Food and Agriculture Benchmark: draft industry and company scope

Published in June 2019 as part of a public consultation running until the end of August, this report is the first step in the process by the World Benchmark Alliance (WBA) to develop a Food and Agriculture Benchmark. It presents the scope, industries and companies that have been identified for inclusion in the benchmark. The 300 proposed companies are the result of a preliminary effort to map out the main actors across the entire food and agriculture system. According to the WBA, this benchmark will be the first of its kind to rank companies across the entirety of the food system from farm to fork by their impact. 

The existing concept of keystone actors was used to enhance accountability and determine which companies in the food and agriculture system can drive business action where it matters the most. Criteria for how WBA has selected the keystone actors to include in the Food and Agriculture Benchmark are outlined in the report alongside other selection filters. As part of a public consultation process, the selected industries and proposed companies are open for discussion.

During the consultation, the WBA welcomed input from all stakeholders, including companies, civil society, governments and investors, to ensure the benchmark includes those industries and companies which can be catalysts for change in the transformation that we need to see in the food and agriculture system to achieve the SDGs.