The importance and relevance of sustainability reporting by food companies is growing in the wake of green compliance, especially in EU Member States, where–in line with the EU Taxonomy–stricter legislation requires more accurate and transparent sustainability reporting. From 2014, the NFRD (Non-Financial Reporting Directive) legislation made non-financial reporting mandatory only for companies with at least 500 employees and of public interest, while the CSRD (Corporative Sustainability Reporting Directive) legislation, which came into force in 2023, made it mandatory for all companies. The aim of this paper is to examine how companies are prepared to comply with the new legislation. The sustainability reporting of food companies by subsector was analysed to identify differences and compare the quality of reporting with financial performance data. The study used a content analysis with a scoring method to assess the quality of sustainability reports from the point of view of EU Taxonomy produced by companies in 2020 and 2021. The proportions of critical financial performance data within subsectors were also examined. In 2020 and 2021, the companies analysed accounted for over 50% of the sector’s total net revenue, net profit, and foreign registered capital, highlighting significant financial concentration. The results show that the content and quality of sustainability reporting by food companies varies considerably between subsectors. The subsectors, dairy products manufacturing, processing, and preserving of fruit and vegetables scored the highest on sustainability objectives, particularly excelling in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The significance of the study lies in the fact that the methodology provides an opportunity to track and re-examine the future reporting practices of companies following the legislative changes.

Compliance with green requirements is becoming increasingly important in assessing the performance of companies. The new CSRD legislation requires a wider range of companies to produce sustainability reports and their content is influenced by the EU's taxonomy regulation setting out the framework for sustainable finance. The disclosure of information affects the perception of companies' sustainability performance, which will affect their access to financial resources and development opportunities. The main question is, both in theory and in practice, how companies can comply with the legislation in the future. It is essential for the competitiveness of Hungary's food industry to keep pace with future environmental sustainability requirements, so we examined the sustainability reporting practices of the sector's key companies in terms of their contribution to the environmental objectives set out in the taxonomy regulation. The research fits well with the EU's overall green transition regulatory procedure and our study is gap-filling at macro-regional and sectoral levels. The sustainability reports were assessed by content analysis using a scoring method. The results show that the sustainability reporting practices of food processing companies in Hungary differ significantly. Furthermore, greater emphasis must be placed on reporting and the credibility of the reports to meet future expectations. Foreign-owned companies and companies with more than 500 employees attribute greater importance to reporting. In the food processing sector, the disclosure of information and data under the taxonomy objectives of mitigation of climate change, sustainable use of water and marine resources, and transition to a circular economy was most common.

This study assesses the sustainability reporting practices of large food-processing companies in the Visegrad countries from the perspective of the EU Taxonomy. The analysis covers the 2021–2023 period, during the transition from the NonFinancial Reporting Directive (NFRD) to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Using a qualitative content analysis and a relative scoring method based on the six environmental objectives and 33 related activities defined in Regulation (EU) 2020/852, we evaluate both the occurrence and quality of disclosed sustainability information. The sample includes large companies representing more than half of sectoral financial indicators in each country. Results show that climate change mitigation receives the highest relative scores across all countries, followed by sustainable water use, biodiversity protection, and circular economy objectives, while climate adaptation and pollution prevention remain less developed. Mandatory reports consistently outperform voluntary ones in quality. The findings highlight both sector-specific sustainability priorities and the significant role of regulatory requirements in enhancing transparency and comparability in sustainability reporting across Central Europe.