Company takes steps to achieve meaningful, sustainable impact on land use, climate, water, farmer prosperity and human rights
source: Cargill
At Cargill, sustainability is written into the company’s purpose—and woven into core operations including investment priorities, organizational structure and resource allocation. The company recently outlined progress against sustainability goals in critical supply chains including aqua nutrition, cocoa and chocolate, palm, soy, ocean transportation and beef. With a focus on advancing progress on land use, climate change, water, farmer prosperity and human rights, the company is working across every supply chain to drive sustainable production, transportation and operations.
“The call for radical transparency is increasing. More than ever, our customers and consumers want to understand the story behind the products they buy,” said Jill Kolling, Vice President of Global Sustainability, Cargill. “By investing and partnering on solutions to enhance transparency in the food system, we can deliver meaningful and sustainable impact on the ground and increase consumer confidence.”
Over the past year, Cargill adopted global sustainability efforts to more quickly advance progress. The company established a science-based commitment to reduce supply chain emissions by 30% by 2030, a bold climate commitment to reinforce support of the Paris Climate Commitment. Cargill established its Forest Protection Advisory Panel to bring diverse insights and support continuous improvement on the ground. Additionally, a BeefUp Sustainability Advisory Panel will offer critical review of the strategy and resources underpinning the North America beef supply chain sustainability initiative.
Supply Chain-Specific Progress
Cargill Aqua Nutrition
Cargill supports the sustainable growth of the global aquaculture industry by enabling better seafood and helping farmers succeed. With a focus on delivering animal health and welfare through feed and nutrition, Cargill reports in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, which provides a level of transparency to build trust.
Cocoa & Chocolate
Cargill is committed to a transparent and sustainable supply of cocoa, which includes improving the lives of farmers and their communities in the five origin countries from where it directly sources cocoa – Brazil, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Indonesia. Cargill’s Cocoa & Chocolate 2018-2019 sustainability progress report is more data-driven to transparently share insights into sustainability progress.
Ocean Transportation
Cargill is bringing increased transparency to the maritime sector and has been one of the first to publish an annual corporate responsibility report since 2017. The company has been transparent about its learning process along the way, which includes recognizing the need for a standard greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting process that will become the industry norm.
Palm Oil
Cargill is on track to deliver its 2020 commitments, making significant progress in sustainable palm oil since introducing the Policy on Sustainable Palm Oil in 2014. These commitments include:
Soy
Cargill’s progress on its Soy Action Plan – South America Origins is reported semi-annually. During the first half of this year, Cargill continued to steadily pursue its objective of building deforestation-free supply chains. Cargill has not wavered in its deep commitment to protecting forests and native vegetation in South America, or in its belief that this can be done in ways that are economically viable for farmers and local communities.
Beef
Through its BeefUp Sustainability initiative, Cargill is engaging innovative minds to explore impactful ways to drive progress toward its greenhouse gas reduction commitment.
“Across our supply chains, we’ve demonstrated transparent progress against our sustainability goals, but there is still more to be done across the industry,” said Kolling. “With continued partnership and collaboration, agriculture is how we can assure the dependability of future supply chains, empower communities and contribute to the development of economies.”
In addition to its sustainability work, Cargill is focused on supporting and lifting up agricultural communities around the world, especially as they continue to grapple with the spread of COVID-19. The company has contributed to funds dedicated to those whose livelihoods have been most impacted by the virus including the National Restaurant Association Foundation Employee Relief Fund and the American Farmland Trust’s Farmer Relief Fund.
The company has also donated 3 million pounds of food to local community organizations and food shelves to help keep families fed across the globe. You can read more about these community efforts at: cargill.com/news/supporting-our-communities-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic.
Visit cargill.com/sustainability/supply-chains to learn more about Cargill’s efforts to drive sustainability across its operations.