COFCO International joins sustainability group WBCSD

Agricultural commodities dealer COFCO International has joined nearly 200 forward-thinking companies as the newest member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Headquartered in Geneva, COFCO International handles over 100 million tons of agricultural commodities each year. With 12,000 people in 35 countries, COFCO International is the overseas agriculture business platform for COFCO Corporation, China's largest food and agriculture company. The WBCSD partnership is part of COFCO International’s work to contribute to a sustainable global food supply chain.

COFCO International also becomes a member of WBCSD’s Soft Commodities Forum (SCF) which includes founding members Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), and Glencore Agriculture who have recently joined the SCF. The first focus area of the SCF is to tackle soy production land use challenges in the Brazilian Cerrado.

By connecting with WBCSD’s network of forward-thinking businesses across a variety of sectors, COFCO International can make a true impact on global corporate sustainability.

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Mr Johnny Chi, Chairman of COFCO International, states: “As a fast-growing global agri-business, we are committed to playing an integral part in the world’s food system over the long term, building on our core values of partnership and sustainability. WBCSD offers a platform for further collaboration with stakeholders across various industries with the common goal of feeding a growing global population sustainably.”

WBCSD President and CEO Peter Bakker says: “Transformation of the global food system is essential and will cover a wide array of sustainability targets. It’s not simply about reducing emissions in this sector – addressing malnutrition, providing healthy diets and improving the livelihoods and resilience of small farmers is just as urgent.”

“As one of the world’s largest agri-businesses, the inclusion of COFCO International towards these efforts is vital. Mr Chi has already overseen an impressive focus on sustainability across the company. I look forward to working with Mr Chi and his team to scale up these efforts in tandem with our other member companies in this sector and with our Council of over 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world.”