AgroPages-Monsanto Company releases 2015 Sustainability Report-Agricultural news

Monsanto Company recently released its 2015 Sustainability Report. Since announcing some initial sustainability commitments in 2008, the company has advanced its principle of pursuing a broad range of sustainable agricultural solutions to help nourish a growing world.

“At Monsanto, we are proud to work with our collaborators and partners to cultivate meaningful change as we continue to take decisive action to further embed sustainability into our business,” said Jesus Madrazo, Monsanto’s Vice President of Corporate Engagement. “We are pleased to share our sustainability report and the positive progress we are making toward our commitments.”

The report, Growing Better Together, provides a transparent review of Monsanto’s sustainability efforts from three perspectives – people, planet and company.

-People: Helping make balanced meals more accessible for everyone on the planet, and improving lives for farmers, employees, consumers and communities.

-Planet: Pursuing agricultural solutions that help mitigate climate change, ensure access to fresh water, preserve biodiversity and improve soil health.

-Company: Placing high ethical standards, effective corporate governance, responsible product stewardship and transparent reporting at the center of the way it operates its business.

Monsanto recently advanced several important sustainability goals. The company has increased irrigation efficiency in its seed production business and curbed its operational greenhouse gas emissions intensity in its crop protection business. Monsanto also became the first company to partner with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund, making a multimillion-dollar commitment to support efforts to benefit monarch butterflies.

Other highlights from the 2015 report include the following:

-Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its crop protection operations by 22 percent by 2020: Attained 73 percent of goal.

-Increasing irrigation water application efficiency across the global seed production operation by 25 percent by 2020: Attained 35 percent of goal.

-Helping farmers use nutrients more efficiently to curb greenhouse gas emissions on 1 million acres in the United States by 2020: Attained 20 percent of goal.

-In December 2015, Monsanto announced its commitment to make its operational footprint carbon neutral by 2021 through a unique program targeted across its seed and crop protection operations, as well as through collaboration with farmers.

The full Monsanto 2015 Sustainability Report and highlight summary is available online here. Each year, the company publishes a sustainability report which includes its United Nations Global Compact Communication on Progress. This report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 voluntary Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. For the first time, the company also is reporting on how its efforts align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in September 2015.