Environmental Sustainability

Unlike fossil carbon sources, soybeans capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They also fix their own nitrogen for plant food, which provides an initial life-cycle advantage over other oilseeds that require nitrogen fertilizer made from natural gas. Most soybean acreage in the U.S. uses conservation tillage, which disturbs less soil and reduces fuel use.

A Life Cycle Assessment Study shows environmental benefits of manufacturing products using soy feedstock, including:

• Lower carbon dioxide emissions
• Reduced energy costs
• Lower VOCs of some products
• Reduced exposure to toxic chemicals by workers
• Supply chain sustainability
• Credits toward LEED certification of some finished products
• Reduced processing costs and environmental compliance fees