FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC), a leading global agricultural sciences company, announced its goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2035. The company will use science-based targets aligned with keeping the global temperature at 1.5°C above pre-industrial times.
“FMC’s net-zero emissions target is a bold step in our continuing commitment to sustainable innovation and operations,” said Karen Totland, FMC vice president and chief sustainability officer. “We are engaging key organizations across our company—including Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Environment, Health and Safety, Procurement and R&D—to improve efficiencies, invest in renewable energy sources and engage with third-party suppliers to reduce their emissions. We are proud to build on FMC’s past successes in energy and resource reduction, and look forward to working together with suppliers and other partners to achieve this ambitious goal.”
The company has committed to set science-based targets through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). SBTi defines and promotes best practices in emission reduction and net-zero targets, and provides technical assistance and expert resources to companies like FMC that set science-based targets in line with climate science.
FMC will pursue carbon neutral operations through emission Scopes 1, 2 and 3 as defined by the GHG Protocol. Scope 1 includes direct emissions from company-owned and controlled resources, such as production facilities and automobile fleets. Scope 2 focuses on indirect emissions, which are typically from the generation of energy that is purchased from a utility provider. Scope 3 includes indirect upstream and downstream emissions within a company’s value chain that are not included in Scope 2. Scope 3 covers broad areas, including business travel, employee commuting, emissions from the production of goods and services purchased by the company, and emissions associated with the distribution and transportation of goods to and from suppliers and customers, to name a few.
“As a leader in the global agricultural industry, we see firsthand the impact climate change has on farmers and the world’s food supply,” Totland added. “We have an obligation to meet climate challenges head on and to find solutions that benefit all of our stakeholders.”
