The Road to COP28

With horrific wars disrupting supply chains and driving ongoing humanitarian crises in Europe and the Middle East, and with 2023 being named the warmest year on record – with a concurrent increase of severe weather events such as heavier rains and floods, longer heatwaves, droughts and wildfires – it continues to become more and more clear that the world needs to come together to tackle both food security and climate change as a single, intertwined global priority.

Earlier this year, the COP28 UAE Presidency issued a call to governments and the global food community to commit to scaling solutions, investments and partnerships to advance the resiliency of food systems while combating climate change. This year's meeting, which takes place between November 30 and December 12, will be the first COP to include a day dedicated to Food, Agriculture and Water. 

At ADM, we believe that everyone has the right to the food they need to sustain their lives. And, with sustainability as a pillar of our purpose and a foundation of our growth strategy, we are committed to leading our industry in finding new, innovative ways to meet the world’s needs both for food security and sustainability.

ADM is a pillar of the global food system, and a leader in sustainable agriculture and food solutions, we know we cannot do this alone. That’s why ADM will be at COP28 to engage with stakeholders spanning the food and agriculture value chain on collaborative adoption of practices that can help feed the world and protect nature.

Supporting the Agriculture Supply Chain of the future
At ADM, everything starts on the farm. In 2022, we enrolled over one million North American acres in regenerative agriculture programs, sequestering 115,500 metric tons of CO2 and reducing CO2e emissions by 253,000 metric tons -- equivalent to removing more than 80,000 cars from the road for a year. We’re already nearing our goal of 2 million acres in 2023, and just announced the expansion of our efforts into Brazil as we continue to build toward 4 million acres globally by 2025. 

Regenerative agriculture isn’t just about reducing carbon footprints. It’s also about securing the food system of the future. One of our critical measures of regenerative agriculture success is productivity – we're helping farmers do more with less by working with them to support Indigenous ways of land management, including: 
•    Minimizing soil disturbance
•    Maintaining living roots in soil
•    Continuously covering bare soil
•    Maximizing diversity with emphasis on crops, soil microbes, and pollinators; and 
•    Responsibly managing inputs including nutrients and pesticides. 

This strengthens our food system today and for the future, while simultaneously ensuring we’re meeting the evolving needs of consumers, the overwhelming majority of whom – according to our recent paper, “Farming for the Future: The State of Regenerative Agriculture Program Adoption” – are more likely to trust and purchase from retailers and brands that implement regenerative agriculture programs.

The supply chain of the future needs to protect nature in other ways as well. Last year, ADM committed to deforestation-free supply chains by 2025. Now we’re adding to our ambitious goals, with a new commitment to have all direct supply chains free of conversion of primary native vegetation in defined high-risk areas by December 31, 2025, and indirect supply chains free of conversion of primary native vegetation in defined high-risk areas by no later than December 31, 2027. ADM continues to work with soy sector partners and stakeholders, which is critical to advancing these key goals. ADM signed the Agriculture Sector Roadmap to 1.5°C and has continued to work with the Tropical Forest Alliance, The Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (ABIOVE) and industry peers over the last year on creating solutions within the soy sector that protect nature.