Are sustainability audits still just a “nice-to-have” in the food industry, or have they become an essential part of doing business? Today, they play a crucial role in winning contracts, maintaining strong business partnerships, and meeting regulatory demands. Whether you’re dealing with broad ESG standards or specific frameworks like CDP, EcoVadis, or SMETA, food manufacturers and suppliers are under growing pressure to prove their environmental and ethical credentials.
Preparing for these audits can feel daunting. Where do you start? How do you understand what each framework requires? And how do you get audit-ready without disrupting your daily operations?
This guide is here to help. Whether it’s your first EcoVadis assessment or you’re looking to boost your CDP score, these seven practical tips will help you build a solid sustainability foundation, organize the right documentation, and approach audits with confidence and clarity.
Before you dive into a sustainability audit, it’s essential to pinpoint which frameworks and reporting standards apply to your business. In the food industry, this often includes CDP, EcoVadis, and SMETA—each with its own focus and expectations.
CDP centers on climate-related disclosures, such as greenhouse gas emissions, carbon reduction targets, and climate risks. Meanwhile, EcoVadis takes a broader view, assessing policies and performance in areas like environmental impact, labor conditions, ethics, and responsible procurement. SMETA is more focused on labor rights, workplace safety, and ethical sourcing.
Each framework operates with unique scoring models. For example, CDP demands detailed emissions data alongside science-based targets, whereas EcoVadis emphasizes documented sustainability policies and how well you manage your suppliers.
💡Tip: Create a clear matrix that maps out these different requirements against your current data and processes. This helps avoid duplication of work, ensures your internal data collection aligns with external expectations, and makes it easier to spot compliance gaps before an audit.
For instance, when preparing for EcoVadis, you should have well-documented policies on environmental management and supplier evaluations ready to present. On the other hand, for CDP, gather your latest greenhouse gas emissions data and verify that your reduction targets are ambitious yet achievable, backed by scientific evidence.
To excel in sustainability audits, good intentions alone won’t suffice. Your company needs formalized commitments—clear policies that are documented, measurable, and actively supported across your organization.
Start by ensuring you have written policies addressing critical areas like environmental management (energy, water, emissions), labor and human rights, procurement ethics, and anti-bribery measures. But having policies isn’t enough; they must be backed by specific, measurable goals. For example, you might aim to reduce packaging waste by 40% by 2026 or source 100% RSPO-certified palm oil by the end of 2025. Other targets could include cutting greenhouse gas emissions by a set percentage or achieving high supplier compliance rates annually.
Auditors will often look for proof that these policies have board-level approval. A document signed by your CEO or top executives shows leadership’s commitment, which is a big plus in frameworks like EcoVadis and broader ESG assessments.
Beyond formal approval, make sure these policies are communicated clearly and widely. Employees and suppliers should not only have easy access to these documents but also understand what they mean in practice. Consider embedding your sustainability commitments into training programs to keep everyone aligned and accountable.
Regularly review and update your policies to reflect evolving goals, regulations, and risks. Tracking progress with simple reporting tools or dashboards helps you monitor performance and provides tangible evidence for auditors. And don’t forget your suppliers—engage them early to align their practices with your policies, strengthening the entire value chain.
By turning your sustainability commitments into clear, measurable policies with visible leadership support and active communication, you create a strong foundation that not only impresses auditors but drives meaningful progress.
In sustainability reporting, there’s a simple rule: if it’s not documented, it doesn’t count.
Auditors expect solid evidence—whether that’s quantitative environmental metrics like energy consumption or CO₂ emissions, social indicators such as employee turnover or gender balance, or verified certifications like ISO 14001 and Fairtrade. Without clear, verifiable data, your sustainability claims risk delays, lower scores, or even rejection.
To stay ahead, centralize your data in an internal system or dedicated software that can organize and track your key metrics. Collect supporting evidence for every sustainability claim you make, and establish regular data reviews to ensure accuracy and consistency over time.
Important tip: Passionfruit helps you organize and collect evidence, securely storing it in our knowledge hub for easy access and future use. We also automatically answer questionnaires using this verified data, ensuring your responses are accurate, consistent, and up-to-date over times.
For frameworks like CDP, this means your emissions data—covering Scopes 1 through 3—should not only be meticulously recorded but ideally verified by an independent third party, adding credibility to your report.
Here’s a practical example: if your facility reports recycling 90% of its waste, make sure you have monthly records from your waste management provider. You should also be ready to explain the methodology you use to track and calculate this figure. This level of transparency and detail reassures auditors that your data is trustworthy and reliable.
Don’t wait for external auditors to spot issues—take control by conducting your own internal sustainability checks. This proactive approach lets you identify and fix gaps early, so you’re fully prepared when the official audit arrives.
Internal audits should focus on reviewing how well your practices align with relevant ESG frameworks, verifying that documentation is complete, and ensuring employees understand their roles in meeting sustainability goals. It’s also essential to pinpoint any weak spots in data quality or internal processes that could cause trouble later.
Many companies schedule these internal reviews quarterly or biannually. Some go a step further by running a mock EcoVadis audit with the help of third-party consultants, putting their readiness to the test before the real thing.
After each internal audit, be sure to document your findings thoroughly, assign clear corrective actions, and follow up regularly to track progress. This kind of continuous improvement mindset is highly regarded in frameworks like SMETA and reflects well on your company’s commitment to sustainability.
Sustainability isn’t the responsibility of a single team—it requires engagement from across your entire organization. Audits often include interviews or site walk-throughs, so every employee must understand what sustainability means in their daily work.
Start by assigning clear ownership of key ESG topics to specific departments or individuals. Provide targeted training on important areas like waste handling, ethical sourcing, and labor rights to ensure everyone knows not just the “what,” but the “why” and “how.” For instance, a factory worker should understand why proper waste segregation matters and how to follow the correct procedures on the floor.
Communicate audit goals and share outcomes transparently with all staff to build a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
Here’s a quick pro tip: use short videos, posters, or other engaging formats to keep sustainability top of mind on the shop floor—making it part of the everyday conversation rather than just a checklist.
Your sustainability rating can easily be affected by supplier non-compliance, especially in food production, where raw materials often come from complex global networks.
To maintain supply chain transparency, it’s essential to develop a Supplier Code of Conduct that includes clear ESG expectations. Encourage your suppliers to complete ESG self-assessments and provide relevant certifications such as Rainforest Alliance, RSPO, or BRC. For frameworks like EcoVadis and SMETA, how you engage with and support your suppliers’ sustainability performance is a critical scoring factor. Auditors may ask for evidence of your supplier assessments and the steps you take to drive improvements.
A practical tip is to create a comprehensive supplier onboarding package that outlines your ESG requirements and gives concrete examples of what compliance looks like. This helps set clear standards from the start and fosters stronger, more transparent partnerships.
Managing ESG documentation for multiple audits can quickly become overwhelming and time-consuming. This is where automation steps in as a game-changer.
Look for ESG tools that can automatically import utility data like energy and water usage, track emissions and waste metrics in real time, and generate reports formatted to meet the requirements of frameworks like CDP or EcoVadis. Some platforms even flag missing evidence or highlight inconsistencies, helping you catch gaps before they become problems. This kind of technology not only reduces manual effort but also ensures you’re prepared for last-minute client requests or audit deadlines.
Solutions like Sweep, Normative, and Envizi are designed with food and manufacturing sectors in mind, offering specialized features to streamline your sustainability reporting.
Keep in mind: Investing in automation today will save you from compliance headaches tomorrow—and keep you ahead of ever-evolving sustainability standards.
Sustainability audits don’t have to be a last-minute scramble. With a proactive and well-structured approach, food manufacturers can create audit-ready systems that enhance transparency, ensure compliance, and position their business as a trusted, responsible partner.
Start by gaining a clear understanding of what each audit demands. From there, formalize your commitments, build robust data management processes, and engage both your internal teams and suppliers in the sustainability journey. Over time, this approach not only boosts your performance in frameworks like CDP, EcoVadis, and SMETA but also helps embed sustainability deeply into the DNA of your organization.
