakeholders.
At Wageningen Social & Economic Research, we provide partners with robust data and insights to assess sustainability and inclusiveness, identify risks, and define steps towards improvement. Let's work on transparency together.
Why is value chain transparency important?
Transparent value chains offer significant benefits, including risk management, cost savings, improved decision-making, and enhanced reputation. These benefits are increasingly demanded by consumers, society, and legislation.
A key driver for transparency is the EU’s Green Deal, which aims to create a climate-neutral and sustainable economy. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), as part of this initiative, underscores the importance of transparent reporting. Alongside CSRD, other regulations compel organisations to examine their value chains and address sustainability risks proactively.
In summary, this means that organisations are required to:
- Ensure green claims align with actual environmental performance, as mandated by the Green Claims Directive.
- Report on social, environmental, and governance performance under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
- Assess and mitigate impacts on human rights and the environment, as required by the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
Measure sustainability to improve transparency
Measuring sustainability is essential for improving transparency in value chains. By assessing environmental, economic, and social impacts, organisations gain critical insights into their performance, benchmark against industry standards, and identify actionable steps for improvement. This includes evaluating environmental factors such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, water stress, and climate change; economic aspects like resource efficiency and long-term resilience; and social challenges such as child labour, discrimination, and insufficient remuneration. These examples illustrate the broad scope of sustainability issues, underscoring the need for comprehensive assessments to foster actionable change in value chains.
Traceability & transparency in reporting
Measuring sustainability and transparent reporting are crucial for understanding the impact of products throughout supply chains. However, much of the sustainability data available is fragmented and difficult to compare due to a lack of standardisation. This presents challenges in assessing sustainability performance consistently and effectively.
At Wageningen Social & Economic Research, we are working on methods, harmonising impact indicators and standardising tools for sustainability measurement. Our research also evaluates the effectiveness of interventions and improvement programmes, identifying which strategies lead to impactful results through robust monitoring and evaluation. By developing consistent frameworks, we enable organisations to measure, benchmark, and report sustainability more effectively, thereby enhancing transparency and facilitating informed decision-making across value chains.
Sustainability benchmarking
Benchmarking sustainability is a crucial step in understanding and improving the impact of organisations within their value chains. In collaboration with organisations and their value chain partners, we conduct a thorough analysis across all stages of the chain, both upstream and downstream.
By using a standardised approach to measure sustainability, organisations gain valuable insights that allow them to make informed decisions, and set meaningful sustainability goals. This approach not only provides clarity on performance but also support enhanced transparency, enabling organisations to effectively communicate with consumers and stakeholders about improvement steps they are taking – and their performance on sustainability.
Sustainability tools and measures
At Wageningen Social & Economic Research, we provide a range of tools designed to facilitate comprehensive sustainability analysis. These tools highlight the importance of standardisation, which establishes a consistent framework for measuring sustainability, thereby enabling benchmarking and reporting.
- Identifying sustainability issues
- Measuring and communicating sustainability
- Sustainability benchmarking and improvement opportunities
Cooperate to improve transparency in agri-food value chains
Let's work together to improve transparency in your value chain. Contact us for expert advice and a no-obligation consultation. We’re here to help you take the next steps toward a more sustainable future.