Strategic decoupling through legitimacy: the sustainability-innovation gap in the food processing sector and its health implications.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Environmental and public health impacts are critical in the food processing industry. To demonstrate responsiveness to stakeholder expectations, firms foreground sustainability reporting through frameworks such as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Yet the sustainability rhetoric usually centers on visible, marketable, and peripheral dimensions, including packaging, energy use, and philanthropy. In contrast, domains within their core operations, including product composition, nutritional quality, and marketing ethics, receive limited attention. Subsequently, concerns over the commercial determinants of health rise, particularly for vulnerable populations.

Methods

The study follows an embedded mixed-methods design

SUBMITTER: Yucel M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12681171 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature