Newsroom Stories Contact us Global sites Accessibility Search Who we are Products & Services Sustainability Careers Back to Newsroom 23 June 2021 COFCO International publishes its 2020 Sustainability Report COFCO International today published its 2020 Sustainability Report, outlining sustainability progress in its supply chains, own operations, and communities. Titled Cultivating a Better Future, the report highlights efforts and actions taken to keep people safe and food and agricultural supply chains moving as COVID-19 spread around the world. “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the pressing need to build resilience in our food system, and change our relationship with nature,” said David Dong, CEO of COFCO International. “This must take place amid heightened economic pressure, volatile markets and the pressing challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and resource scarcity.” Soy supply chains The latest sustainability report outlines the company’s efforts to achieve fully traceable soy supply chains in Brazil, a vital part of COFCO International’s work on sustainable sourcing. It describes steps the company has taken to improve supplier compliance with its Sustainable Soy Sourcing Policy and towards sustainable production. Partnerships with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, RenovaBio and 2BSvs sustainability certification schemes in Brazil and Argentina, Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) and the Soft Commodities Forum (SCF) played a key role in reaching major milestones. In 2020, ahead of schedule, the company achieved the SCF’s goal of 100% traceability in all 25 priority municipalities of Brazil’s Cerrado region. “The shift to more sustainable soy shows how long-term profit and good agricultural practices go hand in hand together,” said Dong. “We expect further progress to come when the right incentives are in place for Brazilian soy producers to protect their precious environments.” Climate, shipping, renewables COFCO International continued to aim for lower Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. While total energy consumption increased because of expanded industrial operations, the increased scale unlocked new energy efficiencies, particularly at sugar mills which consume the largest portion of energy. In 2020, COFCO International’s energy intensity dropped by 4 percent. Meanwhile, the company’s use of renewable energy continues to grow, reaching 88 percent of total energy use in 2020, a 1 percent increase on the year before, driven largely by greater use of bagasse at sugar mills in Brazil. These sugar mills also supplied local power grids with 723,921 MWh of surplus bioenergy in 2020, a 10 percent increase on 2019. Shipping is another significant source of emissions for COFCO International which has 200 vessels on the water at any given time. The company remains committed to halve global carbon emissions from its fleet by 2050. Besides improving the fuel, energy and cost efficiency of COFCO International vessels, however, the company is supporting more industry schemes to drive systemic change. In 2020, the company signed up to the new IMO-led Sea Cargo Charter, an industry commitment to a shared and consistent way of reporting on emissions. COFCO International also continues to invest in new exhaust systems to reduce the amounts of sulphur emitted from its ships. 2020 Highlights “Despite the difficult operating environment in 2020, COFCO International was able to embed sustainability even further, leveraging traceability to deepen our understanding of supply chain risks and identify priorities for even better performance,” said Julia Moretti, COFCO International’s Global Head of Sustainability. “We are extremely grateful to all those partners, who have helped us progress towards sustainable supply chains, while reducing our environmental footprint and promoting human rights.” The COFCO International 2020 Sustainability Report was prepared according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. It also provides a summary of the company’s contribution towards specific UN Sustainable Development Goals and outlines how its sustainability work supports the International Finance Corporation’s Environmental and Social Performance Standards. Other highlights include: Five awards for COFCO International’s sustainability-linked $2.3 billion loan, agreed in 2019 with a consortium of 21 global banks Mapping and analysis of 357 soy supplying farms in Brazil – nearly 428,000 hectares - with IFC and Agrosatélite to drive compliance with key environmental and social criteria in Brazil’s Matopiba Continued pursuit of biological pest control methods on sugar farms in Brazil to help protect pollinators and improve soil health, including the use of natural predators in place of synthetic pesticides Achieved the SCF group goal of 100% traceability in all 25 priority municipalities ahead of time Continued progress on palm traceability to mill level, reaching 91 percent by the end of 2020 up from 86 percent in 2019 Recognition as one of Brazil’s best companies for people management by the Valor Carreira survey for the third year running. Some 95 percent of COFCO International employees said the company has a genuine interest in their wellbeing and communities Interviews with Justin Adams, Executive Director of the Tropical Forest Alliance, and with David Cleary and Rodrigo Spuri from the Nature Conservancy. Both the Tropical Forest Alliance and the Nature Conservancy are vital partners for the company’s sustainability work. 2020 Sustainability Report (7.98Mb PDF) You might also like COFCO International names Wei Dong as chief executive 27 December 2018 Wei (David) Dong has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and Board member of COFCO International, effective immediately. Johnny Chi, previously Chief Executive Officer, will continue as Chairman of COFCO International, based at the company’s headquarters in Geneva. Find out more COFCO International secures new sustainability-linked loan 22 September 2021 COFCO International today announced signing an agreement for a new $700 million sustainability-linked three-year term loan with seven banks. Find out more COFCO International appoints Jing Wu as new CFO 27 September 2017 COFCO International has appointed Jing Wu as its new Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect. Find out more Follow us on Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Share this page: Facebook Twitter Linkedin COFCO International © 2021 All rights reserved Legal disclaimer Data Privacy Policy Privacy Cookie Policy Modern Slavery Statement Procurement GT&Cs Sitemap Accessibility Contact us This website uses cookies We use cookies to provide you with a better service. If you allow cookies without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on this website. However, you can change your cookie settings at any time. I consent Find out more Change settings