ADM: Positive, but room for improvement

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is one of the world’s largest traders and processors of grains and oilseeds. Its environmental footprint is therefore sizable.

It recently set out its progress towards key sustainability goals including responsible sourcing, advancing regenerative agriculture, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Regenerative agriculture ​

ADM launched its regenerative agriculture programmes in Europe and Latin America in 2023 in an attempt to boost support for farmers in adopting practices that improve soil health, biodiversity, climate and water resources

Last year, that included wheat and canola in Poland, soy in Serbia, and wheat, barley, and canola in the United Kingdom.

“Building on the success of our regenerative agriculture programme in its inaugural year, our 2023 efforts focused on retaining participating growers, expanding practice adoption and rolling out projects in additional geographies,” said Michelle French, ADM’s director of global sustainability programmes.

ADM is now partnered with over 28,000 growers of foods including corn, soybeans, and wheat, covering a total area of 2.8 million regenerative acres around the globe. It aims to expand this to 3.5 million acres in 2024 and recently increased its 2025 ambition from 4 million acres to 5 million.

ADM’s expansion of regenerative agriculture is aimed at reducing its scope 3 carbon emissions by sequestering carbon in the soil, and using satellite mapping to understand and address land use change-related emissions associated with its supply chains.

Last year, ADM says its regenerative agriculture projects reduced GHG emissions by 310,000 metric tons and sequestered over 263,000 metric tons of CO₂​e.

In August, ADM launched a new joint venture through which it became the part-owner of Gradable, a digital platform that tracks sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices and outcomes, making it easier for farmers to earn financial rewards.

Gradable was first established in 2020 and provides grain-buyers with reliable farm-level data that allows them to easily identify and purchase grain to meet the growing demand for sustainably produced products. The platform hosts over 20,000 farmers and facilitates over $30 million in financial incentives each year. 

Greenhouse gas emissions:​

ADM has pledged to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25% by 2035 compared to a 2019 baseline, and Scope 3 emissions by 25% compared to a 2021 baseline.

The company is trying to achieve that through a mix of efforts, including improving energy efficiency at production facilities, exploring renewable energy options, and ensuring no deforestation in supply chains.

Four years into its plan to cut scope 1 and 2 emissions, ADM has delivered a 14.7% reduction in its footprint through projects like transitioning facilities from coal to natural gas at three oilseeds facilities. This transition is expected to reduce annual emissions by around 180,000 metric tons of CO2e per year.

It has also launched a new renewable energy goal to increase the use of low-carbon energy to 25% of total energy use. This covers both renewable energy sources like wind and solar, as well as low-emission sources like biofuels, nuclear, and natural gas with carbon capture.

As part of this, it constructed a new wind turbine facility in Brazil which is providing enough renewable electricity to offset a projected 19,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

Carbon capture is a major part of its plans. For over a decade, ADM has done this at its North American headquarters in Decatur, Illinois.  As of the end of last year, these operations had captured almost 4.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from ethanol fermentation, compressed it, and injected it more than a mile below the surface where it is stored permanently within a geologic formation.

There is still no independent oversight of ADM’s plans, however, as they have not yet been reviewed and validated by the Science-based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

Responsible sourcing​

ADM says deforestation is ‘low-risk’ in 75% of its commodity purchases as these are primarily products like wheat, canola, or peanuts, grown in regions such as Europe and North America.

To tackle the rest – particularly the 9% of ADM’s purchases for which deforestation is still unconfirmed – the company is focusing on tracing and screening purchases when they come from high-risk sourcing countries like Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

The company currently uses satellite mapping to monitor for deforestation in direct sourcing, while for indirect sourcing – where commodities are bought from a supplier rather than the farm - it identifies the first aggregation point where it screens for any deforestation within a 50 km radius. This is targeted at building 100% deforestation-free supply chains by 2025.

Last year, ADM unveiled a new goal to eliminate land-use conversion in high-risk areas in South America for direct sourcing by 2025, as well as its existing zero deforestation goal for the same year. For indirect sourcing, the company has set a 2027 deadline. This particularly applies to the Brazilian Amazon, the Brazilian Cerrado, the Pantanal, and the Paraguayan and Argentinian Chaco.

Land conversion covers a wider range of activities than deforestation and can therefore have broader environmental consequences.