Ingredion

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
Ingredion discloses objectives which cover sustainability topics under the benchmark’s measurement areas. Moreover, Ingredion discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability topics through a materiality matrix and how the outcomes of this process has been integrated into its wider sustainability strategy. However, the company does not disclose time bound targets against its most relevant sustainability topics it has identified, presenting an opportunity for the company going forward.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
While responsibility for the company’s sustainable development strategy lies with a Global Sustainability Council, Ingredion 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
Ingredion does not disclose stakeholder engagement activities, including how it selects the stakeholders, nor an overview of the topics discussed or their outcomes.

Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions
Ingredion discloses that it has set a target to achieve a 25% reduction in absolute GHG emissions by the end of 2030. The company reports a 1.3% reduction against the previous year. However, the company does not differentiate between Scope 1, 2 or 3 emissions in its reporting, limiting its performance. Moreover, the company’s target has not been approved as science based, presenting an opportunity for the company going forward.

Water use
Ingredion has set a target to reduce its water use intensity by 30% in all extremely high-stress geographies where it manufacture products by the end of 2030. The company reports progress against this target on an annual basis. While Ingredion has set a target to engage with growers from water stressed regions, there is no reporting yet by the company, presenting an opportunity for the company in future reporting.

Soil health and agrobiodiversity
The company provides qualitative evidence on sustainable practices that improve soil health through sustainable sourcing practices and through working with the external SAI Platform. Nonetheless, it has an opportunity to strengthen its commitment by setting targets to increase the percentage of production from sustainable practices that optimise the use of fertilisers and pesticides, and to start reporting progress against the target.

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
While the company has a commitment to address food insecurity, it has an opportunity to develop value chain partnerships and projects specifically designed to address the accessibility of healthy and nutritious foods.

Food safety
While Ingredion discloses compliance with national regulations and the Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene, it has an opportunity to strengthen its commitment by disclosing that 100% of its own operations that are certified to a food safety certification programme recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), or other widely recognised certifications

Child Labour
While Ingredion 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 and supply chain as well as committing its suppliers verify the age of its workers.

Forced Labour
While Ingredion 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.

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.

Ingredion publicly commits to respect both human rights and rights of workers in its operations and supply chain and provides a grievance mechanism for both its workers and external parties. However, the company does not provide public information on other key areas regarding respect for human rights, including its human rights due diligence process nor how it engages with potentially affected and potentially affected stakeholders.

Although Ingredion addresses some health and safety issues in its public disclosure, the company does not provide evidence on promoting decent work fundamentals in the public domain. This includes commitments or policies regarding workforce diversity, regulating working hours and collective bargaining fundamentals. For example, the company could disclose the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreement.

Ingredion addresses some areas regarding data protection through its public disclosure however the company lacks disclosure on allowing users to retrieve information collected by the company. Similarly, the company has statements concerning anti-bribery and responsible lobbying activities however lacks disclosure on their implementation and monitoring. Lastly, no information was found on responsible tax policies, such as a global tax strategy which has been approved by the board of directors, in the public domain.