Archer Daniels Midland, one of the world’s largest commodities suppliers, has joined the growing number of major agriculture and food companies promising to take steps to conserve forests that are threatened by the global demand for commodities like palm oil and soy.
The company, known as ADM, offered a brief outline of its commitment on Tuesday, including its intention to work with third-party environmental experts to assess the impact of its supply chains on forests and other areas that have high conservation value. It will formally announce details of its policy at its annual meeting on May 7.
“We are confident that our No Deforestation policy is both strong and appropriate for our company,” Victoria A. Podesta, chief communications officer for ADM, said in a statement. “It combines a clear commitment to no deforestation with progressive action focused on our most critical supply chains.”
ADM said it would work with the Forest Trust, a nonprofit group that helps companies reduce the impact of their supply chains on the environment. The company will begin by mapping its supply chains to help it determine where they harm fragile forest ecosystems.
In September, some of the world’s largest companies, including Cargill, Kellogg and Nestlé, signed a declaration that they would work to end tropical deforestation resulting from demand for commodities by 2030.
Many big companies have learned that incorporating conservation into their business plans can reduce costs — and they also are keenly aware that consumers are increasingly interested in how food ingredients are produced.
“ADM has shown that they can boost soy production by focusing expansion on degraded land and yield improvement, instead of sacrificing forests,” Glenn Hurowitz, chairman of Forest Heroes, a program backed by a coalition of environmental advocacy groups, said in a statement.
Cargill, an ADM competitor, has worked with the Nature Conservancy to develop satellite technology to track clear-cutting of forests in the Amazon. And since 2004, the company and the conservancy have teamed up in Brazil to increase production of soy on land cleared long ago.
ADM’s plan will focus on the Brazilian Amazon and endangered forests in other parts of South America where commodities are grown, Forest Heroes said in a statement.
“There’s still plenty of room for other big South American players like Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus to leapfrog ADM in the global race to deliver the environmentally and socially responsible products consumers want to buy,” Barbara Bramble, senior director for international wildlife conservation at the National Wildlife Federation, said in a statement.
Susan Eich, a spokeswoman for Cargill, said ADM’s policy seemed similar to her company’s. “We’re pleased to see the industry moving in the right direction,” she said.
- http://bit.ly/1Hiafnl
Niciun comentariu:
Trimiteți un comentariu