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Corteva Agriscience announces 2030 sustainability goals

June 24, 2020

Corteva Agriscience announced earlier this month a list of sustainability goals the company plans to achieve by 2030.

The list includes 14 goals that span a wide range of initiatives for farmers, the land, communities where employees and customers live and work, and in its own operations.

“Our mission to lead the entire agriculture industry toward better, more sustainable outcomes across the world is more important now than ever,” said James C. Collins, Jr., CEO of Corteva in an announcement. “We believe there is no better time to commit to protecting and preserving the source of our food and helping our communities thrive. We support those who provide for us all.”

Improvements in soil health, on-farm productivity, climate action, water stewardship, biodiversity, supply chain transparency, and worker safety, among others, are included.

The company’s 10-year commitments will provide tools and training to help increase yield stability, optimize inputs, and improve climate resilience. Commitments to soil health, water stewardship, and biodiversity are also included.

Corteva will report progress toward these goals through an annual sustainability report starting in 2021. For more information on the 2030 sustainability goals, visit sustainability.corteva.com.

The company’s 2030 sustainability goals include:

Goals to benefit farmers

  • Provide training for 25 million growers on soil health, nutrient and water stewardship, and productivity best practices.
  • Help increase the productivity, incomes, and sustainable farming practices of 500 million smallholder farmers cumulatively through 2030.
  • Design, validate and scale management systems that will enable farmers to sustainably increase crop yields by 20% compared to 2020 as a baseline, while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% within cropping systems compared to 2020.

Goals to benefit the land

  • Improve soil health on 30 million hectares of global agricultural land by 2030.
  • Support water stewardship advances in global agricultural production by 2030: Help accelerate improvement in nitrogen use efficiency across global agricultural land by 2030; and reduce water consumption while helping to increase yields on 2.5 million hectares of seed production and water stressed agricultural land by 2030 compared to 2020.
  • Enhance biodiversity on more than 10 million hectares of grazing lands and natural ecosystems globally through sustainable management practices and habitat conservation by 2030.

Goals to benefit communities

  • Protect the safety of people at Corteva facilities and those working in agriculture.
  • Empower women, enable youth, and engage communities around the globe where Corteva Agriscience employees and customers live and work, by 2030.
  • Volunteer one million employee hours to support people and communities around the world by 2030.
  • Increase supply chain transparency from farmers to consumers, by leveraging digital tools that enable farmers to create additional value through transparency in agriculture markets, food systems, and communities.

Goals for the company’s operations

  • Ensure every new product meets its sustainability criteria by 2025.
  • Establish a climate strategy for scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, including appropriate reduction targets by June 1, 2021.
  • Only use recyclable or reusable packaging by 2030.
  • Operate every site more sustainably through waste reduction, water conservation, and enhanced biodiversity.
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Corteva Agriscience announces 2030 sustainability goals | Clay & Milk
A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.
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