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People and communities

Strengthening our connections

As a part of our CHS value of inclusion, our people are at the heart of everything we do. Acting on our priority to empower our people, we continue to work to create opportunities for employees to give continuous feedback and for CHS to be continuously listening. CHS prioritizes key people and community needs, including safety, well-being, employee development, and diversity and inclusion.

Inclusion and diversity

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Creating a culture of inclusion

CHS focuses on creating a more inclusive culture where everyone is welcomed, respected and empowered to succeed. Our inclusion and diversity (I&D) foundation includes equipping and empowering leaders to lead inclusively with clarity and accountability.

Our multi-year journey is giving individuals and teams necessary resources, including:

  • Inclusive behaviors guidance help employees navigate daily interactions and inclusive outputs through their work.
  • When understanding the commitment and journey ahead, consistent and intentional communications help employees feel grounded in the direction CHS is taking to a culture grounded in inclusion.
  • Our meeting in a box is a guide to fostering important conversations.
  • Live learning sessions center on inclusive behaviors, creating openness, welcoming differences and leading with bravery.
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Empowering Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

In fiscal year 2023, CHS ERGs ramped up their awareness, education and events. With many more opportunities for employees to learn and engage, ERGs saw increased engagement and membership, while implementing new storytelling opportunities around awareness days and provided inclusive events throughout the year.

CHS will continue to focus on balancing immediate actions with ongoing education and facilitating long-term change. As we continue to help our employee resource groups (ERGs) create educational opportunities through events and engagement, we will look to grow our ERGs.

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Growth in partnerships

Over the last several years, CHS has enhanced our brand presence locally and nationally. With this expansion, key partnerships with inclusive and diverse vendors, organizations and events have created opportunities to strengthen our recruiting pipeline and community involvement. Last year, CHS and the CHS Foundation supported and participated in the following events:

  • Martin Luther King Jr. holiday breakfast, an event hosted by UNCF to help raise funds for African American students to attend historically black universities and colleges (HBUCs)
  • True Leaders in Equity Institute in conjunction with National 4-H
  • National Black Growers Council farm field day
  • National Women in Agribusiness Summit

Stewardship

Exceeding our stewardship objectives

In 2023, CHS and the CHS Foundation invested more than $6 million in stewardship initiatives, concluding our three-year giving strategy. We exceeded targets on all six 2021-2023 impact goals and elevated our impact on future ag leaders and the communities we serve. We also established new FY24-26 giving targets. See more details about our stewardship commitment.

CHS community giving

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469

rural communities received matching grants

2023 goals: 250

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32,256

youth learned lifesaving safety and health lessons

2023 goal: 30,000

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28%

increase in employee volunteerism

2023 goal: 20% increase

CHS Foundation

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17,465

students educated about co-ops

2023 goal: 12,000

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25,974

students enlightened about ag careers

2023 goal: 25,000

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161,088

future ag leaders supported

2023 goal: 125,000

Investing in precision ag education 

The CHS Foundation, established in 1947 and funded by charitable gifts from CHS Inc., is dedicated to developing a new generation of ag leaders for lifelong success. One key component of developing ag leaders involves supporting education and research on precision agriculture, which focuses on delivering the right inputs at the right time for growing crops. This approach to sustainability helps increase farmer return on investment, makes more effective use of resources and supports economic prosperity for farm businesses.

CHS community giving

CHS community giving promotes ag health and safety, supports communities with cooperative matching grants and advances the CHS culture of service.

  • We support ag safety projects on the national, state and local levels.
  • We work with member cooperatives to double our impact in local communities.
  • We support nonprofit organizations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan region that provide basic needs services.
  • We engage in event sponsorships that benefit agriculture and the cooperative system.
  • We support CHS employee volunteers as they help strengthen their communities
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Supporting equity in 4-H

The CHS Foundation began partnering with National 4-H on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in 2022. CHS employees participated in National 4-H True Leaders in Equity Institute (TLEI), which empowers youth to identify equity issues in their communities and develop inclusive solutions through collaboration with their peers, industry experts and community members.

An additional $1 million grant from the CHS Foundation will extend support of TLEI programming through 2025, providing grants to help 4-H youth implement inclusive projects in their communities, incorporate more DEI programming in 4-H events and award scholarships to make 4-H activities more affordable for all students.

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Volunteering in our communities

CHS employees volunteered more than 23,000 hours in more than 35 communities in 2023. Projects included packing 32,500 meals to ensure access to affordable, healthy food and writing 175 cards for military members. During the CHS Giving Campaign, 825 employees raised $1.3 million for more than 740 nonprofit organizations.

Safety

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The CHS energy business continued its track record of industry-leading safety metrics. This includes multiple years with no lost-time incidents across pipelines, lubricant blending and wholesale propane operations.

This focus on safety was evident during the 30-day spring turnaround at the Laurel. Mont., refinery, which included a full plant shutdown. CHS reported no lost-time incidents, despite bringing in nearly 3,000 contractors who worked 24/7 to complete the work. In addition, the CHS lubricants business completed more than five years without a lost-time injury reported at its three blending facilities.

Drone safety assessments

CHS is using innovative drone technologies to capture and apply data across the company to boost productivity, increase efficiency and improve safety. From inspecting grain to checking grain-handling equipment, drones help enhance productivity and accelerate decision-making, while improving safety for employees by reducing the need to inspect elevated and/or enclosed spaces.

Explore other CHS sustainability focus areas