Cargill gets an 'ACE' for being socially responsible

In November 2008, Cargill China, a subsidiary of United States-based Cargill Co, won the Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) from US Secretary of State, for its leadership in corporate responsibility in promoting rural development in China.

The State Department awards two ACE's annually, and one large and one small company are honored. Cargill China was chosen in the large company category from more than 60 nominations submitted by American ambassadors worldwide.

While the honor is recent, Cargill, a provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services, has been working in China since 1972, shortly after US President Richard Nixon's historic visit, when it cooperated with the Chinese government to supply grain. Since then, it has moved its entire chain of services into China and is noted for its CSR work in agriculture.

"Cargill truly stands out in its commitment to rural agricultural development, environmental protection, and disaster relief efforts in the country," said Norwell Coquillard, president of Cargill China.

Agricultural development

Cargill has two research laboratories in Beijing and Shanghai devoted to improving agricultural efficiency in rural areas and it has trained over 2.1 million Chinese farmers in crop nutrition, animal husbandry and feeding technologies.

Through its China Cares Fund Program, Cargill has also invested more than $1.2 million in rural education development programs. About $500,000 of the fund was used to renovate school facilities in over 20 schools located near Cargill factories.

Moreover, Cargill's employees have worked with local communities in several projects ranging from planting trees, donating computers, books and school bags, as well providing scholarships to over 600 students from poor families.

With its global expertise on food processing, Cargill China has also taken a lead role in implementing programs to ensure the safety and quality of food products with its Hazard Analysis and Critical Points (HACCP) plan in its 34 plants in 20 provinces across China.

The HACCP program anticipates points at which food safety challenges might arise during the production and processing stage to ensure the highest standards of food safety requirements are met.

In March 2008, Cargill reached an agreement with China's government to provide food safety management training program for officials and business leaders in quality inspection and quarantine service.

Eco-protection

In the last 10 years, Cargill established 31 employee-led Cargill Cares Councils throughout China to participate in natural resources protection works.

For instance, the company has donated 8.3 million yuan to the Nature Conservancy, a US-based international environmental NGO, to protect the biological diversity in the Yangtze Basin and in Yunnan province.

And the company's environmental conservation efforts in the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve (SNNR) region in Yunnan province played a crucial role in protecting the biological diversity and freshwater ecosystems.

(China Daily 01/05/2009 page10)