Environmental, social and governance (ESG) in agriculture: trends and gaps on research

Interest in the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks to increase sustainability and reduce associated risks is growing in the agricultural sector. However, it remains unclear how and to what extent ESG could best be integrated into agricultural systems to benefit farmers. Drawing on the existing scientific literature, this article aims to (i) identify current and emerging themes in ESG research relevant to the agricultural sector, (ii) describe research gaps and thus opportunities to progress an ESG research agenda in Australia and (iii) propose potential future research directions based on the initial findings. This review demonstrates that research on ESG in the agricultural sector is in its early stages, but changing quickly and that there is an opportunity for academic research to advance our science-based knowledge of ESG in agriculture. We suggest that future research focus on ESG policy and management and innovative technologies with the goal of addressing ESG limitations and advancing the adoption of ESG principles and practices in agriculture. Specifically, we recommend that efforts be made to create sustainability credentials to improve the adoption of ESG in the agricultural sector to benefit sustainable producers and the potential of technologies for verifying improved ESG outcomes.