The trend to integrate sustainability factors into financial regulatory frameworks is creating compliance, legal and reputational risks for local banks and investors financing forest-risk commodities in tropical countries. International banks and investors exposed to these supply chains may also be affected. Based on public sources and interviews, this report analyses the integration of sustainability in …
This report analyses the sustainability and financial risks of the farmland investment funds of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA, formerly TIAA-CREF) in Brazil. Such risks are most prevalent in Matopiba, Brazil’s newest soy frontier, consisting of part of the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia. TIAA farmland investments operate through …
Driven by the booming global meat industry and growing markets for vegetable oils, soybeans have become the primary protein crop globally. High production growth rates are particularly prevalent in South America, contributing to massive deforestation, biodiversity loss, fires and emission of greenhouse gases. The Matopiba region, home to most of the remaining native vegetation of …
By revenue, Walmart is the largest company in the world, employing about 2.2 million people and serving over 265 million customers a week. Private-label products sold by Walmart contain commodities that contribute to deforestation. For the forest-risk commodities – palm oil, pulp and paper, soy, and beef – Walmart has set zero net deforestation goals for 2020. Although …
Oil palm plantation development and its effects on land clearing has likely impacted areas of critical value to local communities. While palm growers have made progress in quantifying and compensating loss for areas with environmental value, they have made less headway regarding compensation for clearing of land with social and cultural values. If palm growers …
The expansion of the palm oil industry in the last ten years was partially in response to the anticipated demand for biofuels worldwide. The expected EU biodiesel boom did not materialize, resulting in a systemic oversupply of palm oil in Southeast Asia. A number of recent policy initiatives may bring about significant shifts in the …
Procter & Gamble (P&G) is a NYSE-listed multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. P&G provides branded products and services in the home and personal care sectors in more than 180 countries. The company has a No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) policy that covers all third-party suppliers, and it has committed to …
This report analyses deforestation risks linked to the “JJF Holding de Investimentos e Participações” land-grabbing case in Formosa do Rio Preto in the Matopiba region of the Cerrado biome (Brazil). The JJF Holding case, one of the largest land-grabbing incidents in Brazil, is linked to land tenure insecurities that cover 366,000 hectares in one of …
It has now been 25 years since the start of strong growth in the Southeast Asian palm oil industry. Independent smallholders are crucial in the supply chain of large palm oil companies as they generate up to 40 percent of the global Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB) supply. However, independent smallholders are facing declining yields per …
A large majority of global palm oil traders and refiners have implemented No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) sourcing policies in recent years. Violations of such policies have repeatedly led to suspensions of oil palm growers from supply chains. Four years after the first suspension events, data is available on both short- and long-term …
