people make it happen

We believe that by engaging stakeholders we are much more likely to achieve a healthy balance than by going it alone. Together, we can help Agrium become a more sustainable company.

In this spirit, we endeavor to:

• collaborate with stakeholders to balance differing needs;
• communicate with our customers to help them take a balanced approach to nutrient use;
• manage our operations to optimize performance while minimizing impacts on the surrounding environments and communities;
• contribute to communities to balance, in some measure, for what we gain from them; and
• take care to ensure the people we ask to help make Agrium a success — our employees, contractors and suppliers — are safe, healthy and treated with respect.

We value our employees’ contribution in identifying effective and sustainable ways to address stakeholder needs and operational issues. Their passion in wanting to be part of the sustainability solution is the fuel for our journey. One element of our strategy is to continue to build on our high performance culture by emphasizing accountability, commitment and partnership throughout the organization. This provides a foundation for building sustainability.

helping to eradicate extreme hunger

Persistent debilitating hunger is one of the vexing challenges facing the world. It pervades too much of the world and restricts great portions of society from achieving their full potential.

Helping farmers work toward eradicating hunger is one of our greatest contributions to global sustainable development. Agrium supplies growers around the world with crop inputs and nutrients allowing them to maximize food production so the hungry can obtain low-cost, high-quality food and to allow less productive agricultural lands to be used for other purposes. We see the role of fertilizers in helping nourish people as one of the key elements in meeting the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme hunger. The goal is to reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by the year 2015.

We believe what sets Agrium apart from other agriculture companies is our ability to contribute to sustainability at every point in the value chain. From the development and production of new products to their application in the field, Agrium seeks to maintain an open dialogue with stakeholders in order to continually improve its processes. We employ robust environmental management practices, active stakeholder engagement, a code of ethics and sound corporate governance to ensure our contribution is made without compromising the values that must accompany sustainable development.

developing best management practices

Nutrients are essential to life in limited quantities, however, excess nutrients can trigger environmental issues, such as low oxygen levels, accelerated aging of water bodies, and greenhouse gas emissions (i.e., nitrous oxide).

Consequently, Agrium is continually working with researchers and growers to develop best management practices (BMPs) that promote environmental and economic sustainability. These practices minimize nutrient losses to air and water by applying fertilizer nutrients at the right rate, time and place. Agronomists work with growers to identify the practices that best fit their soil, climate and farming operation. Ensuring BMPs for each area are appropriate to each situation improves performance and grower adoption. Commonly used BMPs include: soil testing to optimize nutrient rate; controlled-release fertilizers or split applications to match nutrient availability with crop need; and, banding and buffer strips to keep nutrients in the right place.

In addition to addressing environmental protection, BMPs contribute to the economic strength of farmers. By maximizing crop yields while optimizing crop inputs, many BMPs help ensure the economic well-being of our primary food producers. Some BMPs require a significant investment in development, equipment, or manpower to ensure effective implementation. We charge for these BMPs to maintain their economic sustainability. Other BMPs are freely shared with stakeholders as an expression of our stewardship.

Agrium is contributing to on-farm sustainability by developing environmentally beneficial products. Our flagship product in this respect is ESN.

ESN has been shown to reduce nitrous oxide emissions by up to 50 percent.

a major contribution to sustainability -
environmentally smart nitrogen (ESN)

Conventional nitrogen (N) application methods apply much of the fertilizer in advance of crop needs. Nitrogen in the soil is subject to processes through which it can be lost to water or the atmosphere before the plant can absorb it. These losses reduce the efficiency of the applied fertilizer and may create undesirable environmental impacts, such as water pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

ESN is encapsulated with a patented polymer membrane that is sensitive to both temperature and water. ESN releases nitrogen as the soil warms, provided adequate water is present for crop growth. Consequently, ESN is known as a controlled-release fertilizer. Our ESN controlled-release technology better matches nitrogen availability with crop requirements, ensuring more of the nitrogen ends up in the crop. ESN can be applied in advance of crop demand because cool soil temperatures of early spring, slow the release of nitrogen. This reduces GHG emissions of nitrous oxide by up to 50 percent.

In 2005, Agrium invested $47-million to increase controlled-release production at our Carseland, Alberta facility. As a result of this investment, our annual ESN production capacity will increase from 30,000 metric tonnes to 150,000 tonnes.

In 2005, the Government of Canada, through the Environmental Technology Assessment for Agriculture program, awarded Agrium a CAD$ 500,000 research grant over the next three years to advance our agronomic knowledge of ESN. Additionally, the Alberta Government, through the Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund awarded Agrium CAD$ 440,000 for ESN research work.