COFCO International’s emissions reduction targets have recently been validated and published by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This approval confirms the company’s targets are aligned with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, making it the first global major agri-business to have science-based targets in line with SBTi's "1.5°C-aligned" criteria.
The internationally respected SBTi platform was launched in 2015 by CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It aims to help companies to set science-based emission reduction targets by providing standards, tools and guidance. In 2021, SBTi updated its criteria to increase minimum ambition in corporate target setting from ‘well below 2°C’ to ‘1.5°C’ above pre-industrial levels.
As the global agriculture commodity trading arm for COFCO Corporation, COFCO International and other 13 world’s largest agri-commodity traders issued the Agriculture Sector Roadmap to 1.5°C in 2022, committed to having science-based emissions reduction targets verified by external third parties. SBTi’s approval to COFCO International’s 10-year short term emissions reduction targets makes it the very first among global major agri-commodity traders to have targets in line with the "1.5°C-aligned" criteria.
“Climate change is already creating challenges for supply continuity in the agricultural commodities sector that in turn impact food security,” says David Dong, CEO, COFCO International. “A strong climate strategy based on science will help us to mitigate these impacts and help achieve the transition to sustainable agriculture and a low carbon economy. Climate action sits at the core of our efforts to protect the cultivation of the crops we source, reducing risk and helping to ensure access to nourishing, affordable food, while strengthening the future success of our business.”
The Paris Agreement, adopted at COP21 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2015, mandates each Party work to limit the global average temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to aim for 1.5°C.
To accelerate its climate actions, COFCO International started to implement a climate strategy in 2022. In 2023, the company achieved an 8% year-on-year reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions, while 89% of its energy needs were met with renewables. With the majority of its GHG footprint in its supply chain Scope 3, the company focuses on increasing soy supply chain traceability in Latin America, and takes addressing land use change (deforestation and conversion) associated with soy production as a top priority.
For more information, please visit www.cofcointernational.com.
