This pledge is now open for submission.
Purpose of this private sector pledge
This pledge expresses our company’s commitment to contribute to efforts to end hunger by 2030. Hunger was already increasing prior to the COVID crisis and is spiraling out of control. We recognize the role the private sector has to support other stakeholders in addressing this threat which affects all of us.
We make this pledge in the context of the UN Food Systems Summit of 2021 and as a part of the Summit’s Coalition of Action for Zero Hunger.
We will fulfil our pledge by converting it to a commitment to align our investments and business operations more clearly and strongly with new evidence on effective ways to achieve these goals (See Ceres2030, PARI 2020, SOFI 2021). We will support and build on public sector commitments in these areas, and partner with governments, donors, and global institutions to make evidence-based investments that contribute to food systems transformation.
Overarching principles
We will comply with applicable national laws and regulations and we will be guided by country priorities for hunger reduction as recorded in their official documents, including their food system pathways and national development priorities and strategies.
Through our business operations, we commit to uphold internationally accepted principles, including but not limited to the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS-RAI), the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes, the Principles of the UN Global Compact, and the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights.
Coalitions and partnerships
We warmly welcome the Zero Hunger Coalition, presented as one of the emerging coalitions from the UN FSS process during the Pre-Summit, and will support the Coalition’s efforts to achieve zero hunger. In addition, we urge development partners to provide appropriate technical and financial support to accelerate implementation of the Zero Hunger Coalition, with the goal of facilitating private investment.
We look forward to building long and mutually beneficial relationships with producers, governments, private sector actors, donors, and other players in the countries where we operate and invest.
Accordingly, we are pleased to make this pledge and commit to working with partner organizations to convert this pledge into a commitment.
Lesson-learning and mutual accountability
We commit to reporting on our progress in implementing this pledge, including the resources allocated, and challenges encountered.
The reports will be based on existing best practice and reporting standards, such as the CDP Protocol and the Global Reporting Initiative’s forthcoming Agriculture and Aquaculture Standard. We support the Food and Agriculture Benchmark of the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) and will collaborate with the WBA to verify that our commitments have been fulfilled.
We commit to sharing the necessary information allowing WBA to monitor progress of our pledge against the company’s investment area, as part of the broader assessment of the Food and Agriculture Benchmark. We also commit to ensuring that our investments include action on one or more relevant indicators to raise our overall score each year.
Nature of this pledge
This pledge is a non-binding statement of the company’s proposed investments plans and is not intended to create any legally enforceable rights or obligations of the company or its affiliates.