Position Statements

Position On Climate Change

Of the many challenges agriculture faces today, the impact of a changing climate – from extreme weather events and wildfires; to melting glaciers; to compromised plant, animal, and marine habitats – may be one of the greatest that we face in this lifetime. Increasingly, farmers around the world are contending with shifting weather patterns; unpredictable water supplies; and threats from diseases, weeds and insects.

While producing a healthy food supply for the world, global agriculture does contribute to those climate change challenges. But farmers have a long history of overcoming challenges which is why we are optimistic about the future. We know there is a way forward for sustainable climate change mitigation that enables farmers to meet the demands of a growing population and secures the economic future for the vast majority of the world’s population who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.  

We are an industry with the ability to understand and react to global market demands and to harness science, technology, and innovation to reduce emissions and optimize sustainable agriculture.

We are a company of more than 22,000 passionate and dedicated employees with the expertise and resources to make measurable contributions to climate change.

To that end, we are a convener, working with farmers and food producers, and those outside our industry to listen, learn, and partner on the best solutions.

We are integrating consumers into the food system as informed and responsible partners. Enlightened and engaged consumers can help drive collective action across the food chain to ensure abundant, affordable and nutritious food for all in the face of the challenges of climate change.

We believe we can do more. We are making long-term commitments to accelerate progress, and that means supporting our entire food system with more economically and environmentally sustainable ways to produce and consume food.

To achieve meaningful impact, Corteva is working in the following ways:

The foundation: reduce our own footprint.

We, along with our production partners, are seeking ways to reduce emissions, minimize waste, conserve water and lower energy consumption at our sites.

We have established a climate strategy commitment and report the results openly and transparently.

Pursue areas of greatest innovation with farmers, large and small.

Farmers can lead the way, and we will continue to support them through digital tools that enable precision agriculture, new seed technology, and the next generation of crop protection products.

We are joining forces with partners to increase resilience to climate change. These partnerships will improve the economic livelihoods and nutrition of smallholder farmers; improve rural communities through increasing access to education, empowering women, increasing food security; and improve rural infrastructure and connectivity.

Nurture the essentials of growth – soil health and water.

Healthy soils produce more food, promote biodiversity, hold moisture better, and are less prone to erosion and nutrient loss.

We promote land stewardship and innovate to support the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans.

We help farmers apply the right amount of fertilizers at the right time and with the right methods to improve plant health and protect the environment.

We also partner with farmers to optimize on-farm water use, promoting water stewardship and greater resource efficiency.

Reduce footprint but go beyond what’s expected – climate positive.

Agriculture is working to shrink its role in the emission of greenhouse gasses.

We are seeking ways to reduce our impact and providing tools and incentives for our customers to do the same.

We champion climate positive agriculture, utilizing carbon storage and other means to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than we emit.

We can achieve this without sacrificing farmers’ productivity or ongoing profitability. The Corteva Agriscience Climate Positive Leaders Program recognizes farmers across the world for advancing this movement.

We know we can’t do this alone. We engage with multiple stakeholders and partners around the globe who have innovative and actionable ideas to help safeguard the health and well-being of our planet and its people.

Climate change impacts every one of us today as well as future generations. We believe that our industry can continue to improve, and we work with farmers and other key stakeholders to lead that change. We are committed to working together towards a solution. By doing more to address climate change today, we are fortifying our ability to grow food, grow progress and build a sustainable industry that will help humanity thrive for generations to come.

Ending global hunger is one of the greatest challenges, and opportunities, of our lifetime. We live in the most abundant period in history, yet one in nine people do not have enough food to nourish their lives. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), there are more than 820 million people who suffer from hunger around the world.

To advance food security, our global food system must navigate a myriad of hurdles, including: a future marked by climate change and declining natural resources; the need to access both adequate nutrition and adequate amounts of calories; under investment in agriculture; gaps in technology; regulations limiting producers’ ability to trade freely, consumers’ ability to access more affordable and nutritious food, and society’s ability to supply food to the places it is needed most. And, while we have improved the production of crops and livestock over the years, trillions of pounds of food go to waste each year.

The world’s population is expected to grow from 7 billion today to 9 billion by 2050. To keep up with our growing population, global agriculture production must increase by more than 60 percent. At the same time, consumer expectations for safe, abundant and nutritious food are echoing all the way though the food system, putting unique demands on farmers.

As a global pure-play agriculture company, Corteva Agriscience is committed to farmers and to meeting the demand for healthier food and sustainable agriculture. Corteva Agriscience is leading and influencing the entire food value chain and policies through action. Specifically, we are advancing food security and contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) in the following ways:

• Agriculture development. Smallholder farmers produce most of the world’s food, yet also suffer from some of the highest levels of poverty and food insecurity. We are enriching the lives of millions of smallholder farmers around the world with improved technologies and practices to combat global hunger and ensure progress for generations to come. We work with non-governmental organizations, governments, and multi-national banks to increase incomes, build resilience to climate change and improve the nutrition of smallholder farmers. For example, in Tanzania, we are partnering with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to reach 400,000 smallholder farmers. Through this partnership Corteva hybrid corn seeds have tripled the productivity of smallholder farmers, while USAID investments are ensuring grain from the same farmers is fortified by local millers to be served in local school meals.
• Community investment. We are enriching rural communities across the world by increasing access to education, engaging youth, empowering women and supporting local food security initiatives such as food banks and local organizations.
• Sustainable agriculture. We share our knowledge and expertise so that farmers, large and small, can protect their land and increase productivity while decreasing their use of natural resources. We develop seeds that can thrive in challenging and volatile conditions and crop protection products that make farms more resilient by controlling weeds, insects, and plant diseases while protecting the environment and human health.

• Technology and innovation. We work to create smart farms through the application of digital data and scientific and technological innovation. We work with farmers to modernize and streamline their operations – augmenting their experience and know-how with high-tech intelligence that controls risk and drives productivity. We help farmers meet the demand using software and analytics to make farming more profitable and efficient today and in the future. We combine the experience and insight of farmers, the broad and deep knowledge of agronomists, data scientists and industry partners, and the innovative business and technical acumen of entrepreneurs and engineers. Today our suite includes management software, the leading farmland real estate analysis tool and precision agronomy software for ag retailers.
• Food system connections.  We listen and learn from farmers so that we can be true advocates for their interests and develop the products and services that allow them to grow abundant harvests and healthy businesses. We also work to build new connections between farmers, food producers and consumers, so that growers understand market demands and develop the agility and responsiveness needed to thrive.

Farming communities are facing many barriers to building and attracting future talent. The agricultural workforce of the future will need to develop solutions that overcome climate change, declining rural youth populations, inequality for women and minority farmers, and aging infrastructure. Corteva Agriscience is helping growers produce an abundance of nutritious food by leveraging the knowledge and experiences of people from a wide range of professional fields, such as biotechnology, finance, nutrition, ecology, information technology, genetics and manufacturing, just to name a few.

Today’s agricultural workforce is poised to improve the economic livelihoods of farming communities. Our people are working to increase access to education, infrastructure and technology. This will require a work force with curiosity, passion, and a drive to enrich the lives of future generations. Stakeholders throughout the food value chain must have a deep commitment to preparing future generations of farmers, agricultural workers, business leaders and consumers by:

• Creating a ‘safety first’ mindset.  Current and future agricultural workers must know that their safety and health is of utmost importance.  We must ensure that safety program training is completed, audits conducted, and personal protective equipment is provided and properly used. We will also continue to require those who directly employ future ag workers to provide the same core set of tools to their employees. This will create an environment in which ag workers can flourish and the agriculture industry can grow.

• Commitment to ethical behavior.  We must conduct ourselves and our business affairs in accordance with the highest ethical standards in compliance with all applicable laws, treat others with respect, compensate properly, follow worker protection safety, and protect the environment and ensure those who we partner with conduct themselves with the same standards.

• Encouraging life-long learning. For our modern agricultural work force, learning will be a life-long pursuit. Industry stakeholders must be engaged in on-the-ground training around modern farming methods, agricultural innovation, data technology, and basic agronomy. Similarly, large organizations can learn from smallholders who are solving problems on the ground related to drought, disease or flood.

• Engaging our communities. Agricultural communities are the heart of the industry. These are the communities where our employees, customers, and partners live and work. We must work collaboratively with educators to share knowledge around the importance of science, technology, and agriculture and how it interacts with other disciplines, sectors, and their communities.

• Enabling future generations. Corteva has pledged to support projects and programs that lead to educational achievement and development for youth around the world to build a diverse agricultural workforce for the future. Young people need to be exposed early and often to technology, science and subjects that will prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow. Work experience, through paid internships and apprenticeships with a focus on sustainability, technology, and agricultural productivity, should be a standard part of school curricula.

• Empowering women. Global agriculture is dependent on women business leaders, farmers and laborers, yet they often do not get the support they need to bring prosperity to their families and communities. The agricultural industry has a moral, ethical and economic responsibility to help women become sustainable and prosperous agricultural stakeholders. We know that women are essential partners in feeding the world, yet they face challenges that do not allow them equitable access to opportunities, resources, and technology assets and services.

• Partnering across sectors. Feeding a world that demands more, higher-quality food, requires courageous collaboration. New and more meaningful public and private partnerships are essential in creating a sustainable work force. Our Science Ambassadors program engages our employees as partners with agricultural organizations, schools, universities, and other organizations to build lasting collaboration.

Corteva Agriscience is committed to the communities we live in, work in, and partner with. These are the communities that house the students, parents and community members who will shape modern agricultural technology. These are the communities that are growing humanity’s future, and we are excited to be a part of it. 

Quality nutritious food is the foundation for healthy lives and thriving communities. However, the quest to produce more food sometimes overshadows the need to produce better food. Corteva wants to help lead the transition from a food economy focused on delivering quantity, to one that delivers sustainable quality as well.

While there has been progress on the global food security front, the world continues to face chronic nutritional challenges. In the span of one generation, over-nutrition has come to eclipse under nutrition. Two billion people are overweight or obese, many in developing nations, while 900 million people struggle with the challenges of malnutrition. And billions of people are not getting all the vitamins and minerals necessary for their growth and healthy development.

By 2050, we will need to produce more than 60 percent more food for our dinner tables than we do today. That means we need increased yields of major crops at more than twice the rate of these yield increases over the prior half century. And, it means that we must cultivate more of the nutritious and healthy food that we all want and need – while using fewer natural resources and facing changing climates. Ramping up food production in a sustainable way and ensuring quality of our lands and soils for the long-term makes the challenge that much greater.

Corteva Agriscience collaborates across the food system to help ensure safe, nutritious and plentiful food. We believe nutritional security can be advanced in the following ways:

• Make nutrient content a focus in plant breeding.  Plant breeding has traditionally focused on increasing the yield of staple crops, their resistance to pests and disease, and decreasing need for water. Plant breeding should be expanded to focus on nutrient content and for a broader set of crops.

• Embrace the development of advanced breeding technologies. Advanced plant breeding technologies, like CRISPR, enhance the best natural attributes already present in plants. CRISPR will help reduce food waste by helping farmers grow vegetables that don’t spoil as easily, have better flavor, as well as grains and vegetables with more nutrients and healthier oil profiles. CRISPR also holds the promise of eliminating allergic or other harmful reactions some people have to certain foods. Consumer acceptance and continued science-based regulations are necessary for this breakthrough technology to deliver its full potential.

• Support biofortified crops.  Biofortification is a powerful tool to add nutrient dense traits to staple crops like maize, rice, beans and cassava, especially in the developing world. Corteva is part of the Africa Biofortified Sorghum Project, a public-private partnership that is working to improve the health and survival of millions of people by adding pro-vitamin A to sorghum. Based on conservative estimates, currently achievable biofortified sorghum has the potential to contribute between 35 to 60 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A for children in Africa.

• Protect nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables. Continue to advance crop protection products, including using biological approaches and digital technologies to protect nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables that are susceptible to insect pests and diseases. 

Today’s farmers are being asked to produce higher yields with fewer resources, all while facing changing climate conditions. These stressors, combined with global trends such as rapid population growth and increased demand for nutritious foods, mean farmers need innovative agricultural tools to respond. Corteva Agriscience is committed to innovating solutions that will create value for society and ensure sustainability.

The United Nations estimates that by 2050, farmers will need to produce more than 60 percent more food, feed and biofuel production than they did in 2012. This is provided for a population that is expected to grow to nine billion in the next 30 years. Agricultural technology is poised to fill this gap by making food more nutritious and farmland use more efficient. Advances in this space have already allowed farmers to increase their crop productivity through higher yields and pest- and disease-resistance -- all in a more sustainable way.

Corteva is collaborating with leaders around the world to develop and deploy innovative technologies through our Open Innovation platform. Our objective is to find new ways to collaborate with all the bright minds who work outside of the company. We are building solutions for tomorrow’s problems today by partnering with farmers, consumers, and even innovators outside our industry in our three core product areas.

• Seed and Germplasm. Food production starts with a seed. Recent breakthroughs in biotechnology are equipping farmers with efficient, targeted tools to produce more and better food with fewer resources. Since the 1800s, scientists have bred plants with desired genetic characteristics that result in higher yields, disease resistance, longer shelf life and better nutrition. Today’s breeding systems are fully digital - data-driven by design and leveraging artificial intelligence to improve the speed with which new varieties are developed. Modern targeted breeding innovations, like CRISPR-Cas, are a continuation of that natural technique. Targeted agricultural breeding can produce fruits, vegetables and grains that taste better, are more nutritious and do not spoil as easily, reducing food waste. Additionally, seeds can help farmers respond to drought and disease conditions, even potentially allowing for regional hybrids that can optimize production where food security is a priority.

• Crop Protection. Though food production may start with the seed, farmers need additional tools to control pests, weeds and disease. Crop protection helps support sustainability by protecting the viability of individual plants, ensuring that valuable resources like water and soil are not wasted. Additionally, crop protection products can be applied when and where they are needed most, eliminating unnecessary environmental and human exposure and supporting ecological diversity.

• Precision Farming. Precision farming lies at the intersection of biology and data, offering farmers a holistic approach to understanding their farms and optimizing production. Through machine learning, our customers can understand in real time what is happening with their seeds, their fields, and their yield. With this critical information, farmers are making decisions daily that impact their current growing season and shape the next one. Corteva Agriscience is giving our customers easy tools to make the right decisions for the right crop at the right time. Precision farming supports farmers as they make the best choices for their productivity, for the environment, and for the sustainability of our resources.

We recognize the importance of societal considerations as we bring innovation and technology to the marketplace. Corteva Agriscience believes that open, candid discussions with consumers about new technologies are vital to building shared value for innovations in agriculture. We are proud to support farmers with tools that combine targeted breeding, right-sized crop protection, and precision agriculture that help them meet consumer demands. We are committed to innovation that maximizes yield and crop quality, while ensuring sustainability throughout food systems.

Farmers have always had to fight crop damage as a result of disease, weeds, insects and other pests. As the world faces the side effects of a warming climate, farmers are faced with new pests and diseases, while under pressure to produce more food, and more nutritious food, using fewer resources. Farmers have always needed tools to protect their harvest. Today that need is more critical than ever.

Corteva Agriscience provides farmers with innovative agricultural solutions, while ensuring the sustainability of our planet. Crop protection products are one solution for helping reduce the use of resources and increase the viability of crops. Crop protection products (i.e. insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides) have become a tool that farmers can right-size, using the right product in the right amount, at the right time. Crop protection solutions enable farmers to deliver safe, nutritious and abundant food to consumers, in a way that minimizes resource waste and limits the impact of farming on our climate.

The crop protection product development and approval process is one of the most stringent in the world. Approximately 150 studies per product must be done to assess environmental and human health impacts, and those studies must be done in compliance with international standards on Good Laboratory Practice. Government regulators conduct their own risk assessments to assess safety, exposure levels, residual exposure and adverse effects. Only products that meet the most stringent guidelines are authorized. And this 11-year process is only the beginning. Post-authorization, pesticide products must be monitored, and additional safety and periodic review data must be provided to authorities. Our international laws and regulations ensure the safe utilization of these products and minimize their impact on environmental and human health. Companies like Corteva rely on predictable and science-based regulation as we develop innovations to bring to market.

Corteva Agriscience is committed to:

• Recognizing societal considerations as we bring innovation and technology to the marketplace;

• Encouraging science-based and risk-based regulation that is protective of human health, the environment and industry innovation;

• Pursuing natural pesticide options, including biopesticides and molecular-based pesticides, that exploit natural disruptors like fermented bacteria to interfere with pest and disease pathogenicity and resistance;

• Pursuing “green” delivery systems including targeted-delivery, low use rates and technologies that reduce drift and waste;

• Complying with customers and regulatory entities to ensure that innovation meets the needs of producers in a safe and sustainable way;

• Enhancing public confidence in the regulatory process by ensuring effective transparency of safety data; and

• Advocating on behalf of growers around the world to provide the solutions they need as they provide nutrition to the world.

Farmers have long been viewed as conservators of our land and rural resources. Today, farmers are being asked to grow more nutritious foods while working against drought, flooding, pests and disease. To do so, the agricultural community must ensure farmers have the land and resources to grow more food while conserving natural resources.

Corteva Agriscience believes that the tools used in modern agriculture help farmers overcome these barriers and conserve soil, water, and biodiversity. We believe that conservation is not at odds with agriculture; it is the logical and natural partner to agriculture.

• Protection of Biodiversity. We recognize the necessity of preserving biodiversity and protecting at-risk natural resources related to changing land use or exposure to non-organic substances. We partner with farmers, local communities, and other organizations to enhance biodiversity and protect ecologically critical communities. Many of these communities, for example pollinators, are especially critical to growing the fruits and vegetables that people find in their lunch boxes and on their dining room tables. Biodiversity efforts must be monitored and credible scientific research must be done to understand how land use, crop protection, and other agricultural practices affect biodiversity.

• Water Conservation & Quality. Farmers depend on water for their livelihood. According to the United Nations, while there is enough freshwater on the planet for our current global population, parts of the world are already experiencing sustained water shortages due to waste, pollution, uneven distribution, and unsustainable management. Corteva and the agricultural industry are applying new means to conserve water use across the value chain. We work with farmers and rural communities to conserve water use and maximize soil and nutrient retention. We support the continuation of science-based regulation that does not place an undue burden on our agricultural communities.

• Soil Conservation. Soil provides the nutrients and protection plants need to grow; it is a vital ecosystem that sustains all life. Corteva believes in promoting land stewardship practices and innovations geared toward protecting and enhancing the integrity and capacity of our working croplands. Higher-quality soils yield higher-quality produce. Our ability to transform soil into nutritious food that sustains life the world over must be protected, as should the wellbeing of our farmers and their communities.

The agricultural industry, policy stakeholders, and farming communities will need to work together to bring the innovations, actions, and results needed to provide our planet’s growing population with sustainable, affordable, available and delicious food. Corteva supports efforts to:

• Inform local communities about decisions that affect biodiversity, water and soil conservation in their communities, and engage local farmers in any environmental oversight activities.

• Engage with these communities on topics around conservation, the importance of their local ecosystems, land use, etc.

• Provide technical, financial, and educational assistance to farmers as they work to meet regulatory requirements, industry best practices, and societal expectations for soil and water conservation and biodiversity.

• Capture, assess, and share data and scientific findings about conservation practices, societal benefit, environmental outcomes, and economic impact.

• Enact science-based environmental regulations and conservation policies that result in well-defined and science-based protocols to ensure the balanced wellbeing of our natural resources and our farming communities.

• Encourage voluntary programs that incentivize farmers to implement effective conservation practices.

Our most important responsibility as a company is to ensure that our products and practices are safe for humans, animals and the environment. Laboratory studies play a critical role in enabling us to fulfill this responsibility. At Corteva Agriscience, it is our policy to conduct animal studies only when necessary to satisfy safety requirements – those imposed by regulators or by our own rigorous standards – and only after all other viable alternatives have been considered and determined to be inadequate. We are committed to leading our industry in implementing the established principles of the 3Rs: “Reduce the numbers of animals used in animal studies; Refine the methods used in animal studies and Replace an animal study with an alternative non-animal method wherever possible.” Our CEO and Board of Directors review our progress annually. 

Context

Corteva’s most important responsibility as a company is ensuring the safety of our products and practices – for humans, animals and the environment. Our products support the global supply of nutritious and affordable food by improving crop performance and combating the harmful effects of pests, weeds, and disease.  

Our own stringent safety standards and those of regulatory bodies around the world help assure the crops farmers grow and the food we eat are safe. Meeting these standards requires us to evaluate data from a variety of sources including computer modeling, cell-based tests and animal studies.

Our Commitment

Our actions with respect to the use of animals in studies are governed by three important principles known as the “3Rs”. These “3Rs” reflect our commitment to:

• Reduce the numbers of animals used in animal studies
• Refine the methods used in animal studies
• Replace an animal study with an alternative non-animal method wherever possible.

The animals required for safety testing are specified by the existing regulatory requirements of countries where farmers use our products.

We strive to be a leader in the 3Rs because it is the right thing to do, it is consistent with our values, and it is important to us, and to our employees, customers, and partners.

Reducing the numbers of animals used in our studies

We continually assess and implement alternative, non-animal methods wherever possible. When government regulations require testing that we believe is scientifically unjustified, we collaborate with local regulatory bodies, NGOs, and others to seek to eliminate or reduce animal testing requirements. Our efforts in this regard have contributed to the reduction or elimination of animal-testing requirements for certain studies in the United States, the European Union, Brazil, Japan and Korea, among others.

Refining the methods used in animal studies

In situations where there are no alternatives to animal studies for assessing safety, we ensure that the animals involved are treated ethically and compassionately.

All of our study facilities are designed to ensure that animals receive humane care by highly competent staff who participate in ongoing training, and our facilities and staff are regularly assessed to ensure adherence to our high standards of ethical care.

In addition to strict compliance with applicable laws and regulations regarding animal studies, including the US Animal Welfare Act and Regulations (AWAR), we seek to exceed these requirements whenever possible.

Replacing animal studies with an alternative non-animal method wherever possible

Before proceeding with any study involving animals, we first ensure it is scientifically justified and/or a necessary regulatory requirement. This includes conducting a comprehensive search for available information that might reduce or eliminate the need for animal studies.

We continually assess and implement alternative, non-animal methods wherever possible, such as computer modeling or cell-based assays. As part of this process, our team collaborates with external academic and industry experts to help ensure that we conduct animal studies only in the absence of other viable alternatives.

Other Resources:

Understandinganimalresearch.org.uk

NC3Rs (https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/)

Americans for Medical Progress (https://www.amprogress.org/animal-research/)

US Animal Welfare Act (https://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/animal-welfare-act)

Contact:
Communications@Corteva.com