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 …
Carrefour will invest USD 1.5 million towards sourcing sustainable beef and the state of Mato Grosso’s initiative, which seeks to restore degraded land and protect forests in the Cerrado and Amazon regions of Brazil. The Mato Grosso initiative includes a platform on which ranchers and farmers can register their sustainable practices to connect with corporate …
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 – …
Download full report here — English (PDF) Download full report here — Portuguese (PDF) Cargill Inc. is the largest privately held corporation in the United States. It is involved in the purchasing, trading, processing and distribution of food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services. Cargill is also one of the largest food companies in …
In February Nestlé and Unilever both published a list of all their direct and indirect palm oil suppliers and mills. These two consumer goods companies are major players in the global palm oil industry, and purchase about four percent of palm oil production globally. Most of the larger palm oil traders and refiners, such as …
The Norwegian Government Pension Fund has slowly ramped up its response to deforestation concerns within its portfolio. The Fund has a history of addressing risks in sectors and companies that it considers prone to long-term risks. This included companies that face elevated risks from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Between 2012 and 2015, the …
On January 19, the Wall Street Journal reported that ADM was considering making a hostile takeover bid for Bunge similar to Glencore’s unsolicited bid in May 2017 that led to Glencore and Bunge agreeing to a “standstill” agreement that prevents Bunge from further unsolicited bids. J.P. Morgan analyst Ann Duignan reported that this agreement “ends …
Download Report Here (PDF) Summary There is risk of more expensive commercial financing, which accounts for around 53 percent of all rural financing. Some engagement from concerned investors may also address the weak ESG scores of their soy investees. Risk from more expensive barter-based financing is limited. The large-scale expansion of soybean cultivation in Brazil …
