COFCO

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
While the company discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability topics, and describes how the results of this process are integrated into the company’s sustainability strategy, the company has an opportunity to disclose time-bound targets for its most relevant sustainability topics.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
While responsibility for sustainability lies with the COFCO Corporate Office, the company has an opportunity to strengthen accountability by assigning this responsibility to its highest governance body and disclosing further information on its decision-making processes and oversight responsibilities, as well as linking sustainability objectives and targets to roles and remuneration.

Stakeholder engagement
While the company has conducted stakeholder engagement activities and discloses an overview of the issues raised via these activities, it has an opportunity to disclose how it identifies its most relevant stakeholders, along with information on how the outcomes of the engagement process are integrated into the company’s sustainable development strategy.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions
The company’s subsidiary COFCO International discloses that its scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have quantitatively increased over the last three years. The company has an opportunity to disclose, at the parent level, time-bound targets to reduce scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in line with a 1.5-degree scenario.

Protection of terrestrial natural ecosystems
While the company’s subsidiary COFCO International has commitments to deforestation and conversion-free (DCF) supply chains, there is no disclosure at the parent company level. The company can improve by disclosing a commitment to source its high-risk commodities through recognised certification programmes at the parent level.

Soil health and agrobiodiversity
The company does not disclose that it is adopting sustainable production practices that improve soil health and increase agrobiodiversity.

Fertiliser and pesticide use
While the company discloses qualitative evidence of optimising pesticide and fertiliser use, it has an opportunity to strengthen its commitment by setting targets to increase the percentage of production from sustainable practices that optimise use of fertilisers and pesticides, and reporting against them.

Water use
The company does not disclose that it is reducing water withdrawals across its operations and supply chain.

Food loss and waste
The company does not disclose that it is addressing food loss and waste in its own operations. The company has an opportunity to disclose a commitment by demonstrating policies or activities that tackle food loss and waste.

Availability of healthy foods
The company does not disclose a commitment or activities to increase the availability of healthy and nutritious foods.

Accessibility and affordability of healthy foods
The company does not disclose a commitment to address food insecurity by improving the accessibility and affordability of healthy and nutritious foods.

Clear and transparent labelling
The company does not disclose that it provides nutritional information through clear, transparent and accurate labelling.

Workforce nutrition
The company does not disclose sufficient evidence of having any workforce nutrition programmes.

Food safety
The company does not disclose evidence of ensuring safe food for consumers through compliance with national regulations or the Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene, nor an effective food safety certification scheme.

Child and forced labour
The company does not disclose a commitment to prohibit child or forced labour in its operations and supply chain.

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 disclose that it specifically recognises the health and safety risks to vulnerable groups, such as migrant and temporary labourers, women and young farmers.

Farmer and fisher productivity and resilience
The company has a commitment to support the resilience and productivity of farmers, which it does through support activities such as using its ‘Grain Bank’ to reduce grain losses for farmers. The company disclose that this support activity increased farmers income by 1,500 yuan per hectare.

Land rights
The company does not disclose a commitment or examples of activities to support the resilience, productivity and access to markets for farmers, fishers or small-scale producers in its supply chain.

COFCO has not committed to respecting human rights, nor do they disclose a process to identify, assess and take action on human rights risks. While COFCO does engage with stakeholders, they do not disclose whether they engage with stakeholder whose human rights have been impacted.

COFCO describes the health and safety measures it implements in its own operations yet no publicly available policy statement committing it to respect the health and safety of workers was found in the public domain. The company discloses some information regarding workforce diversity along with gender equality and women’s empowerment. No relevant policies or commitments on other key decent work topics – living wages, regulating working hours or collective bargaining– were found in the public domain.

COFCO has committed to protecting personal data but does not provide a privacy statement in relation to access to personal data. No relevant information was found in the public domain on the topics of tax, bribery and corruption, or lobbying and political engagement.