Ethical Business Conduct and Compliance

Cargill is committed to conducting business ethnically and responsibly, to honoring our obligations and to treating everyone with dignity and respect.

The maritime industry is a traditional industry and there remains room for improvement to modernize procedures that will promote higher levels of transparency and professionalism. Issues such as the illegal or unethical treatment of seafarers, fraudulent registration of ships, inaccurate reporting on vessel performance or failure to respect contractual obligations are just some of the areas where progress is still required.

We are known throughout the shipping industry – and in all industries where we operate across the world – as a company that conducts its business in a legal and ethical manner. Since Cargill’s founding in 1865, and for more than 150 years, we have acted on the belief that doing the right thing sets the foundation for sustainable success.

Cargill's Code of Conduct outlines the company's ethical and compliance standards for conducting business. The code is grounded in a set of Guiding Principles which are ingrained in our culture and serve as the foundation for the behaviors expected from our employees, contractors and suppliers in all parts of the world. Cargill ocean transportation business strictly adheres to this code, and we require our suppliers to comply with our corresponding Supplier Code of Conduct.

We have zero tolerance for bribery and other corrupt practices. We continue to advocate for increased transparency and accountability and reduced corruption across the maritime industry, notably through our active membership of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) where our ocean transportation lead lawyer is Vice Chair. We are also active members of the BIMCO (the international shipping association) where we are involved in drafting standard contracts and clauses used in standard-form charterparties across the maritime industry, designed to create balanced and fair risk allocation between shipowners and charterers.

Read more about our 2020 targets for ethical business conduct and compliance and our progress to date.