Sustainability reporting in food industry: an innovative tool for enhancing financial performance

Purpose This study investigates the relationship between the level of sustainability reporting and Food Industry Performance (operational, financial and market). Design/methodology/approach Using data culled from 1426 observations from 31 different countries for ten years (2008–2017), an independent variable derived from environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) score is regressed against dependent manufacture performance indicator variables [return on assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE) and Tobin’s Q (TQ)]. Two types of control variables complete the regression analysis in this study: firm-specific and macroeconomic. Findings The findings elicited from the empirical results demonstrate that there is a significant relationship between ESG and financial performance (ROE). However, there is no significant relationship between ESG and operational performance (ROA) and market performance (TQ). Originality/value This paper presents a new framework that considers sustainability reporting as an innovation tool, examining innovation in terms of its positive or negative impact on financial performance. It contributes to research on the innovation paradigm and knowledge management by highlighting the significance of sustainability reporting as a tool of innovation in enhancing the financial performance.