COFCO International publishes its 2022 Sustainability Report

“We remain committed to playing our part in accelerating the transition to sustainable agriculture, as we strive to feed the world responsibly,” says David Dong, COFCO International CEO. “We have made robust progress over the past five years, developing ground-breaking sustainability-linked financing solutions, building resilience and optimising our management of risks. In 2022, we ensured the ongoing and stable sourcing and supply of major commodities, and continued to participate in major industry initiatives to halt agriculture-related deforestation.
To address shared challenges, and to develop strategic solutions that deliver financial, social and environmental returns, the company is implementing the Agriculture Sector Roadmap to 1.5°C. As part of this initiative, it has committed to making its soy supply chain free of deforestation by 2025 in the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco, along with 13 other major agri-businesses (in compliance with applicable antitrust laws). This builds on its achievements in fulfilling the targets of its sustainability-linked loans by improving traceability and addressing social and environmental risks within its supply chains. In 2022, the company also launched its Responsible Agriculture Standard.

ESG Risk Rating

In June 2023, COFCO International (HK) Ltd., the parent company for COFCO International operations, has further improved its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Risk Rating from Morningstar Sustainalytics, which measures a company’s exposure to ESG factors and how well those are managed (COFCO International (HK) Ltd is the Licensed group entity, for this purposes). The Morningstar Sustainalytics score of 20.0 received in June categorises COFCO International (HK) Ltd. as “Low” risk, an improvement of 1.7 points from the previous year. Improvements were mainly driven by advancements in the company’s emissions reporting, climate risk management, deforestation policy, biodiversity programmes and efforts to improve the carbon and water intensity of its operations. This score places COFCO International (HK) Ltd. as #2 out of over 100 companies in the Sustainalytics agriculture sub-industry group.
Through this report, progress is disclosed against the five core areas of COFCO International’s sustainability strategy: connecting supply and demand, taking care of its people, managing its environmental impact, building strong communities and upholding standards. The report also explores opportunities for improvement and highlights evolving challenges and future plans to achieve its goals. 

2022 highlights include:

• Measured entire greenhouse gas footprint and assessed climate risks.
• 20% decrease in Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions compared to 2021.
• 89% of global energy needs were met by renewable energy.
• Secured a third sustainability-linked loan of $1.6bn after completing all previous targets.
• Supported the creation of Farmer First Clusters to incentivise sustainable practices.
• Screened 88% of palm oil supply base for social and environmental risks.
• 37% of total coffee sales volume was certified or verified as sustainable.
• COFCO International Brazil was awarded Great Place to Work certification.
• 10% reduction in lost-time injury frequency rate for employees.
• 78% of the company’s assets had zero lost-time incidents.
• Reached an estimated number of 49,000 beneficiaries through community investment.
• 22,303 training sessions on business ethics and policies delivered to employees.

The COFCO International 2022 Sustainability Report has been prepared with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and is available on the website: www.cofcointernational.com/sustainability/. It also provides a summary of the company’s contribution towards specific targets of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and explains how its sustainability efforts are aligned to the International Finance Corporation’s Environmental and Social Performance Standards.

About COFCO International
With more than 11,500 people in 37 countries, COFCO International is the overseas agriculture business platform for COFCO Corporation, China's largest food and agriculture company. COFCO International is focused on being a leader in the global grains, oilseeds, sugar, coffee and cotton supply chains, with assets across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company trades with over 50 nations, while providing farmers unique direct access to the growing Chinese market. In 2022, COFCO International sales volumes to third parties reached 127 million tonnes of commodities, achieving revenues of $53.3 billion. The company is accelerating its growth to create a world-class integrated global agriculture supply chain, anchored in China and competing globally.

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