CHS has long recognized that environmental and community resources are vital to the future of agriculture, the global food system and the 2 million U.S. farmers who make their living working the land. Diversified in agronomy, grains, foods and energy, CHS is integrating sustainability more fully into our core businesses and bringing that growing strength to the cooperative system. The system is a critical link to a more adaptable global food system and the success of CHS and its owners.

We recognize that sustainability is not new to agriculture or to CHS. At the same time, we have many opportunities to play a stronger role in sustainability initiatives. For this reason, CHS is taking an outcome-based approach with a longterm focus on people, community, economic viability and environmental success. By focusing on concrete results, we will be better positioned to drive sustainable success across the cooperative system.

In fiscal year 2023, we continued to learn more about the current and future sustainability needs of the company through an extensive materiality assessment. The assessment included in-depth conversations with our internal and external stakeholders, including our board of directors, member cooperatives, farmer- and rancher-owners, key stakeholders from trade organizations, the financial community and the next generation of agricultural leaders. From the assessment, CHS is developing an enterprise sustainability strategy and working to integrate the strategy across all aspects of our company.

At CHS, we believe sustainability is inherent in what we do: making agriculture more productive, helping communities thrive and feeding a growing global population while using fewer resources. Our current and future investments will play a critical role in this work as we leverage innovative solutions and technologies to drive continuous improvement and enhance outcomes.

Consumers will also play an important role as they navigate toward sustainable solutions and search for information on farm-to-table processes and handling. Not only will they become more knowledgeable, but greater transparency throughout the supply chain will continue to inform their decision-making.

As a global agribusiness leader with more than 10,000 employees, CHS is committed to reducing our impact on the planet, creating new market opportunities and investing in ways to build a better future for our owners, customers, employees and communities.

Jay Debertin
President and chief executive officer

Dan Schurr
Chair, Board of Directors

The agriculture industry and CHS have always evolved to meet new challenges, adapting to uncertainty and change. As a company intrinsically linked to the land, we believe our business model should drive sustainable outcomes that improve agriculture and rural America.

We are elevating sustainability principles by integrating them into all aspects of our operations from daily decisions to strategic planning. We are assessing risks and opportunities associated with our expansive network, which will address our strengths and challenges in real time and prepare CHS for the future.

I’m proud to be the company’s first chief sustainability officer and pleased to report our continued momentum and commitment to sustainability and rural communities. Our engagement with internal and external stakeholders has been significant — they are key to our success in the future.

Using this feedback, we identified four areas of focus for sustainability at CHS:

• Climate
• Deforestation
• People and communities
• Stakeholder engagement and communication

Progress made

We are aligning with globally recognized reporting frameworks. This sets CHS on a path to position our sustainability program and future reporting with emerging standards.

We also established a new sustainability and innovation team to guide our sustainability evolution and to help adopt new technologies and foster innovation. We view the innovation work as the gateway to sustainable agriculture through our joint venture capital fund, Cooperative Ventures. We anticipate our Cooperative Ventures investment will lead to greater operational efficiencies, improved productivity, reduced costs and increased competitiveness for CHS and our owners.

Work ahead

In 2023, we also began measuring our greenhouse gas emissions, starting with scope 1 and scope 2 emissions from our refineries at McPherson, Kan., and Laurel, Mont. By measuring the emissions of these operations, we will gain clarity that will support our work to implement meaningful change focused on outcomes and rooted in science.

In the years ahead, CHS will continue to elevate our sustainability work while continuing to keep our owners, customers, employees and communities at the center of the conversation. I’m confident we will continue to learn and grow in our approach to sustainability as we work together to make meaningful, measurable progress.

Megan Rock
Vice president, sustainability and innovation, and chief sustainability officer