We are pleased to present our third annual Sustainability Report, which reflects our “Do It Right” culture and the strong value we place upon high ethical standards, transparent corporate governance, environmental stewardship, safe operations and community engagement. We are a global leader in nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing and distribution through our ownership and operation of world-scale nitrogen complexes, located in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. Our portfolio of nitrogen-based nutrients reaches our agricultural and industrial customers through a best-in-class distribution system that encompasses a network of fertilizer distribution facilities and warehouses located primarily in major grain-producing states of the U.S. Midwest. We are headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. CF Industries was founded in 1946 as a fertilizer brokerage operation by a group of regional agricultural cooperatives. Public since 2005, we trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CF.”
Our Mission
CF Industries is a leader in an industry whose mission is fundamental to human survival: putting food on the world’s table. By providing plant nutrients to farmers, we feed the crops that feed the world. We are proud of the role our company plays in fulfilling this increasingly challenging mission.
Corporate Governance
CF Industries is committed to implementing sound corporate governance practices that enhance the effectiveness of our Board and management and engaging with our shareholders on matters of corporate governance. In the past several years, our Board has approved a number of governance measures:
- Adopting a majority-voting standard for the election of directors in uncontested elections (2012).
- Declassifying the Board so that all directors are elected annually as of our 2015 annual meeting of shareholders (2013).
- Modifying corporate governance guidelines and amending the corporate governance and nominating committee charters to reflect the Board’s intent to achieve greater director diversity (2013). Women now comprise 20 percent of our Board.
- Appointing the company’s first independent chairperson (2014). Nine of our 10 directors are independent.
- Eliminating all super-majority voting provisions in the company’s charter and bylaws (2014).
- Giving holders of at least 25 percent of the company’s common stock the right to call a special meeting of shareholders (2014).
- Amending our bylaws to implement “proxy access,” allowing eligible shareholders to include their own nominees for director in our proxy materials along with the Board-nominated candidates (2015).
- Terminating our shareholder rights plan as of March 31,
2015 (2015).
Stakeholder Engagement and partnerships
We are active participants in The Fertilizer Institute, Fertilizer Canada, the International Fertilizer Industry Association and the International Plant Nutrition Institute. This year, we join these organizations in our mutual support of the United Nations International Year of Soils. Specific UN objectives for the year are to:
- Raise awareness about the profound importance of soil for human life;
- Educate the public about the crucial role soil plays in food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, essential ecosystem services, poverty alleviation and sustainable development;
- Support effective policies and actions for the sustainable management and protection of soil resources;
- Promote investment in sustainable soil management activities to develop and maintain healthy soils for different land users and population groups;
- Strengthen initiatives in connection with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals; and
- Advocate for rapid capacity enhancement for soil information collection and monitoring at global, regional and national levels.
At the corporate level, we participate in a variety of other professional and industry organizations as part of our engagement with external stakeholders, which include local communities, customers, suppliers, government regulators and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). CF Industries is also a member of the World Economic Forum, through which we engage on a variety of topics such as agriculture and food security.
The tone for open communication with stakeholders and other constituents is set by our Board, which has an established process to receive communications from shareholders and other interested parties by mail. To contact our Board, or any individual director, group or committee, please send correspondence to the care of our Corporate Secretary at the address on the back cover of this report.
We welcome comments and questions about this report and
sustainability at CF Industries. Please send inquiries to corp_communications@cfindustries.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements and other information contained in this report constitute “forward-looking statements.” These statements are typically identified by the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. We want to caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. More detailed information about factors that may affect our performance may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent periodic reports filed on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, which are available in the Investor Relations section of the CF Industries website. Forward-looking statements are given only as of the date of this report, and we disclaim any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.