FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, announced a new global sustainability platform that accelerates the company’s goals on climate change, food security, conservation and social justice. The platform builds on FMC’s 10 years of progress and represents the next evolution of the company’s ongoing commitment to advancing sustainable agriculture, globally.
“Throughout our history, FMC’s technology and ingenuity have empowered farmers to safely and sustainably grow food the world needs,” said Mark Douglas, president and chief executive officer of FMC. “Our new Greater Than Green platform takes FMC’s commitment to farmers, the environment and our communities to the next level with sharper, more aggressive targets to track our progress. On the eve of Earth Day 2022, we are proud to share how FMC is investing in our planet.”
Aligned with key U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, Greater Than Green accelerates agricultural innovation while advancing the company’s climate strategy and diversity, equity and inclusion goals. FMC’s commitments on these issues center on three areas: Protection, Innovation and Engagement. It is comprised of 11 strategic imperatives FMC will track and measure over time. Among the imperatives, FMC has committed to:
- Achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2035
- Use renewable energy at all FMC locations
- Broaden its portfolio of new solutions to maximize crop yields on existing farmland
- Enable advancements in farming that reduce on-farm carbon emissions and promote water stewardship
- Enrich lives and livelihoods of minority and smallholder farmers
- Cultivate a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace
FMC’s expanded sustainability commitments include a more rigorous focus on environmental metrics. As the company announced in 2021, one of its signature imperatives is an industry-leading target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. The company recently achieved the first milestone in its net-zero journey, submitting near-term 2030 emissions reduction targets to Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Business Ambition for 1.5°C. These include 42 percent absolute reduction for Scopes 1 and 2 emissions and 25 percent absolute reduction for Scope 3 emissions.
In addition to company-wide emissions, FMC is actively tracking and reducing water use and waste disposal across its manufacturing sites, and recently reset its long-term goals to drive greater improvements in water efficiency and waste reduction, reuse and recovery.
For example, FMC has committed to implement sustainable water practices as defined by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard at all sites by 2035. The company will focus first on high-risk areas, pursuing AWS certification for sites in those locations by 2030. Furthermore, FMC will pursue 100 percent waste-to-beneficial reuse by 2035, which includes reductions in waste generation, reuse of materials, recycling and energy recovery.