80% of cattle sector heavyweights ignoring Brazil deforestation links

Cattle ranching in Brazil is a key driver of global deforestation. New assessment data shows the companies and financial institutions with the greatest influence on this sector are failing to set and implement policies to tackle deforestation.

Oxford, United Kingdom (11  December 2024)—New data published today reveals that the overwhelming majority of companies with the most influence over Brazilian cattle supply chains are failing to respond to the risk of deforestation linked to their production and sourcing of beef and leather. The financial institutions financing these companies also show little recognition or action on the links between cattle deforestation and their portfolios. 

Global Canopy’s new Floresta 250 – Cattle report identifies and assesses the 175 companies and 75 financial institutions with the most influence over Brazilian cattle supply chains, through their links to leather and beef. This includes three of the world’s largest meatpacking companies – JBS, Marfrig and Minerva.

Eight in 10 (83%) of the assessed companies are yet to publish deforestation commitments for at least one of the cattle commodities relevant to them. 

Likewise, 80% of financial institutions are yet to publish a deforestation policy for cattle products. This includes Vanguard, BlackRock and JP Morgan Chase, the three financial institutions providing the most finance to the assessed companies. Bradesco, Itau Unibanco, and Banco do Brasil are the Brazilian financiers providing the most finance to the assessed companies.

The report estimates that producers and processors of cattle products are receiving $100 billion in direct financing from 60 financial institutions. 

With deforestation a leading cause of the climate crisis globally and cattle ranching the biggest driver of land conversion, the stakes are high. Brazil is responsible for almost 60% of global pasture-driven deforestation. 

Isadora Carvalho, Sustainable Finance Engagement Lead at Global Canopy, said: “Next year can be a defining moment for deforestation, and urgent action in Brazil’s cattle sector can move the needle on deforestation and climate change for the whole world. This report tells us which companies can make a difference by stepping up with critical next steps on commitments and implementation – and highlights the opportunity for financial institutions to use their leverage to engage companies as part of both climate and nature transition planning.”

Little evidence for implementation of policies

Commitments must be supplemented with disclosure on implementation, but company action on this front is weaker yet. Nine in 10 (91%) companies had not publicly disclosed any of their leather volumes as deforestation and/or conversion free. 88% had not done so for beef.

Even among companies with commitments, many did not require suppliers to be aligned or committed to deforestation and/or conversion-free standards across their operations. Only 24% required this from their suppliers for beef, and 31% for leather.

Implementation by financial institutions is also disappointing. Only 8% of the financial institutions with a public deforestation policy also had a process in place to engage with clients/holdings to bring them into compliance with deforestation- and/or conversion-free standards. Only 6% of financial institutions required clients/holdings to have a traceability mechanism in place. 

Alice Thuault, Executive Director of Instituto Centro de Vida (ICV), emphasised the need for action from the private sector, especially agribusiness. “There is a need for more and more engagement with internal policies, voluntary agreements and transparency about the measures actually implemented. This contributes to the goals assumed by Brazil and guarantees that the country will be able to achieve the objectives set internationally,” said Thuault. ICV is a Brazilian non-profit organization that works closely with local communities and producers, focusing on environmental governance and public policies.

Human rights are being completely overlooked by key players

Any effective approach to tackling deforestation in company supply chains and financial portfolios should include the human rights abuses that are intrinsically linked to this issue. Companies and financial institutions alike are almost completely ignoring this link.

Just three of the 175 companies (Nestle, General Motors and Colgate-Palmolive) have a publicly available commitment for the most critical human rights issues** in commodity supply chains. None of the financial institutions assessed had publicly available policies covering these rights when looking at cattle products.

2025 – a decisive moment for action

Deforestation is likely to be in the public eye for COP30 in 2025. By then, as an absolute minimum, Global Canopy calls for companies to publish a comprehensive deforestation commitment covering all high-risk commodities to which they are exposed and the most critical human rights issues. Financial institutions should conduct a risk assessment of their portfolios and categorise clients/holdings by level of risk. 

Dari Santos, Impact Coordinator of do Pasto ao Prato (dPaP), a key contributor to the 2024 Floresta 250 project, said: “This collaboration offers valuable data on the exposure of meatpackers and retailers to deforestation risks. It sheds light on how influential companies and financial institutions can play a critical role in transforming the cattle supply chain, leading driver of deforestation in Brazil. Our mission is to enhance transparency, highlight the connections between key players and environmental harm, and ultimately drive more responsible practices across the sector.”

ENDS  

Notes to editors

For more information and to arrange interviews please contact: 

Jolene Tan | [email protected] (English and international)

The launch report webinar took place on Wednesday 11 December, 16:00 GMT / 13:00 Brasilia.

** Floresta 250 – Cattle defines the most critical human rights issues as: respecting customary rights to land, resources and territory; securing Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC); following a zero-tolerance approach to violence and threats against forest, land and human rights defenders; and respecting labour rights.

About Global Canopy

Global Canopy is a data-driven environmental organisation that targets the market forces destroying nature. They provide innovative open-access data, clear metrics, and actionable insights to leading companies, financial institutions, governments and campaigning organisations worldwide to help them make better decisions about nature, forests and people. https://globalcanopy.org/  

About Floresta 250

Floresta 250 – Cattle is a new data offering from Global Canopy that assesses the performance of the 175 companies and 75 financial institutions with the greatest influence on Brazilian deforestation driven by cattle supply chains. It assesses these organisations on the strength and implementation of their commitments on deforestation, ecosystem conversion and associated human rights abuses, looking at their links to beef, leather or both. 

The baseline assessments took place from August and November 2024. Company assessments took place from 19 August to 6 September 2024. Financial institution assessments took place between 31 October to 13 November 2024. Any information publicly available on organisations’ websites within that period was considered as part of the assessments. Where possible, companies and financial institutions received a copy of their assessment in advance, and were able to provide optional comments on their assessment. These comments were reviewed and incorporated if and where necessary. https://floresta250.org/ 

About do Pasto ao Prato

Do Pasto ao Prato (dPaP) is an application that brings transparency to Brazil’s beef supply chain, revealing the origin of beef and key risks like deforestation, forced labour and sanitary violations. It empowers consumers to make informed choices while driving accountability among stakeholders. The initiative is the result of a partnership between UCLouvain, Stockholm Environment Institute and Global Canopy. dPaP were a key contributor to the 2024 Floresta 250 project, including to the company selection process – providing data on the exposure of cattle processors, manufacturers, and retailers to deforestation risk. This report would not have been possible without their contributions.