Deere & Co

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

Plastic use and packaging waste
Deere & Co demonstrates reducing its plastic use by setting a 2022 target to increase the proportion of recyclable, renewable and recycled content in its products by 30%. The company reports on progress annually but could further improve by demonstrating that it engages with value chain partners to reduce plastic use or transition to sustainable forms of packaging.

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

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

Sustainable development strategy
Deere & Co’s sustainability strategy includes targets for 2022 covering topics related to the environment and social inclusion measurement areas. The company reports progress against these targets annually and has disclosed their selection process, which included the involvement of external stakeholders and benchmarking industry peers. However, Deere & Co does not disclose targets relating to the nutrition measurement area as part of its sustainability strategy, highlighting a key opportunity for the company to improve.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
Deere & Co demonstrates having teams and committees in place to facilitate an efficient implementation of its sustainability strategy as well as ultimate board-level responsibility and accountability for the sustainability strategy and performance. The company has an opportunity to link sustainability objectives and targets to remuneration for its executives and board members.

Stakeholder engagement
While Deere & Co refers to stakeholder engagement in its reporting, it does not provide an overview of its relevant stakeholder groups and issues raised with them. Moreover, there is an opportunity for the company to disclose how it selects and engages with relevant stakeholders.

Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions
Deere & Co has set a 2022 target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 15% against a 2017 baseline and reports on progress annually. However, there is an opportunity for the company to align this target with a 1.5-degree scenario.

Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions
The company demonstrates a reduction for segments of its scope 3 GHG emissions. However, there is an opportunity for Deere & Co to set a target to reduce all its scope 3 GHG emissions, which should include emissions from sold products.

Soil health and agrobiodiversity
Through the introduction of agricultural machinery solutions that reduce soil compaction, Deere & Co is contributing to improving soil health. The company further provides quantitative information on the potential impact of these products on soil compaction. There is an opportunity for Deere & Co to strengthen its commitment by setting targets to increase the proportion or sales of products that contribute to improved soil health.

Water use
Deere & Co has set a 2022 target to implement water best management practices in 100% of water-stressed areas and reports on progress annually. While the company provides evidence of a water risk assessment and discloses which manufacturing sites are located in water-stressed areas, there is an opportunity for Deere & Co to disclose the proportion of water withdrawals that come from water-stressed areas.

Food loss and waste
Deere & Co demonstrates that it is developing agricultural machinery solutions that can reduce harvest loss. However, the company can further improve by providing quantitative evidence of the (potential) harvest loss reductions these solutions offer or by setting sales-based targets for products that can reduce harvest or food loss.

Availability, accessibility and affordability of healthy foods
Deere & Co discloses evidence of several projects to improve food security, such as its Samruddhi project to promote more productive agricultural techniques in India. While the company demonstrates it enables improved yields and productivity with its products, it does not demonstrate how it contributes to an increased availability of healthy and nutritious foods. Deere & Co has an opportunity to disclose commitments and activities aimed at improving the nutritional value of crops and increasing the availability of healthy and nutritious foods.

Workforce nutrition
The company does not disclose a workforce nutrition programme that prioritises making healthy foods the standard in the workplace.

Child labour
While the company commits to prohibiting child labour in its own operations and requires its suppliers to adhere to the same standard, it has an opportunity to disclose a coordinated and consistent monitoring system for its own operations.

Forced labour
While the company commits to prohibiting forced labour in its own operations and supply chain, it has an opportunity to disclose a requirement that prohibits its suppliers from retaining workers’ personal documents and restricting workers’ freedom of movement.

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.

Farmer and fisher productivity and resilience
Deere & Co provides evidence of activities to support the productivity and resilience of farmers, such as providing Nigerian farmers with agronomic training to increase their profitability. While the company reports on the impact of some of its support activities, it has an opportunity to demonstrate that it is measuring the impact of all its support activities and communicate these externally.

Deere & Co provides grievance mechanisms for workers and third parties and commits to respecting the human rights of its workers. However, the company does not disclose a clear policy statement committing it to respect all ILO core labour rights in its operations and supply chain. Moreover, Deere & Co does not provide evidence of a human rights due diligence process nor demonstrate how it engages with affected and potentially affected stakeholders.

Deere & Co commits to respecting the health and safety of its workers, places health and safety expectations on its business relationships and monitors their performance. However, it can further improve its quantitative reporting on the issue. The company also reports on several key metrics under workforce diversity, but there remains an opportunity for increased disclosure. No commitments or reporting on the other decent work topics – living wages, working hours, collective bargaining and gender equality – were found in the public domain.

Deere & Co publicly commits to protecting personal data and has a privacy statement on the use of personal data. The company also prohibits bribery and corruption in its operations and includes clauses in its contracts with business relationships. However, no information on processes to identify and address bribery and corruption risks were found in the public domain. Deere & Co does not have a publicly available global tax policy nor report on income tax paid per jurisdiction. Moreover, the company does not disclose its global approach to lobbying and political engagement and related expenses.