Overview
Why does sustainability matter?
- Feeding a growing world is one of the greatest challenges ahead – and an opportunity to strengthen food security and livelihoods around the world.
- When climate, land and water come under pressure, people feel it first: the farmers who tend the soil, the communities built around harvests and the families who depend on every meal.
- Advancing sustainability is how we work to build a more resilient food system by protecting the resources food depends on, supporting the people who grow it and helping food systems adapt for the future.
2025 highlights
Progress across our focus areas
Through partnerships with farmers, customers and communities, we're working to advance progress across climate, land and water, and people. These highlights reflect results reported for fiscal year 2025.
20.9%
reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions from 2017 baseline
91 billion liters
of water restored in water-stressed regions
7.7 million
farmer trainings delivered since 2017
144 million
meals provided through corporate giving efforts
What is sustainability?
Sustainability in food and agriculture is about managing the food system so it can work to continue to produce and deliver enough food for future generations. In practice, this means working across the food system – from how food is grown to how it is sourced, produced and transported – to protect natural resources, reduce emissions and support farmers and agricultural communities. These efforts help maintain productive farmland and reliable supply chains.
Our approach
What is Cargill’s sustainability strategy?
Food systems are only as strong as the people and resources behind them. At Cargill, our sustainability strategy is built around that belief. We partner with farmers, customers, and suppliers to advance practical, scalable solutions that protect natural resources, strengthen communities and support a more resilient food system. We focus on three areas where we believe we can have the greatest impact:
Climate
Climate action is closely linked to food security, as changing weather patterns can affect how and where food is produced. Cargill is working to reduce GHG emissions across our operations and supply chains, invest in renewable energy and efficiency, and support farmers adopting new agricultural practices.
Land & Water
Healthy soil, forests and water are essential to growing the food the world needs. Cargill aims to protect land and water by working to eliminate deforestation, advancing regenerative agriculture and improving water stewardship in partnership with farmers, customers and other stakeholders.
People
Agriculture is powered by people. Across our operations and supply chains, Cargill works to support employees, farmers and communities by advancing human rights, improving worker safety, strengthening farmer livelihoods and expanding economic opportunities in agricultural communities.
Explore how Cargill works to respect human rights and improve farmer livelihoods
Sustainability at Cargill
How Cargill puts sustainability into practice
Cargill connects farmers, food producers and consumers across the global food system. This role shapes how we deliver sustainability across our business and supply chains.
Our approach reflects how food is grown, how it moves through supply chains and how we partner to reduce environmental impact, expand access to nutrition, improve farmer and community livelihoods, and support our customers’ sustainability priorities.
In practice, this includes:
- Integrating sustainability into sourcing, operations and commercial strategies
- Partnering across the value chain to advance practical, scalable solutions
- Prioritizing climate, land and water, and people as focus areas
- Investing in innovation, data and traceability to improve outcomes and manage risk
- Advancing programs and partnerships across regions and supply chains
This reflects the interconnected nature of the food system, where progress depends on collaboration.
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Sustainability FAQs
Explore common questions about how Cargill approaches sustainability across its business and supply chains.
How does sustainability affect supply chains?
Sustainability affects how reliably food and agricultural products can be sourced, produced and delivered. Climate, water and land pressures can disrupt supply and increase variability. Sustainable practices help strengthen resilience, support consistent production and improve long-term availability of key commodities.
How does Cargill work with customers on sustainability?
Cargill works with customers to develop and implement solutions that support their sustainability goals and sourcing priorities. This includes reducing supply chain emissions, improving traceability and advancing practices that strengthen resilience and productivity – helping customers address sustainability challenges across shared value chains.
How does Cargill work with farmers on sustainability?
Cargill works with farmers to support practices that improve productivity, strengthen resilience and help protect natural resources. This includes technical support, training, partnerships and programs designed to help farmers adopt new practices while managing risk and maintaining productive operations.
What makes it difficult to scale sustainable farming practices?
Adopting new farming practices can require time, investment and risk for farmers and the broader value chain. Transitioning to approaches like regenerative agriculture often involves upfront costs, changes to operations and uncertain short-term returns. Support through training, financial incentives and partnerships can help reduce these barriers and make adoption more practical at scale.
Why is traceability important in agricultural supply chains?
Traceability provides visibility into where products come from and how they are produced. This helps identify risks, improve sourcing decisions and meet customer expectations and regulations. It also enables more transparent reporting and helps strengthen trust across supply chains.
Why is collaboration important in the food system?
The food system relies on shared resources like land and water, and on networks of farmers, suppliers and customers across regions. Decisions in one part of the system can affect others. Collaboration helps improve practices, manage impacts and support more resilient supply chains and outcomes over time.
Photo credit: TechnoServe
In the news
Recent news and stories
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Related resources
Explore sustainability reporting, disclosures and insights from across the food system.
2025 Impact Report
In Cargill's 2025 Impact Report, we share our sustainability strategy, partnerships and progress across climate, land and water, and people.
Reporting Hub
This reporting hub brings together Cargill’s latest sustainability reports, disclosures, policies and supply chain information in one easy-to-access location.
Resilient Food Systems
This page explores how resilient food systems help people access nutritious food and respond to disruption in a changing, interconnected world.
Last updated: July 1, 2026