Sustainability
Elevating sustainability through cooperative strength
Caring for people and the environment will always be at the heart of the agricultural cooperative system. That is why CHS takes an outcome-based approach to sustainability with a long-term view on people, community, economic viability and environmental success.
Setting our sustainability focus areas
In early fiscal year 2023, CHS engaged 25 external stakeholders and more than 100 employees. This activity also included members of our strategic leadership team, including President and CEO Jay Debertin, as well as members of the CHS Board of Directors. The CHS team led the rigorous process, which included a survey, one-on-one interviews and internal listening sessions. The team asked each participant to describe perceived opportunities and challenges and overall sentiment about sustainability.
Through thorough analysis, including a third-party consultant, the team identified and categorized common themes for internal and external stakeholders. Each step in this critical assessment process contributed to development of four focus areas and the decision to work toward aligning those focus areas and strategy with six of the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Our ESG focus areas
Sustainability in action
See how we are investing in community well-being
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Engaging stakeholders in sustainability
CHS members engage in activities related to sustainability throughout the year as we gather their input and ideas, answer questions and work together toward a more sustainable future.
Providing commodity market information, sharing new production approaches and offering opportunities to build leadership skills are just some of the ways CHS helps farmer-owners and cooperative leaders build knowledge for personal and business success. We have recently hosted education sessions at the CHS annual meeting, engaged with new leaders, participated in employee engagement activities and more to drive awareness of sustainability efforts.