ADM has been ranked 27th on Fortune's 2021 Change the World list, a global ranking of the top 50 companies making a positive social impact through business practices that are integral to their core corporate purpose.
As part of its mission to unlock the power of nature to enrich quality of life, ADM has been at the forefront of pioneering innovation in protein for more than seven decades.
In the 1950s and 1960s, an ADM scientist invented textured vegetable protein (TVP®), which the company patented as the first plant-based meat alternative and used to create the world’s first soy-based patty in 1991.
The product triggered a plant-based revolution that has now gained traction with customers and consumers worldwide.
Today, ADM focuses on optimizing taste, texture and functionality to create protein nutrition solutions that cater to a variety of cultures around the world. T
he company has also differentiated itself from all others in the market through large-scale investments in cutting-edge protein solutions spanning plant-based, cell-based, microbial fermentation, insect and more.
“The future of food is dependent on finding sustainable and diverse protein sources that will feed the world for years to come,” said Chairman and CEO Juan Luciano. “As a global leader in protein nutrition solutions with tremendous scale and expertise at our fingertips, ADM is uniquely positioned to drive the next wave of protein innovations.”
According to research, by 2050, the world will need to produce 60% more food to feed a growing population. Consumers are adopting a flexitarian lifestyle and understanding the link between their food and environmental issues, questioning the sustainability of our current food system. A diversified approach is necessary, and alternative proteins are one important path to feeding the world in a sustainable way with their potential to reduce carbon emissions and create other environmental benefits.
“As the foundation of food on tables around the world, we recognize the integral role ADM has in advancing a more sustainable food system,” Luciano continued. “ADM is committed to pioneering the science and innovation that are essential to developing the next generation of healthy andnutritious foods for a growing population, and doing so in a sustainable way.”
Methodology
The Fortune Change the World list is an annual recognition of companies with annual revenues of $1 billion or more that have had a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy. Fortune writers and editors, with help from the Shared Value Initiative, evaluate the companies by these four factors:
- Measurable social impact: The reach, nature, and durability of the company’s impact on one or more specific societal problems
- Business results: The benefit the socially impactful work brings to the company
- Degree of innovation: How innovative the company’s effort is relative to that of others in its industry and whether other companies have followed its example.
- Corporate integration: How integral the initiative is to a company’s overall strategy, and how well that strategy is communicated through the ranks and elsewhere
