Cargill

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

Animal welfare
Cargill has a policy addressing key animal welfare issues that applies to all species, geographies and products, and it discloses evidence of processes such as third-party certifications or third-party audits. However, the company could further improve by setting time-bound targets for the issues it already reports on.

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.

Governance and accountability
Cargill discloses that a member of the executive team is responsible for sustainability group wide. However, no information is provided on whether sustainability is an element of the company’s remuneration policy.

Sustainable development strategy
While Cargill has set various targets spanning all measurement areas, the reporting is uneven across the business units, and little information is disclosed on the materiality assessment used to determine these targets. Furthermore, no time-bound target was found on nutrition.

Stakeholder engagement
Like other governance and strategy topics, Cargill has inconsistent practices relating to stakeholder engagement, depending on the business unit. As such, Cargill Aquaculture reports several leading examples, but these are not as clearly present in other units. The company has an opportunity to improve by setting a consistent and high bar across its operations.

Protection of terrestrial natural habitats
The company has an overall target to be deforestation-free by 2030. However, the application of and reporting on this target per commodity is uneven, depending on the business unit. For example, 17% of its palm oil is certified deforestation-free by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, but no aggregated number was found for soya. Cargill should step up its efforts to achieve deforestation-free supply chains and consolidate its reporting to consistently demonstrate its achievements.

Water use
While the company has completed water-risk assessments for its own operations and identified priority facilities to implement its Water Stewardship programme by 2025, no current disclosure on reductions was found.

Fertiliser and pesticide use
Cargill demonstrates a commitment to optimising fertiliser and pesticide use but does not report on metrics and has no time-bound targets. For instance, optimising fertiliser management is an element of the company’s regenerative agriculture practices training programme, but no precise impact metrics were found at company level.

Food loss and waste
Cargill is a supplier member of the 10x20x30 initiative, through which it commits to halving food and waste. However, no evidence of specific action, targets or overall metrics on reducing food waste in the company’s operations was found.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions
Cargill has set a science-based target for its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions aligned with a 2-degree pathway. It could increase its ambition by setting a target compatible with a 1.5-degree pathway. In addition, Cargill has a scope 3 emissions target, but no data on scope 3 emissions

Availability of healthy foods
Although Cargill does not produce consumer-facing products, it is committed to supporting nutritious products. The company reports working on healthier oils, with reduced saturated and trans-fat, artificial sweeteners and sodium reduction. However, Cargill does not disclose metrics on the impact of these activities.

Accessibility and affordability of healthy foods
While Cargill emphasises that it strives to ‘provide access to safe, nutritious food’, little impact information beyond commitment was found to ensure accessibility and affordability. The company has an opportunity to develop clear programmes and strategies that support its commitment.

Food safety
Cargill is committed to food safety, but business units report differently on the subject, making a company-wide understanding of food safety practice and certifications of facilities and suppliers difficult. As such, while Cargill reports that several commodities in specific countries follow hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) protocols, no evidence was found that, globally, the company’s own and suppliers’ facilities for all commodities follow strict and consistent food safety standards.

Child labour
Cargill commits to prohibiting child labour in its own operations and requires its suppliers to adhere to the same standard. However, the company does not disclose a policy requiring its suppliers to have an age-verification system in place.

Forced labour
Cargill commits to prohibiting forced labour in its own operations and supply chain. However, no evidence was found that the company prohibits its suppliers from retaining workers’ personal documents or restricting workers’ freedom of movement.

Living wage
Cargill does not disclose that it pays its workers a living wage nor 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
Cargill has several programmes and activities to support farmers, such as its programmes to improve the livelihoods of smallholders in the palm oil value chain. Cargill targets farm development, access to inputs and higher yields, but no metrics on the impact of its activities were found.

Land rights
Cargill has a commitment to recognise and respect legitimate tenure rights related to the ownership and use of land. However, while the company states it expects its suppliers to adhere to respecting free, prior and informed consent concerning the resources and tenure rights of indigenous communities, it does not demand they follow its rules.

Cargill commits to respecting human rights and the ILO core labour rights. The company also has a grievance mechanism that is accessible to employees and external stakeholders. Cargill indicates potential issues of non-compliance regarding human rights in its palm oil operations. However, it does not disclose a process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts in specific activities and locations covered by its operations.

Cargill commits to respecting the health and safety of workers both in its own operations and its supply chain, but it does not disclose how it monitors the health and safety performance of its suppliers. Furthermore, Cargill supports gender equality and empowerment by setting a target to achieve at least 50% women in leadership globally by 2030. While the company conducts a living wage assessment for its palm oil plantation operations, it does not disclose group-wide commitments to paying a living wage. No sufficient commitment regarding working hours and disclosures on workforce diversity and collective bargaining were found in the public domain.

Cargill publicly commits to protecting personal data and has a privacy statement on the use of personal data. It also has a policy statement that sets out its lobbying and political engagement approach. However, a statement that it does not make political contributions was not found in the public domain. The company has a publicly available policy statement prohibiting bribery and corruption, but it does not describe how it identifies bribery and corruption risks and impacts. No global tax strategy or disclosure of corporate income tax for each jurisdiction where the company is a resident were found in the public domain.