Syngenta Group (ChemChina) — Ethics Grade D

Syngenta Group (ChemChina) receives an overall ethics grade of D (32/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Agriculture. Market cap: Large Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 55
• privacy: 80
• consumer: 22
• environment: 28
• humanRights: 45

Documented incidents (3)

• Paraquat Health Risks (high, 2021) — The company faced thousands of lawsuits alleging that its herbicide, Paraquat, causes Parkinson's disease. Internal documents suggested the company was aware of health risks for decades but continued marketing the product.
• Atrazine Water Contamination (high, 2012) — Syngenta reached a $105 million settlement to resolve claims that its herbicide Atrazine contaminated communal drinking water supplies across the United States. The chemical is noted for disrupting endocrine systems in wildlife.
• Viptera GMO Corn Settlement (medium, 2017) — Syngenta agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle litigation from U.S. farmers who claimed the company's premature commercialization of GMO corn traits led to the loss of the Chinese export market.

Documented good deeds

• Good Growth Plan — The company reported reducing its carbon intensity by 20% compared to 2016 levels through agricultural efficiency programs.

Ethical alternatives

• Corteva Agriscience — Better ESG disclosure and reduced reliance on older, high-toxicity chemical profiles.