Higher Chinese soy imports from Brazil could lead to increased levels of deforestation in the Amazon and the Cerrado. The U.S. trade war with China, which includes tariffs on Chinese soy imports from the U.S., continues to alter global trade flows, increasing the demand for soy from Brazil, where deforestation is on the rise. Amid …
The Cerrado biome, covering over 20 percent of Brazil’s terrain, is a savannah region with high biodiversity and an important function for the water systems in Brazil. The region has experienced significant soy expansion during the last two decades. Soy expansion has been most prevalent in Matopiba, consisting of the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí …
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is a large multinational trader and processor of agricultural commodities. In 2017, it generated USD 60.8 billion in revenue and USD 1.6 billion in net profit and employed over 31,000 people. ADM owns more than 30 silos in Brazil, as well 13 oilseeds processing plants. It also has operations in eight …
Approximately 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions comes from deforestation. Palm oil and soybeans are two of the four main crops driving deforestation, next to other environmental and social problems. Investor awareness regarding the material risks emerging in the palm oil sector has grown, but soy-related risks are not yet widely recognised. This paper …
From 2000 through 2011, 68 percent of all foreign capital, or USD 18.4 billion, flowing through nine of the top companies in the beef and soy markets in the Amazon was transferred through tax havens, according to a new paper published on August 13, 2018 in Nature Ecology and Evolution. The research highlights how companies …
Amid the U.S.-China trade war, China is importing more soy from Brazil while the United States exports more soy to the European Union and other outlets, which may increase deforestation pressures in Brazil. This shift represents a major risk to efforts to eliminate deforestation on the soy supply chain and is likely to reduce the …
International commodity trader Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has committed to “eliminate deforestation” and UK supermarket Tesco has committed to “help achieve zero net deforestation” in their soy supply chains. LDC wrote: “We are fully aware that soy production comes with a cost. We are engaging with our stakeholders across the value chain to minimize adverse …
CalPERS, the largest U.S. state pension fund with USD 355 billion in assets under management and 1.9 million beneficiaries (as of July 11, 2018), updated its investment policy to include deforestation risk as a material risk to be considered in its investment decisions. CalPERS updated its Total Fund Investment Policy, effective June 18, 2018. This …
As of Q3 2017, Harvard’s endowment was valued at USD 37.1 billion. This ranked Harvard first out of 1,158 ranked university endowments in the United States. In its fiscal year which ended June 30, 2017, Harvard wrote down its natural resources portfolio 28 percent from USD 4 billion to USD 2.9 billion. This USD 1.1 …
As a result of “Operation Soy Sauce”, Reuters reported May 23, 2018 that the Brazilian government environmental agency Ibama and federal prosecutors have fined Bunge, Cargill, ABC Indústria e Comércio SA, JJ Samar Agronegócios Eireli, and Uniggel Proteção de Plantas collectively USD 6.7 million for deforestation-related activities and land clearing in the Matopiba region – …
