The impact of digital technologies on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals: evidence from the agri-food sector

Abstract

The business world has suffered a great shock: the COVID 19 pandemic has changed the competitive model of companies. Nowadays, companies have to deal with the pressures of stakeholders who, also due to the pandemic, are increasingly attentive to the firm’s impacts on the environment and health. Thus, companies voluntarily undertake to provide information on their strategies in a way that better addresses concerns about digitization and sustainability. This paper aims to analyze the impact of digital technologies on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. To this end, a cross-case analysis of companies active in the Italian agri-food sector was carried out. In more detail, a content analysis methodology has been used to analyze the published sustainability reports, focusing on the digital technologies used and identifying the SDGs already reached and/or reachable by the company. Digital technologies have been classified, and each technology has been associated with appropriate SDGs through a deductive approach. Findings demonstrate a clear link between digitalization the SDGs achievement. The disruption provoked by COVID-19 caused the introduction of a ‘new normal’ for the digital technologies that must be weighed considering social and environmental repercussions in the agri-food sector.