CF Industries

No leading practices were identified for the company in the governance and strategy measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the environment measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the nutrition measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion measurement area.

Sustainable development strategy
CF Industries states that it identified its material issues through internal and external stakeholder engagement. It divides them into four key dimensions: energy, emissions and climate change; workplaces and communities; food security and product stewardship; and ethics and governance. While it discloses time-bound targets for its most relevant sustainability topics, it has yet to report progress against all of them. Furthermore, the company could strengthen its sustainability strategy by making its targets cover the topics across all three benchmark dimensions (environment, nutrition and social inclusion).

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
The company discloses that its Environmental Sustainability and Community Committee oversees all aspects of the progress toward net-zero carbon emissions, sustainability activities and reporting as well as the company’s active involvement in the communities in which it operates. While the company states that executive remuneration is tied to its environmental, social and governance goals, it does not disclose if there is a link between the board of director’s remuneration and sustainability issues. There is an opportunity for CF Industries to demonstrate leadership by linking sustainability remuneration of both its executives and board of directors to topics across all three benchmark dimensions.

Stakeholder engagement
While CF Industries states that it believes in fostering open dialogue with all of its stakeholders, and provides examples of stakeholder engagement, it does not disclose the outcomes of its stakeholder engagement, nor the process of how it has identified its stakeholders. Furthermore, the company does not disclose an overview listing of the main topics covered. The company has room to improve its disclosure on stakeholder engagement, notably by providing an overview of the issues raised via these activities.

Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions
CF Industries has a time-bound target to reduce by 25% its total CO2 equivalent emissions per ton of product by 2030, from a 2015 baseline year, as well as a goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. It also reports progress against its targets. However, there is an opportunity for the company to demonstrate leadership through external verification of the targets showing they are aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions
The company does not disclose quantitative evidence to demonstrate that it is reducing its scope 3 GHG emissions.

Soil health and agrobiodiversity, and fertiliser and pesticide use
The company has a commitment to increase the adoption of enhanced conservation practices and nutrient management practices that promote sustainable agriculture. It discloses that its 4R Plus programme – a partnership with The Nature Conservancy – is designed to improve soil health across the state of Iowa. The company has targets to expand partnerships to achieve 60 million acres of farmland using sustainable practices by 2030 as well as to reach 90,000 farmers by 2023. Nevertheless, it is unclear if the company reports progress against the targets. Furthermore, there is room for CF Industries to strengthen its targets as well as to increase its disclosure on soil health and how it helps optimising the use of fertilisers.

Water use
The company has a goal to identify and evaluate a list of viable water reuse/reduction projects during 2021. While the company discloses its water withdrawal, discharge and consumption, it does not demonstrate quantitative reductions in water withdrawals across its own operations.

Availability of healthy foods
While the company has a commitment to increase the availability of healthy and nutritious foods, it has an opportunity to undertake and report on activities that contribute to increasing the production, quality and/or variety of healthy and nutritious foods.

Accessibility and affordability of healthy foods
CF Industries does not disclose a commitment or commercial activities to address food insecurity by improving the accessibility and affordability of healthy and nutritious foods.

Workforce nutrition
The company provides evidence of activities supporting nutrition education and nutrition-focused health checks, but it is unclear if its programmes are company-wide. There is an opportunity for CF Industries to develop these programmes further to ensure nutrition education and nutrition-focused health checks are available across its operations.

Child and forced labour
While the company commits to prohibit forced and child labour in its operations, it only expects its suppliers to adhere to the same standards. Therefore, the company has an opportunity to strengthen its commitments for its suppliers by requiring them to adhere to the same standards.

Living wage
The company does not disclose that it pays its workers a living wage or requires its suppliers to do the same. Neither has it set targets to do so in the future.

Health and safety of vulnerable groups
The company does not specifically recognise the health and safety risks to vulnerable groups, such as migrant and temporary labourers, women and young farmers.

Farmer and fisher productivity and resilience
CF Industries provides evidence of activities that support the productivity and resilience of farmers. These include its 4R Plus programme and its N Min Analysis programme in the United Kingdom. However, while reporting on the reach of their support activities, there is an opportunity for CF Industries to increase its disclosure by providing quantitative evidence of its impacts.

Land rights
The company does not commit to recognising and respecting the legitimate tenure rights related to the ownership and use of land of local communities.

CF Industries has a grievance mechanism for both workers and third parties and commits to respecting human rights. While expecting its supply chain partners to prohibit child and forced labour, no policy statement expecting them to respect all ILO core labour rights, which include the rights to collective bargaining and freedom of association, was found. Moreover, CF Industries does not disclose evidence of a human rights due diligence process, including how it identifies, assesses and integrates salient human rights risks in its operations and supply chain. Neither does the company disclose how it engages with affected and potentially affected stakeholders.

CF Industries commits to health and safety, collective bargaining, workforce diversity and gender equality, but it can improve its performance by increasing its disclosure of key metrics related to these topics. Moreover, there is an opportunity for the company to strengthen its commitments and expectations regarding working hours and living wages in its own operations and supply chain.

CF Industries has policies on personal data protection and lobbying and political engagement, but it does not publicly report on key metrics related to these topics. Additionally, on bribery and corruption, the company has a publicly available policy, a grievance mechanism and includes bribery and corruption clauses in contracts with supply chain partners. However, it does not disclose the processes for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts. Moreover, while disclosing on total domestic and foreign income tax expenses, CF Industries has an opportunity to report on tax expenses for each of its relevant jurisdictions as well as to disclose its global tax policy. Neither was a publicly available tax strategy found, highlighting a key area for CF Industries to improve its transparency and disclosure.