Cargill commits to eliminate deforestation from its supply chain

Cargill intends to educate small and large-scale farmers on sustainable agriculture.
Photo courtesy of Cargill.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S. — In an effort to eliminate deforestation from its supply chain Cargill presented its report, Cargill Reports on Forests, about the company’s current progress and goals.

The first report covers on-the-ground actions within six priority supply chains and global collaborations to advance sustainable agriculture. Cargill worked with numerous global partners to engage more than 148,000 farmers and established a baseline for measuring tree cover loss by mapping the sourcing areas of nearly 2,000 locations across 14 countries.

In the lead up to the 2017 World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Cargill said it intends for the report to spark broader discussion of the issues driving deforestation and the policies and practices that can prevent it.

David MacLennan, chief executive officer and chairman of Cargill.

“Ending deforestation is critical to curb climate change,” said David MacLennan, chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of Cargill. “Today, we are at an important crossroads as we work to nourish the world and protect the planet. Sustainable agriculture must be a part of the solution.”

The following are Cargill’s progress highlights:

Creating and enacting action plans to protect forests in priority supply chains: palm oil globally, soy in Brazil and Paraguay, cocoa globally, cotton and maize in Zambia, and fiber-based packaging. In support of these action plans, Cargill issued a new Policy on Sustainable Fiber-based Packaging.

Developing and implementing programs and trainings for more than 148,000 farmers and suppliers to promote sustainable land use, including 15,000 small- and large-scale soy farmers in Brazil, 21,000 palm oil smallholder farmers in Indonesia, 1,000 soy farmers in Paraguay and 90,000 cocoa farmers and cooperatives in West Africa.

Creating and enacting action plans to protect forests in priority supply chains: palm oil globally, soy in Brazil and Paraguay, cocoa globally, cotton and maize in Zambia, and fiber-based packaging. In support of these action plans, Cargill issued a new Policy on Sustainable Fiber-based Packaging.

“We realize the private sector can lead in making agriculture and supply chains more sustainable,” said Ruth Kimmelshue, Cargill global leader of business operations and supply chain. “But we can’t do it alone. We want to work with customers, governments, NGOs and others to apply scalable approaches and deploy technology and practices that will give farmers the tools they need to create a more food-secure world.”