International corporations and investors have called on major soy traders to agree to a cut-off date for sourcing soy in the Cerrado biome. Signatories to the Cerrado Manifesto, which include 160 companies and investors that have exposure to the soy market, asked the traders in a letter late last year to stop sourcing from converted …
In December 2020, Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Resources, Arifin Tasrif, announced at a parliamentary hearing that the country’s target for biofuel production would increase in order to curb the country’s current daily consumption of 1 million barrels of gasoline. To meet this target, the minister said an estimated 9 million to 15 million hectares …
After banning FGV’s palm oil products from entering the United States over alleged forced labor issues, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency once again issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) on palm oil produced by a Malaysian company. This time, the subject is the palm oil plantation owner and trader/refiner Sime Darby. The …
In a major step forward, eight French grocery store chains late last year signed an agreement to eliminate soy grown on deforested land from their supply chains through strengthening sourcing policies. Based on this agreement, the supermarkets will include no-deforestation clauses in supplier contracts to curb deforestation in the Brazilian Cerrado biome. European retailers have …
In 2017, the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) released its recommendations for climate-related disclosures in financial filings. The TCFD has since become the de facto global standard for the financial sector to report on climate change risks. This paper presents a framework for assessing deforestation-related risks in agricultural commodity supply chains that is …
The beef and soy sectors have been two of the major drivers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado biomes in recent years. Financial institutions with exposure to these sectors may be inadvertently contributing to climate change and biodiversity loss. As global stakeholders react to these threats, financial institutions may become increasingly more exposed …
This report discusses the role of South Korean companies in the worldwide palm oil market and the country’s position as an owner of oil palm concessions, a buyer of palm oil products, and a financier of palm oil operations. The analysis highlights the country’s role in the palm oil “leakage market,” which trades unsustainable palm …
JBS, Marfrig, and Minerva are the largest meat processors in Brazil, dominating beef processing and exports. The cattle industry is the main driver of deforestation in Brazil. This report, which builds on CRR’s earlier JBS analysis, assesses the companies’ exposure to deforestation and analyses their market, reputation, and technology risks. CRR has located and monitored …
CRR research has found that South Korean companies are significant leakage players as both developers of plantations and buyers of palm oil products. Six South Korean plantation owners have significant non-compliance issues linked, to environmental, social, and human rights issues. The top South Korean buyers of Indonesian palm lack the world’s best sustainability commitments, and …
JBS, Marfrig, and Minerva are the largest meat processors in Brazil, dominating beef processing and exports. Our latest report assesses the companies’ exposure to deforestation and analyses their market, reputation, and technology risks. Our analysis shows: – The companies show little progress in monitoring indirect supply chains; – They face material financial risks from European …
Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Companies (FMCGs) had aimed to eliminate deforestation in their supply chains by 2020, but most are lagging in implementing and executing their zero-deforestation policies. This exposes them to growing reputation risk as consumers, NGOs, and governments pressure them to increase their ambitions. Some FMCGs have recently reaffirmed their commitments to curbing deforestation, …
French Casino Group and its subsidiary Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA), Brazil’s second-largest retailer, are facing a significant legal risk due to allegations of non-compliance with French law. Research by Envol Vert, Réporter Brasil, and Chain Reaction Research (CRR) shows that GPA purchased beef sourced from farms involved in illegal deforestation and encroachment on indigenous …
Chain Reaction Research (CRR) strives to provide objective insight and unbiased analysis on market trends and company and investor risk for its readers. CRR determines content based on what is considered to be of broad interest to readers and whether it can provide candid, high-level debate.
Chain Reaction Research conducts free sustainability risk analysis for financial analysts, credit analysts, commercial bankers, institutional investors, corporations, and other stakeholders. Our special focus is demonstrating that deforestation is material financial risk. We focus on tropical deforestation-related commodities including palm oil, soy, cattle, coffee, cacao, timber pulp and paper, and other products. We are funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) scheme managed by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), and the Moore Charitable Foundation. Chain Reaction Research statements and materials do not necessarily reflect the standpoints of the Packard Foundation, the Moore Foundation or Norad.
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