Inevitably therefore, its ability to address – as well as fuel – the climate crisis is huge. As Cargill itself recognised in its latest annual report, the world’s population is expected to grow by 500 million people by 2030 meaning the food system must produce another 50 million tons of food with less land and water. “Our industry has never faced a challenge of this magnitude.”
Yet Cargill is no stranger to controversy when it comes to its impact on the Earth. Since it was branded “The Worst Company in the World” by Mighty Earth in 2019, it has faced a raft of stinging rebukes that culminated in the first-ever legal challenge in the US over the company’s failure to remove deforestation and human rights abuses from its soy supply chain in Brazil.
In response, Cargill pledged that its soy, corn, wheat and cotton supply chains from Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina will be free of deforestation and land conversion by 2025, moving up its previous commitment dates by five years.
Elsewhere, it is committed to eliminating deforestation across the rest of its agricultural supply chain by 2030. Cocoa, palm, and soy are the priority supply chains.
In its latest sustainability report, Cargill addresses each of these crucial supply chains although often fails to provide a clear and consistent analysis of its progress. For corn, wheat, and cotton, three commodities it has pledged to eliminate deforestation from by 2025, there are no progress metrics at all. The same goes for soy.
For cocoa, it says 54% was certified as sustainable by schemes such as the Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, Promise Verified, or customers’ own programs, however does not directly report on the scale of deforestation.
It is most transparent on palm oil where it is aiming for 100% traceability to plantation by 2025. According to its latest report, this is now at 77%, up from 72% the year before.
“All roads on the decarbonization journey begin at the farm,” said Roger Watchorn, Cargill’s executive vice president for agriculture and trading. “We partner with farmers to provide the right training, tools, and incentives to grow food with a lower carbon footprint while supporting resilient businesses for farmers, their families, and farming communities.”
Climate
When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, Cargill is aiming to cut its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 10% by 2025 compared to a 2017 baseline, while it has pledged to cut scope 3 by 30% by 2030.
Scope 1 and 2 emissions from Cargill’s own operations are down 15.8% since 2017. One of its key areas of focus is building renewable energy partnerships with its power purchase agreements, green tariffs, and onsite renewable electricity. These partnerships now make up more than 60 projects across 20 countries. As a result of using more renewable energy, the company says it has cut 908,000 tons of carbon dioxide from its emissions.
Cargill has also taken steps to cut its scope 3 emissions, removing 670,000 tons of carbon through its supply chain sustainability programs. “Meaningful investments have been made in technology, processes, and resources that will allow us to scale our efforts and reduce scope 3 emissions,” the company said, adding it will report a percentage reduction against its baseline following a transition to scope 3 inventory accounting in fiscal year 2025.
While these initiatives are moving the dial in the right direction, there are doubts it is enough. Cargill does report on its total emissions although its combined scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions were estimated to be 145 million tonnes by Global Justice Now in 2015, two years before Cargill’s initial baseline. That would mean the company’s scope 3 reduction so far equate to just 0.4% of the company’s total output.
If Cargill is to hit its target, the company argues regenerative agriculture will play a key part. In North America, the company is looking to implement regenerative farming practices across 10 million acres by 2030 and has so far transitioned 1.1 million acres since 2020 – an area about the size of Barbados.
Cargill argues regenerative agriculture has the potential to reduce carbon emissions and enable carbon sequestration in the soil and has launched several schemes to try and fuel its uptake.
Cargill RegenConnect, for example, enables participating farmers to sequester carbon and generate other positive environmental outcomes by implementing new or expanded practices such as cover crops, no-till, or reduced-till. As of 2024, the program exists in 24 US states, Western Canada, and six European countries in Europe.
It is also looking to boost biodiversity on North American beef farms to help store carbon in the soil, revitalize agricultural lands, and boost water content in the ground.
“We believe beef can be a force for good: a force to address the urgency of climate change, feed a growing population, and build a stronger, more resilient food supply chain,” said Jon Nash, Cargill’s executive vice president for food.
