August 8, 2020

 

Cargill expresses commitment to keep food, ag systems resilient in FY 2020

 

 

Cargill has anchored to its purpose and values during a particularly challenging 2020, the company said.

 

Despite challenges facing the food and ag system and disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, Cargill's FY 2020 annual report "Nourishing the World" demonstrates how the team's resiliency and agility helped to keep supply chains moving to put food on family tables around the globe. 

 

"The last year taught us that we are capable of so much more than we previously thought. We can move faster, with more agility, navigating a crisis while keeping our people's well being front and center," said David MacLennan, Cargill's chairman and CEO. "We are grateful to our employees, customers and other partners who worked around the clock to nourish the world and maintain confidence in the food and ag systems. Together, we are stronger."

 

Safety

 

Cargill's commitment to safety has enabled the company to steadily remove risks, reducing injury rates by 88% over the past 30 years. As the COVID-19 crisis emerged, Cargill facilities adapted pandemic response plans to quickly deploy robust safety protocols worldwide, the company said. With the company's core value of putting people first top of mind, Cargill is focused on sending employees home safely every day. The company has also reduced incidents related to food safety, quality or regulatory issues by 26% over the past year.

 

Responsibility

 

The company donated US$115 million in charitable contributions in the last fiscal year, providing relief during the current pandemic and helping farmers and communities prosper for the long term. Cargill provided meals to frontline workers and others in need and focused on closing the gender gap in agriculture, launching a US$10 million, three-year partnership with CARE's She Feeds the World programme. Working across nine countries, this programme will boost the earnings potential of female farmers.

 

Sustainability

 

Cargill's commitment to protect the planet has not wavered, the company said. In FY 2020, the company announced a new target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from global supply chains (Scope 3) by 30% by 2030, measured per tonne of product. To protect and enhance water resources, Cargill announced context-based water targets in priority watersheds, increasing access to clean water in communities that need it most. The company achieved significant milestones in key supply chains, including soy, cocoa, ocean transportation, beef, aqua nutrition and palm.

 

"Cargill continues to take aggressive action against key sustainability goals, as agriculture is how we will empower farmers to mitigate climate change, regenerate soils and improve water use," said Ruth Kimmelshue, Cargill's chief sustainability officer.

 

- Cargill