The United Nations estimates that the world will reach 9.7 billion people by 2050. By this time, this growth, coupled with changing diets, is projected to create a 56% gap in food demand. To meet the need, the agriculture industry is taking a transformative approach to nutrition.  

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), a global leader in nutrition, uses innovative technologies to turn crops into staple foods, renewable industrial products and an expansive range of food and beverage solutions. Along with operational efficiency, sustainability is central to ADM’s strategy. The company has set ambitious emissions, energy, water and waste targets to achieve by 2035.  

To support ADM’s sustainability and business goals, Ecolab provides the company with a wide variety of water, process and pest solutions. In 2011, Ecolab and ADM started working together through Nalco Water, Ecolab’s water and process management business. The initial projects focused on implementing programs like 3D TRASAR™ cooling water technology to help reduce ADM’s water use intensity. Eleven years later, Ecolab is the sole-source provider of water treatment solutions for 100 global facilities, along with pest elimination, food and beverage solutions, and other programs. 
 

Achieving Exponential Results 

The key to this relationship has been balancing both sustainability and total cost optimization (TCO). Each year, Ecolab commits to delivering 10% of implemented TCO across all supported facilities – a target that Ecolab has not missed to date. Together, ADM and Ecolab have achieved the following results since the start of the relationship: 

• Water savings of over 2.8B gallons 
• Energy savings of 415B BTUs 
• Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 24K tons
• Revenue increase of $4.6M USD due to process improvements and enhanced quality 

When combined, Ecolab’s projects helped ADM realize a value of over $37.6M USD. In recognition, ADM named Ecolab as a 2021 Supplier Award winner in the Sustainability category for the second consecutive year. ADM presented Ecolab with the award in
early 2022. 

“We rely on our suppliers and vendor partners to help us maintain the entire global food supply chain in a reliable, efficient and sustainable manner,” said Camille Batiste, senior vice president of Global Supply Chain and Procurement at ADM. “We appreciate the continued partnership with Ecolab and are pleased to recognize their significant contributions to ADM with this award.” 

Ecolab plans to continue to support ADM’s global operations with emerging applications and innovations. By taking a value-centric approach, Ecolab is focused on helping ADM achieve its ambition of delivering responsibly and sustainably sourced ingredients.