Sustainability accounting and disclosures of responsible restaurant practices in environmental, social and governance (ESG) reports

Abstract

For the time being, there are limited contributions that explore responsible food and beverage operations and their corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures. This research addresses these knowledge gaps. Its underlying objectives are threefold: Firstly, it raises awareness on different phases of food preparation and consumption; Secondly, it elaborates about sustainability accounting dimensions, where it advances a theoretical model that clearly depicts ESG performance aspects in the context of hospitality operations; Thirdly, it appraises various accountability standards including those formulated by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard (FLW Standard), among others. This contribution identifies profitable, yet eco-friendly restaurant behaviors. It promotes different standards, principles and guidelines, that can be utilized by practitioners for their ESG accounting and disclosures in corporate sustainability reports.