Animal Welfare for Corporate Sustainability: The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare

Abstract

We are living in a new human-dominated geological epoch, the Anthropocene. Human activity is the dominant cause of most contemporary environment change. At the same time, digital transformation is changing our societies. The intersection of both processes compels us to harness the potential of new technological systems to transform how humanity manages its environmental footprint. However, our interaction with the environment is not the only interaction we have to change. New technologies can automatically monitor animal welfare. These management processes will increase stakeholder confidence and therefore the reputation of food companies. Since corporate governance is key for corporate sustainability, new monitoring processes should begin to be included in the animal welfare questionnaires. This research highlights the disruptive potential of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies applied on farms. Like the sustainability questionnaires, the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) have shortcomings. However, animal welfare indices are very useful tools to measure the performance of companies and can be easily improved by following the recommendations of this research. The importance of a formalised system of responsibilities and the advances offered by audio-visual and smart technologies, that provide real-time data, will be a key dimension for the farm of the future and therefore should be part of the BBFAW questionnaires