o:8634 Application of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in the food industry en This review examines the main environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards applied by the food industry. The United Nations has adopted the 2030 Agenda that is gen- erally focused on achieving a more sustainable future. This agenda increased the attention of the public on the application of ESG standards by various industries, including food. The most important group of these are the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. GRI standards play a pivotal role in shaping sustainability reporting practices globally by establishing a comprehensive framework for organizations to disclose their ESG impacts. As one of the most recognized and widely adopted frameworks, GRI emphasizes transpar- ency and accountability in corporate operations, ensuring that organizations report rel- evant, accurate, and comparable sustainability data. This review covers the application of ESG standards in the meat sector. Generally, the meat sector is considered to be relatively big contributor of greenhouse gas emissions and a large water consumer. Implementation of ESG standards is essential, as they help organizations demonstrate transparency, align with stakeholder expectations, and meet regulatory obligations while promoting sustain- ability and ethical business practices. ESG, CSR, Sustainability, Meat, Food industry 1552099 10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.65 2025-12-08T11:18:53.648Z 44 yes 46 Stefan Simunović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Application of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in the food industry https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7249-7891 Saša Janković Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Application of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in the food industry person https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5223-6993 Nikola Borjan https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2213-2612 Application of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in the food industry person https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4067-3755 Dunja Mišić https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2213-2612 Application of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in the food industry person https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2213-2612 Mirjana Lukić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Application of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in the food industry person https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7749-864X Blagoje Stojković University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture, Resavska 58, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia Application of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in the food industry person https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5423-2227 Sara Simunović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Application of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in the food industry person https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8280-5149 application/pdf 418648 https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:8634 no yes 16 70 92000002 71A01 Meat technology - Special Issue 66/3 2025 1-576 66 3 383 387 Kaćanskog 13, 11 000 Belgrade Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology 2025-12-01 www.journalmeattechnology.com