OCP Group ranked 4th worldwide by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA)

On the sidelines of the United Nations Summit on Food Systems on 24 September, and on the occasion of the publication of its Food and Agriculture Benchmark 2021, the international body of the World Benchmarking Alliance has positioned OCP in 4th place of its ranking out of a set of 350 companies, thus recognizing its performance in food and agriculture compared to its peers, on key subjects.

The WBA is an international non-profit organization, which acts as an independent body and brings together global, regional and local institutions, with the objective of developing benchmarks and supporting companies in achieving the SDGs. These benchmarks are supported by the best existing scientific data, while taking advantage of international norms and standards working for the transformation of companies to meet the 2030 Agenda of SDGs and align with the Paris Climate Agreements.

The Food and Agriculture Benchmark created by the WBA, adopted in this sense, a holistic approach to the transformation of food systems, evaluating companies throughout the food value chain on a wide range of sectors in four measurement areas: governance and strategy, environment, nutrition and social inclusion.

As a result, the OCP Group won 1st place in the “Agricultural Inputs” segment, but also stood out on several rating criteria, particularly in connection with the Group’s environmental strategy, thanks to its long-term goals for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water consumption. 

Indeed, and for several years, the group has been implementing a strategy that allows it to strengthen its status as one of the most sustainable fertilizer producers in the world and thus meet the sustainable development objectives (SDGs) set by the UN. The Group has set itself several ambitious objectives by launching the “Circular Economy” program within its “Sustainability Platform” whose approach aims to create a green dynamic, as well as to promote symbiosis with the industrial ecosystem and communities. 

This involves, among other things, covering 100% of water needs by unconventional water sources by 2030 and reducing specific water consumption in treatment by 5% by 2024.

The international organization has also recognized the Group’s efforts in terms of leadership and social inclusion with the implementation of its flagship programs, such as “Agriboosters” or “Al Moutmir” aimed at improving productivity and ‘access to farmers’ markets and offer end-to-end value chain solutions. 

These programs are also in line with the ambitions of the “Decent work and living income and wages” coalition of the Food Systems Summit, in which the OCP group actively participates. 

The benchmark results show that the OCP Group meets the highest performance criteria of the food and agriculture benchmark, like the two ratings of the international agencies Vigeo Eiris and Sustainalytics, respectively specialized in the assessment of sustainability performance and in the identification of ESG risk levels (Environment, Social and Governance) and to which the Group was subject in 2020.

In 2019, the OCP had already joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD, World Business Council for Sustainable Development), an international association bringing together more than 200 multinationals acting in favor of sustainable development. 

The mission of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world by improving the performance of companies that make sustainable development their spearhead.