Message From Our CSO

In September 2022, LDC kicked off an in-depth materiality assessment to identify and define the sustainability topics that matter most to our business and stakeholders. Extensive desktop research was conducted on market developments, industry trends and regulatory evolutions, and input on the most critical sustainability focus areas for LDC were collected through surveys and interviews of key stakeholders: the Group’s Supervisory Board, top management and employees, as well as customers, suppliers, financial partners and NGOs.

The materiality assessment confirmed we have been advancing in the right direction in several areas, in particular with regard to climate change and land use change, which ranked top of the sustainability agenda.

Action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy and electricity consumption is a major element of our decarbonization journey, led by our Carbon Solutions Platform since 2021, and in March 2023 we formalized our target for Scope 1 and 2 emissions reductions of 33.6% by 2030. We also aim to disclose our Scope 3 emissions through our first CDP reporting in 2023, and formalize our Scope 3 reduction target in 2024.

Promoting responsible land use by avoiding loss or degradation of natural habitats is a critical enabler for climate change mitigation, as well as biodiversity and water conservation, and therefore also an issue prioritized by a vast majority of stakeholders interviewed for our materiality assessment. This resonates with our work to eliminate deforestation and native vegetation conversion for agricultural purposes in our supply chains by the end of 2025, supported by supply chain traceability efforts.

Our materiality assessment also highlighted areas for improvement in 2023 and beyond, with regard to human and labor rights, and responsible sourcing. The importance attributed to these topics by our stakeholders confirmed our existing plan to roll out a formal human rights policy, formalizing our commitment to uphold human and labor rights in our operations and supply chains. Similarly, we began work in 2022 toward a Group-wide responsible sourcing policy and grievance protocol, building on existing product-specific supplier codes and policies across LDC.

Importantly, our 2022 materiality assessment led to a sustainability materiality matrix that will serve as the foundation of our future sustainability strategy, to be formalized in 2023, and will also inform our sustainability reporting framework going forward, with reference toGlobal Reporting Initiative standards.

In 2022, we also worked to further enhance sustainability governance for additional oversight at various levels of the organization. While our Supervisory Board supervises overall sustainability strategy and direction, a new executive-level Sustainability Committee was established to guide the execution of our strategy and address associated risks and opportunities. This committee is in addition to our existing dedicated Human Rights and Environment Committees, inviting external expertise and guidance on best practices and strategy implementation.

Working from groundwork undertaken in 2022, we are ready for the next phase of our sustainability journey, in which we look forward to ever-closer collaboration with our customers, suppliers, partners and other stakeholders, as we continue to work together toward increasingly sustainable and inclusive food and agricultural systems.

Murilo Parada
Chief Sustainability Officer