SupplyChainBrain reports that Arsira Thumaprudti (EUDR Expert and Head of Business Development at Acclym, formerly Agritask) notes in analyst commentary that 87 percent of global sustainability professionals acknowledge they will struggle to adapt their reporting processes to comply with new regulations—yet food and beverage companies face exceptional challenges in sustainability regulation. Complex supply chains, strict safety and labeling requirements, high resource dependency on water, energy, and agriculture, and heightened scrutiny of environmental and social impacts make sustainability reporting particularly difficult for this sector. To achieve greater accuracy and wider adoption of sustainability reporting in the food and beverage industry, four key challenges must be addressed—particularly as stakeholders demand more detailed insights into the environmental and social impacts of supply chains. Converting industry estimates into verifiable sustainability metrics stands out as a major obstacle. Sustainability reporting in the food and beverage industry has historically relied more on educated estimates than hard data. This approach has become increasingly indefensible as investors and regulators demand verifiable metrics. Companies with global supply chains face significant challenges in gathering numerical data across diverse agricultural regions. Many producers lack sophisticated monitoring mechanisms—and complexity multiplies when companies attempt to capture qualitative insights to add context. As data flows from hundreds, even thousands of different sources—from a smallholder farmer in Ghana to a large-scale producer in Brazil—the challenge intensifies.
From a supply chain perspective, Acclym (formerly Agritask), based in Tel Aviv, Israel with CEO Ofir Ardon and founded in 2010, provides a global agricultural sustainability and EUDR compliance platform, serving major clients including Coca-Cola, Bayer Crop Science, BASF, Olam Food Ingredients, and Cargill. Arsira Thumaprudti is an EUDR compliance expert and Head of Business Development at Acclym. Other major food supply chain sustainability platforms include EcoVadis (Pierre-François Thaler CEO, Paris), Sphera (Paul Marushka CEO, Chicago), Sourcemap (Leonardo Bonanni CEO, New York), Trase (Stockholm), Mighty Earth, Satelligence, SupplyShift (owned by Sphera), Gist Impact, HowGood (Ethan Soloviev CIO), and Provenance. Major food and beverage companies significantly impacted include Nestlé (Laurent Freixe CEO, Switzerland), PepsiCo (Ramon Laguarta CEO), Unilever (Hein Schumacher CEO), Coca-Cola (James Quincey CEO), Mondelez, Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Kellogg's, Mars, Danone, JBS, and Tyson Foods.
From a supply chain perspective, the main food and beverage sustainability regulatory frameworks are: (1) EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD); (2) EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR); (3) EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD); (4) EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR); (5) EU Soil Monitoring Law; (6) UK Modern Slavery Act; (7) U.S. SEC Climate Disclosure Rule; (8) California Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253); (9) Germany Supply Chain Act (Lieferkettengesetz; LkSG); and (10) France Duty of Vigilance Law. Key certification and standards programs include Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified (owned by Rainforest Alliance), Fairtrade, RSPO (palm oil), RTRS (soy), Bonsucro (sugar), 4C (coffee), MSC (seafood), ASC (aquaculture), Global GAP, and BRCGS (food safety).
From a supply chain perspective, the four main challenges are: (1) converting industry estimates into verifiable metrics—collecting data from global sources; (2) Scope 3 emissions reporting—which comprises 70–90 percent of the supply chain—under GHG Protocol category 1 (purchased goods and services); (3) farm-level compliance—smallholder farmers lack digital tools—as seen in cocoa from Ghana, coffee from Vietnam, and palm oil from Indonesia; and (4) multi-framework compliance—CSRD, SBTi, CDP, SEC Climate Rule. Key solutions include: (1) satellite imagery and geospatial intelligence—from Planet Labs, Maxar, Airbus Defense; (2) blockchain traceability—such as IBM Food Trust and Provenance; (3) IoT sensors and precision agriculture; (4) life cycle assessment (LCA) software; and (5) third-party verification. In conclusion, Thumaprudti's recommendation for food and beverage sustainability appears to be that global agricultural supply chain reporting and verifiable data collection must be redesigned from the ground up—with EUDR/CSRD compliance and farm-level digital traceability emerging as key strategic priorities for supply chain managers.
Key Takeaways:
1. Arsira Thumaprudti (Acclym): 87 percent of global experts will struggle with reporting regulations.
2. Industry estimates are becoming indefensible in the face of investor demands for verifiable metrics.
3. Scope 3 emissions account for 70–90 percent of the supply chain in food production.
4. Acclym, formerly Agritask, is used by Coca-Cola, Bayer, and Cargill.
5. EUDR, CSRD, CSDDD, and PPWR are among the most pressing regulations.
