Assessing Sustainability Communication and Corporate ESG Transparency in Plant-Based Meat Alternatives: A Multi-Level Analysis of Product–Corporate Alignment

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Abstract
The plant-based meat alternatives sector increasingly promotes its products as sustainable, yet the extent to which these claims are supported by transparent corporate disclosure remains insufficiently understood. This study investigates the alignment between product-level sustainability claims and corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) transparency in the Italian online plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) market, considered as a case study within the broader European regulatory context. A dataset of 200 PBMA products from 11 companies was analyzed. Sustainability claims were collected from packaging and online materials, classified into textual, symbolic, and certification-based categories, and evaluated for specificity, substantiation, and transparency. Corporate ESG transparency was measured using an ESG Transparency Index based on 45 indicators from the “Sustainability Dialogue between SMEs and Banks” framework. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, cluster analysis, and multivariate regression were used to examine the relationship between claim intensity, ESG disclosure quality, and firm characteristics. The results reveal substantial variation in the alignment between product communication and corporate transparency. While specialized plant-based companies and some large retailers show higher ESG disclosure, several firms combine intensive sustainability messaging with limited reporting, indicating product–corporate communication gaps that may warrant further investigation. Regression results show that ESG transparency significantly predicts claim intensity, certifications are positively associated with claim intensity, and company size is not a significant predictor. By providing a multi-level assessment of sustainability communication, this study contributes to research on ESG disclosure, transparency alignment, and the screening of communication–disclosure gaps in environmental marketing. The findings offer insights for policymakers, regulators, and firms, particularly in the context of the European Union’s Directive 2024/825 on consumer protection against misleading environmental claims.

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