Ingredion: 96% Sustainable Sourcing From Tier 1 Suppliers

Article Sustainable Sourcing Ingredion: 96% Sustainable Sourcing From Tier 1 Suppliers By Aaron McMillan May 29, 2026 undefined mins Share this article Prioritise Us on Google Share this article Prioritise Us on Google Larry Fernandes, SVP, Chief Commercial & Sustainability Officer Larry Fernandes, Ingredion SVP and Sustainability Officer says its sustainability sourcing is a result of partnering with growers, suppliers and customers Ingredion Incorporated, a leading provider of ingredient solutions, announced more than 96% of its tier 1 priority crops are now sustainably sourced. “Five years ago, sustainable sourcing for corn, tapioca, potato, stevia and pulses measured just 25%,” says Larry Fernandes, Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial and Sustainability Officer. “This progress demonstrates that sustainability can scale quickly when it’s embedded into business decisions and operations, not treated as a separate initiative.” Ingredion is headquartered in the suburbs of Chicago and serves customers in more than 120 countries. Value from plant-based materials With 2025 annual net sales of approximately US$7.2bn, the company turns grains, fruits, vegetables and other plant-based materials into value-added ingredient solutions for the food, beverage, animal nutrition, brewing and industrial markets. With Ingredion Idea Labs innovation centres around the world and more than 11,000 employees, the company co-creates with customers and fulfils its purpose of bringing the potential of people, nature and technology together to make life better. Ingredion follows industry standards for sustainable sourcing that include verified measurement methods to ensure that the crops it buys meet specific environmental and social thresholds in how they were planted, grown, harvested and processed. “Reaching over 96% sustainably sourced priority crops didn’t happen by setting distant goals; it’s a product of how we work across regions, disciplines and how we partner with growers, suppliers and customers every day,” Larry adds. This achievement was published in Ingredion’s 2025 sustainability report, “The Power of Us”. The report outlines progress toward the company’s 2030 sustainability goals under its “All Life” strategy and reinforces the company’s purpose to bring the potential of people, nature and technology together to make life better. Ingredion follows industry standards for sustainable sourcing (Credit: Getty Images) Aligning procurement, agronomy and internal data In the report, Ingredion highlighted how, as its sustainable sourcing expands, reliable data across its agricultural supply chain is more critical than ever. In 2025, the company improved its internal collection, validation and management of farm-level data by more closely aligning its sustainability, procurement and agronomy teams. This stronger data foundation enhances transparency, fulfils customer requests for product-level sustainability insights and ensures it is ready to meet evolving regulatory and due diligence standards. Ingredion’s Brazil procurement and sustainability teams launched its inaugural Innovability programme, challenging suppliers to submit sustainability innovations that would be a win-win for the partnership. This project resulted in 25 submissions with four supplier partners recognised in a ceremony at the São Paulo office. Ingredion plans to continue to leverage the strength and innovation of its strategic suppliers to support ethical supply chains, drive increased innovation and work for a more sustainable food system. Key achievements in operational waste and human rights Additional 2025 sustainability highlights include: Operational waste: Diverted 95% of total waste from landfills and achieved zero waste to landfills¹ at 16 manufacturing facilities. Human rights: Strengthened human rights governance by launching Ingredion’s first stand-alone Human Rights Policy and expanding the All Life Partners (ALP) Responsible Sourcing Program. New product launches: Expanded the upcycled ingredients portfolio, one of the fastest-growing areas in consumer sustainability, to now include more than 50 products verified as Upcycled Certified. Sustainable innovation: Launched a new end-to-end sustainable innovation programme in 2025 that embeds sustainability tools and measurement from seed science to regenerative agriculture to plant-based packaging. Customer collaboration: Worked with customers to reduce emissions, reformulate products and improve packaging, helping them deliver on their sustainability commitments without compromising cost, functionality or consumer experience. Larry wrote in the report: “In 2025, one of the most encouraging things I saw was a deeper integration of this work. Our finance teams are helping strengthen the rigor of our data and reporting “Our operations teams are embedding environmental performance into productivity systems. Procurement teams are collaborating with suppliers on transparency and shared standards. And our innovation teams are collaborating with customers who are looking for practical ways to meet their own sustainability goals.” Company portals Ingredion Executives Larry Fernandes SVP, Chief Commercial & Sustainability Officer Tags Procurement Sustainable Sourcing Supply Chain Sustainability