ESG Investing Issues in Food Industry Enterprises: Focusing on On-the-Job Training in Waste Management

Abstract

Recently, there is a growing interest in investing in ways that might eliminate global warming; therefore, a number of studies promote the idea of ESG investing. The current study presents the latest discourses on the interpretation of investment and the role of social aspects in terms of investing in ESG. The topicality of the particular study is justified by the fact that food sector investors and other market participants use ESG information through ESG ratings, which, among social factors, include on-the-job training as an important indicator of a company’s sustainability. This study was based on a mixed-methods methodology that combines qualitative and quantitative research methods in consistent methodological steps. Based on the research of a wide range of scientific literature and the results of focus group interviews with industry practitioners, the authors have explored ESG implementation issues in European food sector enterprises to identify how food sector companies can strengthen their ESG performance by developing practical on-the-job training in waste management. This study has posed a research question: What skills should be integrated in on-the-job training programs in contemporary waste management in food industry enterprises? The research results present a systematized structure that integrates explicit and tacit knowledge, skills and competence that were acknowledged as topical in developing on-the-job training programs for food industry enterprises.

Keywords

• social impact investing
• waste minimization
• vocational training
• promoting sustainability