​For much of the past decade, sustainability in the food sector was more about perception than progress. Between 2017 and 2022, we saw the peak of PR led sustainability. Businesses hired communications and PR professionals to tell stories about planting trees, supporting charities, or launching a shiny sustainability page on their website. The emphasis was on “look at us, we’re sustainable,” rather than embedding sustainability into how food was actually produced, sourced, and manufactured.

The result was significant spend with minimal impact. Sustainability became expensive without measurable return, and critically, without real operational change.

Fast forward to today, and the cost is showing. Rising input prices, climate volatility, and regulatory pressure have forced a sharp market correction. Nowhere is this clearer than in large global food businesses, many of which are quietly panicking about crop positioning, farming resilience, and long-term supply chain security. Nestlé is a clear example, publicly committing billions to regenerative agriculture and supply chain transformation as climate risk threatens core ingredients and future availability.

This has fundamentally shifted what sustainability looks like in food. Delivering on agendas that drive real, functional change is no longer optional; it’s essential for business continuity. The market is no longer looking for generalists who can talk about sustainability in theory. Instead, demand is growing for specialists who combine sustainability knowledge with hands-on experience, especially across supply chain, manufacturing, and NPD.

This shift has come up repeatedly in discussions I’ve had with CISL Directors across food and sustainability. Their view is consistent, over the next five years, roles will become increasingly risk and compliance-led, integrating sustainability agendas with operational delivery.

As a result, we are already seeing strong growth in roles linked to anaerobic digestion, solar, carbon, and biomass. Sustainability in food has moved beyond fluffy agendas. It is now about crops, infrastructure, resilience, and most of all action.

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