March 29, 2021

ADM announces new policy to protect forests, biodiversity and communities

ADM has recently furthered its commitment to sustainable, ethical and responsible production with the release of a new policy to protect forests, biodiversity and communities.

The company's previous policy was issued in 2015, and ADM began the process of reviewing and revising it last year as a step toward building a more resilient and sustainable food system. The company aims to eliminate deforestation from all of its supply chains by 2030.

"ADM is the bridge between the producer on the farm and the consumer-facing brands on our tables, and we are in the unique position to influence sustainable practices across the entire supply chain," said ADM chairman and CEO Juan Luciano. "As we carry out our mission to unlock the power of nature to enrich lives, we recognise the critical role natural resources play in the future of our planet. We are fully committed to ending deforestation and to preserving biodiversity and water resources in our supply chain. This new policy reaffirms ADM's commitment to responsible sourcing and will help us further reduce the impact of our operations and supply chain, and continue to hold our suppliers to high standards."

The new policy includes provisions that promote conservation of water resources and biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, promote solutions to reduce climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, and support agriculture as a means to advance sustainable development by reducing poverty and increasing food security.

Additionally, the policy confirms ADM's commitment to protect human rights defenders, whistleblowers, complainants and community spokespersons; the company's aspiration to cooperate with all parties necessary to enable access to fair and just remediation; and its non-compliance protocol for suppliers.

By the end of 2022, the company expects to achieve full traceability of its direct and indirect sourcing throughout its soy supply chains in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. In the soy supply chain, ADM's goal is to end native vegetation conversion in the shortest time possible, reconciling production of soy with environmental, economic and social interests in high risk areas such as the Cerrado and Chaco biomes in South America.

The company publishes supply chain-specific action plans and biannual progress reports focused on palm oil and South American soy, which contain specific milestones and data on ADM's continued progress toward meeting its sustainability goals. ADM will continue its study of how the company can increase the scale, pace and rigor of its efforts to eliminate deforestation and native vegetation conversion in its supply chains and issue a report on the subject by the end of the first quarter of 2022.

Additionally, ADM recognises the importance of collective action to accelerate sustainable practices in the agriculture value chain. The company is a founding member and signatory to the Amazon Soy Moratorium and the Para Green Protocol of Grains in Brazil.

ADM is also a founding member of the Soft Commodities Forum, a global platform convened by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development and the ViSeC (Vision Sectorial del Gran Chaco), among others.

- ADM