We are just one company in an industry built around the idea of continually being better, but that concept seeps into everything we – and you – do. And it should.
We are, after all, in the business of growing food and fuel for a growing population — and doing so in a more sustainable manner. There is sheer goodness in that endeavor.
We are an industry of good people, people who treat each other fairly with a respectful eye toward the singular goal of a job well done.
We have to be good stewards. And we are.
Agriculture is one of the largest industries in the world and is, literally, one that touches every corner of the globe. As such, it is imperative that we are good stewards of our people, our resources, and our intentions. There is a beauty to that.
All of this is to say that we should strive to do the right thing every single day. Not because it makes us more money or makes us sleep better. But because it’s the right thing to do.
At Verdesian Life Sciences, we are embracing the tenets of ESG – Environmental, Social and Governance – with tenacity. ESG means doing things the right way in all that we do. That matters. It should matter. It HAS to matter. ESG is not just a check box in an executive’s performance plan. It’s not a month-long campaign to make employees feel like their voices matter. (Employees should feel like they can be heard 24/7, 365 days a year.) And it’s not a flash-in-the-pan, buzzword-filled company jargon.
ESG is stewardship and progress at its core.
“We are the ‘Nutrient Use Efficiency People’ for a reason, and that reason is the employees, partners and farmers with whom we have the privilege of working every single day. We have a duty to do right by them all, and our focus on ESG helps us accomplish that,” says Kenny Avery, CEO, Verdesian Life Sciences. “A lot of people talk about what they are going to do in the future, but we are doing it now. We have products in the field today that reduce the amount of Phosphorus in our waterways, how much Nitrogen (N) is lost to the environment and help sequester carbon dioxide.”
These technologies are important. After all, nitrous oxide (N2O) is 300 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, and agriculture is responsible for 74 percent of all N2O emissions in the United States. Yet farmers can reduce N2O emissions in one of two ways: by decreasing the amount of fertilizer applied and risk yield loss because of that, or by using enhanced fertilizer that reduces emissions loss and enables that reduction with no yield impact. Verdesian has products that stabilize N fertilizer, achieving both of the above, thus reducing greenhouse gases (N2O), and enabling producers to grow more food, sustainably.
What does ESG mean?
The three pillars of ESG refer to a company’s efforts to be good environmental stewards; how a company treats its employees, farmers and partners; and how responsible a business is when it comes to governing its finances and investments.
“All of these things matter to our employees,” says Susan Barnes Waldo, VP, Global Human Resources. “How we conduct ourselves in all of these areas is vital to the long-term health of Verdesian Life Sciences. We want to foster a culture of talented people that care about their work and the impact they are having outside of the workplace walls.”
A clear vision for success.
Ever since our founding, our nutrient use efficiency products have been designed to help farmers do more with less. That means you don’t have to sacrifice yield or profit, but it does mean you have the ability to reduce the amount of nutrients lost to the environment. As we continue to look to the future, we’re focused on improving the way nutrients are used and giving the next generation more opportunities to enjoy the environments they live and work in.
We also have a duty to this generation. We are indebted to our employees and farmers who work hard each and every day to feed the world. But a good day to us is not just higher profits.
“In order to deliver on these efforts and promises, we have a staff of more than 400 people across the globe working every day in a safe manner,” says Renato Prestes, VP of Global ESG and ESH. “It’s a good day when every employee gets to go home safely (again) to his and her family.”
And how good is that?
