Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
April 22, 2010

On Earth Day 2010, Syngenta announced that it has become a founding member of the Sustainability Consortium, an independent group of diverse stakeholders working to advance consumer product sustainability through science-based platforms. The global effort is focused on all phases of a product’s life cycle and engages scientists from leading academic, governmental, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and business sectors. The consortium is administered by the University of Arkansas and Arizona State University.

“Syngenta is focused upon helping to ensure food security for a global population that will reach nine billion people by 2050,” said Jennifer Shaw, Head Sustainability, North America. “This is a very significant new opportunity for engagement to support the sustainability of agriculture and bring a balance of economic, environmental and societal benefits to the world at large and the people who grow the crops that feed us. Technologies that enable growing more from less are necessary to produce the food that will be needed to feed our increasing population and make more efficient use of our planet’s natural resources.”

“Syngenta contributes to the broader mission of the Sustainability Consortium with their science-based approach to productive and efficient farming systems,” said Jon Johnson, co-director of the Sustainability Consortium. “We welcome the collaboration and look forward to paving a more sustainable path for future generations.”

The Sustainability Consortium is developing life cycle metric systems which will allow science-based assessments of agricultural production. Science-based assessments and data will provide consumers with useful information on the food and food products they purchase, while enabling continual improvement for farmers and other businesses seeking production efficiencies, natural resource efficiencies and waste reduction.

Syngenta has been recognized for its sustainability performance in a number of leading indexes, including the Sustainability Yearbook, Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and FTSE4Good Index. As a founding member of the Sustainability Consortium, Syngenta participation includes serving on the organization’s steering committee.

The Sustainability Consortium is an independent organization of diverse global participants working to improve consumer product sustainability through all stages of a product’s life cycle. The Sustainability Consortium advocates for a scientifically grounded process and transparent system, not for individuals or organizations. For more information, please go to www.sustainabilityconsortium.org.

Syngenta is one of the world's leading companies with more than 25,000 employees in over 90 countries dedicated to our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. Through world-class science, global reach and commitment to our customers we help to increase crop productivity, protect the environment and improve health and quality of life. For more information about us please go to www.syngenta.com or www.growmorefromless.com.

Website: http://www.syngenta.com

Published: April 22, 2010