Cargill collaborates with farmers, food makers and industrial customers to bring new ideas to the table.

California Transparency in Supply Chains Act Disclosure

 

Our principles and approach to corporate responsibility

At Cargill, corporate responsibility is a process of continually improving our standards, our actions and our processes.  Cargill has earned and maintained a reputation for ethical business conduct ever since its foundation in 1865.  

In line with our policies, we do not accept or support the use of illegal, abusive or enforced labor. The issue is challenging and we alone cannot solve this complex problem. We believe it is essential that all parties in our supply chains work together to support rural livelihoods, raise incomes and ensure children and adults are not subject to these conditions. We work hard to provide all of our own employees with an equitable, safe and supportive work environment providing competitive wages and the rights to join a union and voluntarily negotiate, and we expect the same from our suppliers.

Our business conduct is governed by our Guiding Principles on ethical behavior and our Corporate Commitments:

  • We will conduct our business with high levels of integrity, accountability and responsibility.
  • We will develop ways of reducing our environmental impact and help conserve natural resources.
  • We will treat people with dignity and respect.
  • We will invest in and engage with communities where we live and work.
Supply chain actions

Cargill's Strategic Sourcing group has developed a Supplier Code of Conduct that is incorporated into its standard contracts for equipment for its facilities and other company materials and included as part of its normal contracting process with suppliers. The Supplier Code of Conduct sets forth our expectations that our suppliers conduct their business in a responsible and ethical manner and that they comply with all applicable laws, including employment and human rights laws.  Specifically, our Supplier Code of Conduct forbids our suppliers from employing or benefiting from child or compulsory labor.

We also work in cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local governments to conduct these programs. Examples include: 

  • Brazil. Cargill is a signatory to the Brazilian National Pact for the Eradication of Slave Labor. Developed by the Brazilian government, the International Labor Organization and The Ethos Institute for Social Responsibility, it monitors suppliers. We will not do business with those who appear on this list.
  • West Africa: We are concerned about the safety and well-being of children who may be involved in dangerous, excessive, abusive or forced work on cocoa farms. We are committed to working towards a supply chain where no children are subject to these conditions.  
    • We joined other members of the global cocoa and chocolate industry to work with West African governments and NGOs to ensure cocoa is grown without the worst forms of child labor. 
    • Each year we require our direct suppliers of cocoa beans in Côte d'Ivoire to sign their adherence to the same standards. If suppliers are found to be employing such practices, their contracts are subject to termination.
    • Our farmer training, and our ongoing interaction with cocoa growing communities, is helping raise awareness to discourage child labor, as well as promote better and safer working practices. The UTZ Certified cocoa program – established by Cargill, along with Dutch development organization Solidaridad and others in the cocoa sector – has introduced independent certification to improve agricultural, environmental and social practices in cocoa production. The UTZ code of conduct includes explicit requirements that prohibit child labor based on International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.
  • CARE-Cargill Partnership: Now entering its third year, the Cargill/CARE Rural Development Initiative is a five-year, $10 million effort to reach more than 100,000 men, women and children in rural communities with economic, nutritional and educational opportunities for growth. As part of the partnership, more than 13,000 students who were at risk of becoming child laborers have graduated from primary school and almost 60,000 additional children (more than half of whom are girls) are enrolled in Cargill-supported schools.
  • Indonesia: On the palm plantations we own and operate, we adhere to national laws that require those working on palm plantations to be at least 15 years old, not to miss school for work, and to be protected from exploitation and hazards. 
  • Palm: As members of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm (RSPO) we are working towards 100 percent of our supply chain to be RSPO certified by 2020, including strict criteria for fair labor rights and human rights. 
  • Soy: As a member of the Roundtable for Responsible Soy, we are working with key global organizations to implement criteria for socially and environmentally approach to soy production globally. 
  • Sugar: Cargill is a founding member of Bonsucro, a global multi-stakeholder non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the environmental and social impacts of sugar cane production.
Training

Cargill requires its employees to annually certify compliance with its Guiding Principles to ensure that employees’ actions align with the company’s commitments on business conduct, the environment, people and communities.