Determining the SDGs and Priority Issues Contributed by Companies in the Food Retail Industry: A Sectoral Research on Non-Financial Reports

Abstract

Purpose – The retail sector represents an important place in the world due to the area it serves. The sector works synchronously with many sectors and stakeholders, from supply to consumption, logistics and production. The main purpose of this study is to determine the SDGs to which companies in the retail sector contribute and to identify priority issues. It is to reveal the strategies implemented by companies towards the SDGs. Design/methodology/approach – A research was conducted on large food retail markets operating in Turkey. In the study, sustainability and integrated reports of companies for 2023, 2022, 2020, 2019 were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. In the study, firstly, the SDGs to which companies contributed were discussed on a company basis and then evaluated together with their value creation strategies. The resulting findings were also evaluated sectorally, specifically for the SDGs contributed to. Findings – In the retail sector, it was found that companies contributed the most to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) were identified as the targets to which companies contributed the least. In this framework, it was found that the priority areas for different SDGs that companies contribute to are Customer Experience, Gender and Equal Opportunity, Responsible Supply Chain, Business Ethics, Customer Satisfaction, Digitalisation, Climate Change, Waste Management. Discussion – The goal that companies in the sector contribute to the issue of "Gender and Equality of Opportunity", which they have determined as a priority issue, is frequently explained as SDG 8. SDG 8 refers to “Decent Work and Economic Growth” and SDG 5 refers to “Gender Equality”. It has been determined that companies mostly indicate the priority issue of "Gender and Equality of Opportunity" as contributing to SDG 8 instead of SDG 5. In this context, it is seen that companies in the sector try to implement their activities by taking into account the principles of respect for people and equality while creating economic growth models.