The Brazilian state of Tocantins is the latest hotspot for soy- and cattle-related deforestation. In 2018, more land was cleared there than in any other state of the Brazilian Cerrado, a large tropical savanna biome that covers more than 20 percent of Brazil. Overall Cerrado deforestation rates have declined in recent years, but Tocantins continues …
The number of cattle slaughtered in Brazil reached 31.86 million heads in 2018, the highest level since 2014. The higher rate of slaughter increases the risk of even more cattle-driven deforestation occurring in Brazil. As Chain Reaction Research (CRR) highlighted in a report last September, the cattle industry is a major driver of deforestation in …
Major commodity trader Cargill, a privately held company based in the United States, recently updated its plans to eliminate deforestation in all of its agricultural supply chains by 2030. While the company’s aim to bolster its sustainability policies for soy is a positive development, it is unclear as to how the company will reach this …
Cencosud, the fourth largest supermarket chain in Brazil, published a statement to affirm it will source beef from only slaughterhouses that are not linked to Amazon deforestation, indigenous lands, environmental reserves, or slave labor. The statement, however, lacks details regarding how and when the company will implement this policy. Cencosud has not clarified a strategy …
A group of U.S. Senators recently sent letters on February 4, 2019 to investors and asset managers urging them to take into account deforestation risks in their portfolios. The Senators, led by Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, asked the financial actors to commit to pressuring companies in agricultural supply chains that do not adequately address …
Major agricultural commodity traders that operate in Brazil have agreed to a set of principles and transparency measures in an effort to reduce deforestation driven by soy production in Brazil’s Cerrado. As part of the Soft Commodities Forum, companies such as ADM, COFCO International, Glencore, Louis Dreyfus, Bunge and Cargill said last week that they …
COFCO, a major Chinese company active in agricultural markets, released a statement in late January at the World Economic Form (WEF) in support of shoring up “sustainable” practices and curbing deforestation in commodity supply chains. COFCO’s CEO, Jun Lyu, warned industry that failure to curb climate change could lead to poor crop production and limit …
Carrefour SA is a multinational food retailer that holds a majority share in Atacadão SA/Carrefour Brasil, the largest retailer in Brazil. Carrefour’s size makes it a major buyer of Brazilian beef and may expose it to deforestation risks, as cattle contributes to deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. This report analyses Carrefour’s deforestation risk exposure based …
Higher Brazilian beef exports to China are likely to test sustainability commitments in both countries. China (including Hong Kong) imported 44 percent of Brazil’s total beef exports in 2018, compared to 40 percent in 2017 and 35 percent in 2016. Brazil, the largest exporter of beef in the world even though most of the country’s …
Major agricultural commodity trader Bunge updated its commitment to sustainability along its grain and oilseeds supply chains last month in an effort to further curb deforestation. While Bunge has made progress in its sustainability strategy, its update falls short of expectations that the company would address legal deforestation and provide more details about its measures …
