USA — American global food corporation Cargill is putting actions to its big talk on sustainability as shown in its latest Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report.
In a recently released report that covers the company’s ESG programs and activity in 2022, Cargill revealed that it had restored more than 5 billion liters of water thus far.
Although staggering by any amount, the 5 billion are a drop in the ocean, compared to the company’s 2030 goal of 600 billion liters of restored water.
Regardless, the company is determined and is putting in place the necessary investments to make its ambitious goal a reality.
“Since Cargill was founded 157 years ago, our food and agriculture system has evolved significantly to meet the needs of a growing, global population,” David MacLennan, chief executive officer and board member at Cargill, wrote in a letter included in the report.
“Driven by our values and guiding principles, we have worked throughout the decades to make this system safer and more sustainable.”
Apart from water, Cargill’s strategy also focuses on climate, land, and people, and in the recently released report, the company highlighted the progress made on each of these fronts.
Over the past year, Cargill said it invested over US$70 million in energy efficiency and GHG emissions reductions in its operations.
The company further highlighted that it was over halfway to reaching its Scope 1 and 2 goals to reduce absolute operational GHG emissions by 10% by 2025.
To help reach these goals, Cargill said it is collaborating with customers and suppliers to develop emissions-reducing technology and renewable energy projects.
The company successfully reached its targets for global impact contributions by donating more than u$163 million across 57 countries.
“Our performance against these targets this year indicates we have made progress on the successful implementation of water stewardship practices at priority facilities, as well as scaling our pipeline of regenerative agriculture programs to drive greater impact in our supply chains,” the report said.
While Cargill noted steady progress on many of its goals, the company said two areas require attention to reach their goals: zero deforestation by 2030 and increased diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workforce.
Progress had nevertheless been made with the number of women represented on the executive team rising to 46% and an additional 34% taking up the company’s leadership roles.
Cargill which has more than 155,000 employees and sells in 125 countries hopes to achieve gender parity in leadership by 2030 globally.
“Fair and equitable pay is essential for ensuring all workers are respected and appreciated,” the report said. “This year, for the second consecutive year, Cargill achieved gender pay equity, on average, among professional-level employees globally.”
In 2020, Cargill set a goal to increase the representation of Black employees in its US and Brazil sectors by 20% by 2025. The company said progress on that goal is being tracked and will be reported later.
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