Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), one of the largest producers of Soy has announced that it is moving towards zero deforestation in its soy supply chain by embedding the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its updated raw materials strategy.
As part of its new Soy Sustainability Policy, LDC has committed to publish information on all soy plantations it sources from – either directly or indirectly – as it already does with palm oil.
LDC’s statement read: “Soybean oil is already the second most widely used oil in the world. And global soy production is predicted to continue to grow significantly, to provide both edible oil and livestock protein feed. And it’s not surprising: for soy is richer in protein than milk, eggs and even pork.
Most recently, demand for soy was also boosted by the biofuel sector using the crop to produce alternatives to fossil energy.
But soy production comes with a cost – for the environment and for local communities. At LDC, we are actively engaging with our partners across our supply chain, and beyond, to minimize adverse impacts and help the industry to grow sustainably: the challenge is to generate income for farmers and the industry, providing employment and valuable earnings, but also protect biodiversity and preserve ecologically valuable natural resources and habitats.”
“As a leader in agribusiness, LDC has a key role to play in addressing this challenge,” said Gonzalo Ramírez Martiarena, Chief Executive Officer at LDC.
Their statement continues: “Our new Soy Sustainability Policy sets out our intent regarding environmental impact, human rights, worker practices, and anti-bribery and corruption, in relation to soy production . It also underlines our continuing commitment to comply with all eight fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Government, business and civil society all have a stake in these issues, as do farmers and our customers and business partners; which is why we see collaboration as the key to a more sustainable future.
We work with the Soft Commodities Forum at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and with a wide range of experts and partners within the industry and beyond, including a number of certification bodies, to effect positive change while taking all stakeholders’ interests into account”
“We really believe that working together towards [these] goals is most important. Because just as we all face the same challenges, we can only address them if we work together,” added Gonzalo Ramírez Martiarena.
André Roth, Senior Head of Oilseeds & Value Chain Platforms at LDC, outlined how the new policy addresses the challenge to produce enough food for a rapidly growing global population while protecting the society and environment in which we all live.
“The challenge is to use limited resources efficiently and responsibly – this is part of our day-to-day, and as any business will tell you, doing so successfully is a clear indicator of strong performance,” said André. “In this sense, preserving increasingly scarce resources – including land, water and forests – is not just a matter of sustainability – it makes business sense, and it makes common sense.”
