The Literature Analysis of True Cost Accounting Methodologies and Databases for Agri-food Businesses and Products is the first Interim Report for the TCA Roadmap project. This project, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH) and funded by the European Union’s “NextGenerationEU,” will develop a roadmap for a scientifically based system for recording and evaluating the true costs and hidden benefits of the agri-food sector, aimed at improving the transparency of sustainability services throughout the food value chain in Germany.

As a first step in creating the roadmap, this report provides an analysis of 23 existing True Cost Accounting (TCA) frameworks and guidelines relevant to the agri-food sector, with a particular focus on their applicability at the business and product levels. Focusing on the calculation of environmental, social, economic and health impacts, it assesses methodological foundations, scope, coverage of the four capital categories and valuation approaches. It then looks at 21 existing databases, analysing their scope, coverage, and sector specificity. The report outlines key gaps in existing methodologies and datasets, showing the way forward for effective future TCA work.

The study emphasizes business- and product-level applications of TCA, which are particularly relevant for corporate decision-making. At the product level, TCA can help to develop products with lower environmental, health and social impacts while optimizing resource use. It also allows companies to communicate their sustainability efforts in a clear and accessible way to consumers by integrating TCA results into product labelling and pricing. At the business level, TCA can help increase transparency of a company’s overall impact on the environment and society. These insights help organizations assess and manage their overall societal and environmental footprint, identify operational risks and communicate sustainability performance to external stakeholders, including investors.

The findings of the report will be discussed during an expert workshop taking place online in June 2025, and the second Interim Report, to be published later this year, will provide a comprehensive SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of implementing TCA within the agri-food sector in Germany. The final report of the TCA Roadmap is expected for January 2026.

Visit this page to download the report and annex. The report is also available in German here.