Cargill expands commitments on climate change, fortifies support for Paris Agreement goals

Minnetonka-based Cargill Inc. committed Tuesday to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in its entire supply chain — from farm fields to fast food kitchens — by 30% per ton of product in the next decade. The commitment follows a contentious summer for Cargill, which — as one of the world’s largest and most influential food and agriculture businesses — faced severe activist criticism for its presence as a soy trader in Brazil during the recent spate of fires in and around the Amazon. Tuesday’s announcement coincides with the United Nations’ climate summit, officially called the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Convention on Climate Change, in Madrid this week. This new goal, known as a scope 3 goal, encompasses the emissions from all of Cargill’s suppliers and customers, which are numerous and wide-ranging. This target will be added to Cargill’s scope 1 and scope 2 goals outlined last year that promise to reduce emissions produced by its own processes and energy purchases by 10%. And while Cargill’s scope 1 and 2 goals are an absolute reduction regardless of the company’s growth, its scope 3 goal is relative to the amount of food produced. Cargill also announced that it has signed on to the CEO climate pledge and the We Are Still In coalition of businesses, cities, states, faith organizations and institutions that opposes the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement...MORE