Monsanto’s 2012 Sustainability Report released

"Every day we are met with the challenges of a growing planet. We will need to produce more food while using natural resources even more efficiently. We are focused on tools and information that empower the world's farmers to find solutions to these challenges," said Jerry Steiner, executive vice president of sustainability and corporate affairs for Monsanto. "This report details our commitment to sustainability, includes a balanced view of our progress to date and examines the challenges we face along our company's sustainability journey."

June 2013 marks the five-year anniversary of when Monsanto made its commitment to sustainable agriculture – pledging to help farmers double yields in our core crops (corn, soy, canola and cotton) by 2030 while committing to produce each ton with one-third fewer resources (land, water and energy). Additionally, the company committed to a goal to help farmers improve their quality of life, including five million people in resource-poor farm families by 2020.

"While we've made progress towards some of our goals surrounding our commitment to sustainable agriculture, we still have much more to achieve," said Steiner. "We stand committed to continue to do our part and work together with farmers and partners to continuous improvement in advancing sustainable agriculture."

The content for the Monsanto 2012 Sustainability Report was developed following the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines for sustainability reporting. The GRI is a sustainability reporting framework that helps companies measure and report their sustainability performance. Monsanto self-declared the 2012 report at a GRI Application Level B based on the GRI Application Level Grid. GRI reviewed and approved the report with GRI Application Level Check of B. Application Levels reflect the degree of transparency against the GRI guidelines in reporting.

In addition to reporting on the indicators specified by GRI, the company's 2012 report also complements the company's 2012 Communication on Progress with the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest sustainability and corporate citizenship initiative. Monsanto joined the United Nations Global Compact in 2009.

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy.