CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US — A year after ADM issued its first ever sustainability bond, the global agribusiness has published its first Sustainability Bond Allocation Report detailing how it has begun to use the $750 million in proceeds to help scale up the company’s environmental and social projects.
Almost three quarters of the $376.1 million in allocated funds went to projects supporting sustainable agriculture, including investments and expenditures to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of land and ecosystems, which is critical to ADM’s future and the future of global food and agriculture supply chains. Projects in this area include efforts to expand production capacity to meet global demand for plant-based protein.
Another focus was socioeconomic advancement and empowerment, including SAVAN, a joint venture that developed a fully traceable vanilla supply chain in Madagascar that also supports investment in grower communities.
“At ADM, sustainable practices and environmental stewardship are pillars of our growth strategy and foundations of our purpose as a company,” the company said. “At a time when consumers around the world are increasingly expecting products to come from sustainable ingredients produced by companies that align with their values, environmental and social responsibility is increasingly at the forefront of today’s discussions with investors, customers, employees and other stakeholders.”
ADM has $367.4 million in net proceeds remaining from the sustainability bond to allocate. Eligible categories for funding from the sustainability bond are outlined in ADM’s Sustainable Financing Framework criteria, including research, development and investment in new products for sustainable agriculture; sustainable aquaculture; green buildings; energy efficiency; renewable energy; clean transportation; water and waste management; and pollution prevention and control.
“ADM is committed to continuing to scale up our sustainability efforts, including through continued allocation of our Sustainability Bond funds,” the company said. “As the production and consumption of food continues to grow and evolve, ADM is positioned to be at the forefront of those changes. We are dedicated to using our knowledge, experience and resources to drive these changes.”
The full Sustainability Bond Report can be found here.