Sustainable Finance and Measuring International Business Performance: Example of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Reporting in the Food Sector

In light of the critical role of the financial sector in providing sufficient capital, sustainable finance, and measuring international business performance are receiving more attention in academic research, business practice, and the financial sector. On the other hand, the field of ESG investing and reporting is still early and needs a consistent theory and application to the food sector practice. The food sector is essential considering the ESG concept, which is a leading area of sustainable finance development. Poland’s food industry is one of the most critical sectors of the national economy. The measurement of the results of the food industry enterprises’ activity is also relevant to maintaining the country’s food security. This study aims to indicate and evaluate the main challenges for the business sector from a sustainability finance perspective, including ESG reporting as a tool of non-financial business performance measurement. The study emphasizes the role of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  It employs innovative methodologies such as the ESG framework, extending the latter within ESG reporting, a novel approach in this context. The article also uses the retrospective and comparative analysis methods with the SciVal bibliometric analysis tool. The study contributes to both theory and practice in addressing contemporary risk factors facing international business performance measuring. The results of the conducted analyses are essential in shaping the sectoral policy toward ESG investing and reporting in the food sector. Companies, banks, financial institutions, the government, and self-government administration representatives may find the analysis crucial.