This White Paper provides insight into the role that materiality plays in facilitating the exchange of decision-useful environmental, social and governance (ESG) information between companies in the food and agriculture sector and investors. 

Generally, the concept of materiality is intended to generate information that is useful for decision-making both by reporting companies and the intended audience. The general hypothesis on which this White Paper is based is that more effective application of the concept of materiality will lead to more decision-useful information passing between companies and investors, that will in turn support confident decisions and robust actions. Research (“the Research”) conducted for the White Paper takes those general principles and applies them specifically to the concept of materiality, in so far as it is used by 56 publicly traded companies in the food and agriculture sector to identify material ESG information for public disclosure(s), and for use by investors in allocating capital and taking actions in support of sustainable outcomes, as expressed in public policy statements such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.