Bunge Earns Ethical Nod Amidst Major Corporate Transformation

ST. LOUIS, MO – March 18, 2026

Global agribusiness leader Bunge (NYSE: BG) has been named one of the 2026 World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. This marks the company's first appearance on the prestigious list, an honor that arrives at a pivotal moment and serves as a significant validation of its internal focus on ethics during what one executive described as a period of "immense transformation."

Beyond the Badge: The Rigor of an Ethical Distinction

Ethisphere's recognition is more than a simple accolade; it is the result of a deeply analytical and data-driven process. The assessment is built upon Ethisphere's proprietary Ethics Quotient® (EQ), a framework that demands applicants provide over 240 documented proof points on their corporate practices. This rigorous evaluation scrutinizes everything from corporate governance and program resourcing to risk assessment, third-party management, and environmental and social impact. The data submitted undergoes further qualitative analysis by a panel of experts who spend thousands of hours vetting each applicant.

Bunge is one of 138 honorees recognized in 2026, a group spanning 17 countries and 40 industries. The company's debut on the list places it among 19 first-time honorees and distinguishes it as one of only nine companies in the highly scrutinized Food, Beverage & Agriculture category.

“Congratulations to Bunge for achieving recognition as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies,” said Erica Salmon Byrne, Ethisphere’s Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Chair. “Companies with strong ethics, compliance, and governance programs are built for better long-term performance.” This statement underscores Ethisphere's long-held position that there is a tangible link between ethical business practices and financial resilience, a concept they term the "Ethics Premium."

A Year of 'Immense Transformation'

The timing of the award is particularly significant. In the announcement, Bunge's VP, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer, Lisa Ware-Alexander, noted the honor reflects “the work our teams around the world have done to strengthen our ethics and compliance culture across Bunge, in a year of immense transformation.”

This transformation is headlined by the company's massive, multi-billion-dollar merger with Viterra, a deal completed in mid-2025. The acquisition reshapes Bunge's global footprint, creating a more diversified and integrated agribusiness powerhouse. Integrating two massive corporate cultures, supply chains, and compliance systems presents a significant ethical and logistical challenge, making a strong internal governance framework paramount to success.

Beyond the merger, Bunge has been actively reshaping its portfolio. It has divested non-core assets like its European margarine and U.S. corn milling businesses while making strategic investments in high-growth areas. These include new plant-based protein facilities in the U.S. and India, the acquisition of a soy protein producer in Brazil, and partnerships aimed at advancing sustainable farming and renewable feedstocks.

Ware-Alexander emphasized that for the company, these practices are not optional. “They are part of our core value of ‘We Do What’s Right’ and are essential to how we pursue our purpose of connecting farmers to consumers to deliver food, feed, and fuel to the world,” she stated.

A Complex ESG Landscape

While the Ethisphere award focuses on internal programs and culture, Bunge operates within a complex external landscape where its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) record is under constant scrutiny. The company has made public commitments to sustainability that appear to align with the ethical image projected by the award.

Bunge has set science-based targets to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and has committed to achieving deforestation-free supply chains by 2025, a particularly critical goal for an agribusiness with a major presence in South America. The company reports progress on these fronts, including a nearly 20% reduction in its direct operational emissions against its 2020 baseline and achieving 100% traceability for soybeans from at-risk regions in Brazil. These efforts have earned it a top "AAA" ESG rating from MSCI, placing it as an industry leader.

However, the company's 200-year history is not without controversy. Like many of its peers, Bunge has faced criticism from environmental and social advocacy groups. NGOs have historically linked its supply chain to deforestation in Brazil's Cerrado savanna, and the company was fined by Brazilian authorities in 2018 for purchasing soy connected to illegally cleared land. In 2021, a majority of shareholders voted for the company to provide greater transparency on its efforts to curb deforestation in its supply chain.

This mixed record highlights the challenge large-scale agribusinesses face. The Ethisphere recognition acknowledges the robustness of Bunge's internal systems for governance and compliance, even as external stakeholders continue to pressure the company for greater real-world impact in its vast and complex global operations.

Standing Out in a High-Stakes Industry

In the global food and agriculture sector, where companies wield immense influence over land use, food security, and environmental health, a demonstrable commitment to ethics can be a key differentiator. Bunge's recognition by Ethisphere places it in a select group within its industry.

Key competitors like Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Cargill also have extensive sustainability programs and face similar scrutiny. ADM has also earned ESG accolades, including a Platinum rating from EcoVadis. Bunge's deforestation-free commitment by 2025 is on par with ADM's and more ambitious than Cargill's 2030 target, reflecting an industry-wide push for greater accountability.

The Ethisphere award, however, is distinct in its specific focus on the codification of ethical business practices and the strength of a company's compliance culture. For Bunge, this validation of its internal framework is especially valuable as it works to integrate the massive Viterra acquisition and prove that its growth can be managed responsibly.

As Ethisphere's Salmon Byrne noted, this kind of internal fortitude is what builds companies for the long haul. The recognition suggests that as Bunge navigates its transformative path, it has invested in the internal compass it believes is necessary to guide its future.