Sustainable Innovation
Applying Sustainable Innovation criteria aligned to the UN SDGs throughout the innovation process drives the technologies in our pipeline that continuously raise the bar as we strive to bring leading sustainable solutions to farmers. This enables us to go above and beyond global regulatory requirements. We also have internal decision criteria and processes, informed by lab and field testing, predictive assays (tests designed to predict how a product will perform or behave, before broader deployment), and models (computer-based simulations that estimate performance and safety under different conditions), that need to be achieved before designating a product as a sustainably advantaged innovation. These practices allow us to stop development of a technology that we learn won’t meet stated criteria for safe and sustainable design.
Predictive safety in Crop Protection
Our industry-leading Predictive Safety Center uses advanced technologies to anticipate potential safety risks—and we only advance products that meet our rigorous safety standards throughout their life cycle.
This evolution from reactive to predictive includes considering the balance between biological efficacy and favorable human health and environmental safety profiles. The center has three aims:
- Design solutions to enrich the lives of growers and customers.
- Optimize and prioritize R&D investments by predicting downstream challenges.
- De-risk and maximize the probability of safety and regulatory success for the pipeline.
A combination of in silico models (computer simulations that predict how a product might work in real-world scenarios, based on existing data and scientific principles) and in vitro assays (lab tests done outside a living organism, such as in test tubes or petri dishes, to evaluate safety and performance) are used to screen molecules and assess their safety at earlier stages in the discovery process. The endpoints for a safety assessment cover different disciplines across the areas of human health and environmental safety, including mammalian toxicology, ecotoxicology, environmental fate and metabolism, and exposure.
Germplasm predictive analytics in Seed
Our industry-leading, knowledge-based seed product development, characterization, and delivery ecosystem uses advanced genomics, phenomics, breeding, and logistics technologies to uncover, capture, and deliver value for our customers. By coordinating these cutting-edge technologies and applying them to a century of proprietary germplasm, we have accelerated and measurably increased realized genetic gains in customers’ fields.
Nature-inspired discovery partnerships
In December 2025, Corteva and Hexagon Bio announced a multi-million-dollar joint venture to accelerate development of new crop protection solutions inspired by nature. Formed through Corteva Catalyst™, the collaboration combines Corteva’s bacterial natural product discovery capabilities and nature-inspired crop protection franchises with Hexagon Bio’s natural product discovery platform, which integrates microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, chemistry, and synthetic biology to identify and characterize novel molecules and mechanisms. This expands our discovery engine, increases the probability of finding differentiated modes of action, and helps advance candidates through earlier, more informed screening aligned with our Sustainable Innovation criteria.
Every Corteva product starts in the lab, proven safe through rigorous science before it reaches the farm, requiring more than a decade between discovery and commercialization.
1. What it takes
Before any Corteva product is approved, regulators require data on:
2. Why industry runs these studies
They’re legally required by EFSA, EPA, ECHA, FDA, and others.
Each package can exceed 100,000 pages and cost millions.
No university could fund that scale of testing without our collaborative support.
3. Transparency and oversight
These studies are:
Independently audited
Publicly available
Reviewed by independent experts
Summarized in regulatory reports
4. Bias and method
Bias can exist anywhere.
That’s why methods matter.
Our studies follow strict Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) standards which are structured, transparent and repeatable.
5. Why it matters
Crop disease and insect resistance leads to:
No new products
No safer tools
Less innovation
We have won six Green Chemistry Challenge Awards from the EPA; more than any other agricultural company. The award recognizes new and innovative technologies that provide solutions to significant environmental challenges and spur innovation and economic development.
Confirm™
(under Rohm & Haas)
Jemvelva™ active
(spinetoram)
Qalcova™ active
(spinosad)
Instinct™ technology
Sentricon™ termite colony elimination system
Rinskor™ active
Product stewardship
We employ strong governance and process rigor to accelerate productivity, differentiation, and more sustainable outcomes through product stewardship, including training for product use. Process rigor extends to each stage of product life, from pre-development to development and advancement, to launch, to post-launch monitoring. This results in differentiated efficacy, durability, and ability to help more sustainably enhance customer productivity.
As an example, all growers, applicators, retailers, and seed sellers are encouraged to take advantage of our Enlist® weed control training system. This training helps users make compliant and effective applications of our Enlist herbicides.
Our commitment to safety, and the stringent requirements of regulatory bodies around the world, help ensure that our products contribute to the delivery of safe and reliable food and also support efforts to protect the environment. Internally, a unique and proactive approach is our industry-leading Predictive Safety Center, which helps design crop protection products with environmental factors in mind as part of the product development process. We contribute to sustainable practices by complying with all applicable environmental laws and Company policies.
Externally, we are aligned to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management and Excellence Through Stewardship programs on plant biotechnology and plant breeding innovations, as well as the Center for Food Integrity's Responsible Use Guidelines.
We are committed to having our product innovations follow registrations, labeling and applicable stewardship requirements in accordance with local laws and industry stewardship initiatives.
Our crop protection and seed solutions containing biotechnology are closely regulated worldwide, with safety reviews and authorizations completed by individual countries. Periodic reviews and safety monitoring by regulatory authorities may also be completed.
Products must meet or exceed stringent human health and environmental risk assessments for their intended use. We use externally recognized methods to test our technologies, including meta- analysis, laboratory and field studies, and local on-farm testing.
Forward-looking enterprise policies
As part of our strong governance and process rigor, the product stewardship function at Corteva facilitates ongoing assessments of near-term and emerging areas that may impact products, customers, stakeholders, or the environment.
Through these forward-looking assessments, the product stewardship function plays a central role in identifying and developing enterprise policies that establish clear standards and guide product-related activities across the life cycle, including discovery, development, launch, packaging and more. This helps ensure that Corteva remains a reliable supplier of more sustainable innovations.
This includes Corteva’s foundational work as a founding member of the Plant Breeding Innovation Management Program (PBI MP), which supports global standards for responsible gene-edited product development. To operationalize this program, Corteva has implemented internal gene-editing policies and procedures that provide clear guidelines for responsible development and launch of these innovations.
These enterprise policies and standards also guide Corteva’s response to evolving issue areas, such as microplastics, ensuring product innovations align with emerging regulatory requirements, grower needs, and long-term sustainability goals, including those applicable across Corteva’s supplier network. Together, this process and these policies reinforce Corteva’s proactive, forward-looking approach to emerging issues and are regularly reviewed by senior leadership.
Customer information and labeling
We work to provide customer access to accurate and adequate information on the economic, environmental, and social benefits and impacts of products and services. We comply with and, in many cases, strive to exceed the labeling requirements needed to register and sell products locally. Internal and external review processes help monitor that labeling procedures are followed. Our labels, safety data sheets, and product use guides are available online. See more about regulatory considerations driving the requirements for our product safety and labeling in our Annual report and our Regulatory data transparency website.
We have transitioned to digitized labels for crop protection products in compliance with European regulation requirements. Digital labels are machine readable, enable quick access to safety, and use information through both computer and smartphone—enabling farmers to access while in the field and during preparation of their programs.
Gene editing in Seeds
Plant breeding is one of the cornerstones of improved agricultural productivity and more sustainable food production. As a breeding tool, gene editing holds tremendous promise to allow seed companies to develop or improve plants with the ability to:
- Produce higher yields, reducing the need for more agricultural land
- Use crop protection tools more strategically
- Withstand harsh environmental conditions such as droughts
Gene editing can help advance sustainability in multiple ways:
Better nutrition
Slower to spoil; reduces food waste
Insect protection
Drought tolerance
Higher yields
Increased oils
and fats
Building frameworks for the responsible use of gene editing in agriculture
Corteva is proud to be one of six founding members of the Plant Breeding Innovation Management Program (PBI MP), a new initiative designed to promote transparency and stewardship in agricultural innovation. This program sets a global standard for responsible management practices, helping to accelerate market access for technologies that benefit farmers, consumers, and the environment. Importantly, the PBI MP provides an avenue for developers like Corteva to engage with society, addressing questions and fostering understanding around the opportunities and benefits of these advancements.
The guidelines are free to university researchers and academics, giving broad accessibility and consistency in developing transformative agricultural solutions.
The PBI MP principles build on our existing commitment to the Framework for Responsible Use of Gene Editing in Agriculture. This multi-stakeholder initiative, supported by leading organizations like Center for Food Integrity, Cargill, PepsiCo, and Costco, promotes responsible and transparent use of gene editing technologies in the food system. Developed through collaboration with food companies, academia, civil society, farmers, and associations, the framework has been endorsed by leaders across the agriculture and food sectors to foster global acceptance of these innovative tools.
By adhering to these principles, Corteva aims to build trust and understanding among regulators, society, and key stakeholders. We are dedicated to producing new technologies that are not only developed responsibly but also recognized for their potential to address the challenges of feeding a growing global population.
Through these efforts, we hope to pave the way for the continued development of crops that meet the evolving needs of farmers and contribute to a more sustainable future.
Enabling access and transparency for innovation in Europe
In Europe, responsible innovation also depends on clear, consistent access mechanisms. Corteva joined the Agricultural Crop Licensing Platform (ACLP) as an early member to support a standardized licensing approach for patented traits, improving transparency and legal clarity for plant breeders. Commercial licensing terms, including fees and royalties, are agreed bilaterally, so value returns to the patent holder.