North American Food & Agribusiness Companies to be Recognized for Industry Stewardship, Sustainability, and Innovation at 2022 Leadership Awards
NEW YORK, NY (July 14, 2022) – Rabobank is seeking nominations for its annual North America Leadership Awards, which recognize North American Food & Agribusiness (F&A) companies that excel in industry stewardship, sustainability, and innovation.
The awards are unlike any other in the F&A industry, showcasing those companies – from large corporates to fast-growing young businesses – that are making a pivotal impact on the market and revolutionizing their sectors. The awards also recognize companies’ continued response to the pandemic and contain a set of social responsibility criteria focused on employee and community efforts, as well as the promotion of racial equality.
“Around the world the Food & Agribusiness industry and its consumers continue to face tremendous challenges, from the crisis in Ukraine to inflationary pressures and the ongoing pandemic. It has never been more important for companies to showcase their resilience through leadership, flexibility and innovation,” said Paul Beiboer, CEO, Rabobank North America. “We have been honored to recognize remarkable organizations in the North American F&A industry that have demonstrated these and other qualities year-after-year, and look forward to recognizing new leaders with our Awards this year.”
Company nominations for the 2022 Awards across the three categories below will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Friday, August 19, 2022 and must include highlighted initiatives and achievements from June 30, 2021, to June 30, 2022. Nominees are screened through extensive research using publicly available information and reviewed by an independent judging panel of esteemed individuals across industry, academia, and the public sector.
Award Categories
Companies operating in the F&A industry in the United States, Canada, or Mexico may either nominate themselves or be nominated by a third party for one or more of the awards. Please click on the links below to access the nomination forms.
Rabobank’s overarching Award for Excellence in Food & Ag Leadership recognizes a large-scale market leader in North America that has demonstrated great and lasting impact in its sector. The winner will have:
- Achieved significant success in building, rejuvenating or expanding business within the broad food, beverages, or agribusiness supply chain;
- Responsibly ensured the wellbeing of its employees, customers, and local communities and demonstrated environmental stewardship, model corporate citizenship, and a track record of meeting social commitments;
- Been recognized as setting standards of excellence within the industry;
- Demonstrated diversity in the composition of its governance body/executive team and has commitments to diversity and inclusion initiatives.
The 2021 Rabobank Award for Excellence in Food & Ag Leadership was awarded to Ball Corporation, a leading global provider of innovative sustainable aluminium packaging for beverage, personal care, and household products. Ball was the first can manufacturer to receive an Aluminium Stewardship Innovative certification for their recyclable technology, the Ball Aluminium Cup, and has launched a collaborative industry initiative dedicated to expanding global recycled aluminium content.
The Rabobank Award for Leadership in Sustainability recognizes a high-impact market leader that has taken unique and remarkable steps towards business, environmental, social and governance sustainability. The winner will have:
- Demonstrated successful alignment between sustainability strategy and core business priorities and performance with defined and transparent sustainability guidelines and commitments;
- Developed leading programs and/or initiatives aimed at improving business, environmental, social and governance sustainability;
- Been a model corporate citizen and recognized as setting standards of excellence within the industry;
- Demonstrated diversity in the composition of its governance body/executive team and has commitments to diversity and inclusion initiatives
Chipotle Mexican Grill received the 2021 Rabobank Award for Leadership in Sustainability for their company-wide commitment to sustainability and green initiatives – Real Foodprint, its sustainability impact tracker that highlights specific metrics such as carbon emissions and sourcing history; the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, which supports start-ups that contribute to a sustainable and equitable food system; and their restaurant-wide Energy Management System that reduces waste through recycling, composting, and waste-to-energy programs.
The Rabobank Award for Emerging Leadership in Innovation recognizes a fast-growing young company that addresses issues in the food, beverage, or agribusiness space in a new and innovative way. The winner will have:
- Operated in the industry for 10 years or less;
- Demonstrated a distinct innovation in the food and agriculture supply chain and/or offered a significant new choice, value, and/or convenience to customers;
- Been a model corporate citizen and demonstrated commitments to diversity and inclusion initiatives;
- Demonstrated strong financial performance/investor interest and potential for market expansion
The 2021 Rabobank Award for Emerging Leadership in Innovation was given to Brightseed for its contributions to nutrition science. With its artificial intelligence platform, Forager, which maps phytonutrients, compounds in plants that are believed to provide significant health benefits, the company’s mission is to improve overall health outcomes while advocating for greater investment into nutrition science and research capabilities.
Rabobank’s 2022 Award winners will be notified in October and honored at the bank’s annual Food & Agribusiness Summit hosted on December 1, 2022, where they will be announced and publicly recognized.
About Rabobank
Rabobank Group is a global financial services leader providing wholesale and retail banking, leasing, and real estate services in more than 38 countries worldwide. Founded over a century ago, Rabobank today is one of the world’s largest banks with over $660 billion in assets.
In the Americas, Rabobank Wholesale Banking North America is a premier corporate and investment bank to the food, agribusiness, commodities and energy industries. Rabo AgriFinance, a subsidiary of Rabobank, is a leading financial services provider for farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses in the United States. Together, we provide sector expertise, strategic counsel and tailored financial solutions to clients across the entire value chain. Visit www.RabobankWholesaleBankingNA.com and www.RaboAg.com.
