DOI: https://doi.org/10.36719/2789-6919/64/233-242
From Sustainability Claims to Assessable Responsibility: An Evidence-Alignment Analysis of Vertical Farming Organisations
Aziz Abilzade Shahin 
Abstract. Vertical farming is often associated with local food and efficient resource use, but neither characteristic establishes corporate social responsibility (CSR). This article develops a claim–practice–outcome evidence-alignment framework through a secondary, document-based synthesis of a 2026 doctoral thesis drawing on nine interviews and five site observations undertaken in Hungary in 2023–2024. The article does not present new fieldwork or independent recoding of interview transcripts. It selects eight attributed interview extracts and five case-specific observation summaries using explicit inclusion rules, and compares them across operational embeddedness, stakeholder inclusion and outcome verification. The comparison identifies three distinct evidence gaps: observed technical practice without comparable impact measurement; commercially targeted local production without demonstrated wider affordability; and stated social or ethical commitments without independent beneficiary perspectives. The contribution is an auditable diagnostic for evaluating CSR-related claims, not a ranking of firms or a measured assessment of their sustainability performance. The findings remain limited to the documentary evidence reviewed.
Keywords: vertical farming, corporate social responsibility, qualitative secondary analysis, evidence alignment, stakeholder inclusion, operational practice