Brazilian meat company's A- sustainability rating angers campaigners
The awarding of an A-minus sustainability rating to the world's largest meat company has raised eyebrows and sparked debate over the environmental and social governance rating system .
Brazilian meat company JBS has previously been linked to deforestation in the Amazon, where its slaughterhouses process beef from ranches dug into the Amazon, Cerrado and other biomes. But in the latest climate change report from influential ratings body CDP, the multinational was rated A- for its efforts in fighting climate change - up from B in the previous assessment - and received a "leadership" award.
The high score, which was based on JBS's self-declaration, caused disbelief. Twenty civil society groups are now calling on the London-based CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) to strip JBS of its A-minus rating amid accusations of green laundering and misleading investors, supermarkets and consumers.
In a letter to CDP, the signatories, which also included the Environmental Investigation Agency, Sustain, Ecologistas en Acción and Friends of the Earth, argued that it was "erroneous, misleading and prejudicial" to reward JBS with leader status. "That couldn't be further from the truth," claimed the letter, which claimed that JBS had a deforestation record and continued to underreport its outsized climate emissions.
Glenn Hurowitz, Founder of US-based Mighty Earth, who organized the campaign, said: “We want everyone who deals with JBS to know the truth about their climate impacts. This is rating inflation of the most blatant variety. »
JBS was born in Brazil and has grown globally with the support of the national development bank. Nearly half of its revenue now comes from the United States, where it sells well-known brands such as Pilgrim's Pride, Moy Park, Seara and Primo. It also has a significant presence in Australia and strong sales in Europe and China. The company's website boasts, "We feed the world the best."
The company has a rapidly growing carbon footprint that is now nearly the size from the United Kingdom. Last year, a study by the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy advocacy group estimated that the São Paulo-based company processed 26.8 million cattle, 46.7 million pigs and 4.9 billion chickens, resulting in a more than 50% increase in emissions over the previous five years. years at 421.6 million metric tons. This calculation was based on a model developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that included so-called scope 3 emissions, which include animals in the company's global supply chain.
JBS criticized this assessment is inaccurate, but the company has not released its own assessment of its scope 3 emissions.
This was not a requirement for the CDP's ranking, which relies more on voluntary disclosure of information and bases its scores on company plans and strategies - such as JBS's commitment to reduce emissions to net zero by 2040 and achieve zero deforestation in its global supply chain by 2035 - rather than independently verified data.
The note was celebrated by JBS, who posted the news on the front of the company's website, captioned: "The world's largest and most respected environmental information platform has raised the score of JBS on Climate Change 2022 at A-, above the industry average. The story below noted that an A score signifies "the company implements the best market practices in the area being rated" and observed that the food and beverage industry average is C.
This will influence business results and social acceptance. The CDP is considered the benchmark for environmental classification. Its ratings are used by financial institutions, governments and supermarket chains. On its website, the CDP boasts of “supporting thousands of businesses, cities, states and regions to measure and manage their risks and opportunities on climate change, water security and deforestation. We do so at the request of their investors, buyers and city stakeholders”. The result, he said, was a “system that has resulted in unprecedented engagement on environmental issues around the world. The CDP was also recognized...
The awarding of an A-minus sustainability rating to the world's largest meat company has raised eyebrows and sparked debate over the environmental and social governance rating system .
Brazilian meat company JBS has previously been linked to deforestation in the Amazon, where its slaughterhouses process beef from ranches dug into the Amazon, Cerrado and other biomes. But in the latest climate change report from influential ratings body CDP, the multinational was rated A- for its efforts in fighting climate change - up from B in the previous assessment - and received a "leadership" award.
The high score, which was based on JBS's self-declaration, caused disbelief. Twenty civil society groups are now calling on the London-based CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) to strip JBS of its A-minus rating amid accusations of green laundering and misleading investors, supermarkets and consumers.
In a letter to CDP, the signatories, which also included the Environmental Investigation Agency, Sustain, Ecologistas en Acción and Friends of the Earth, argued that it was "erroneous, misleading and prejudicial" to reward JBS with leader status. "That couldn't be further from the truth," claimed the letter, which claimed that JBS had a deforestation record and continued to underreport its outsized climate emissions.
Glenn Hurowitz, Founder of US-based Mighty Earth, who organized the campaign, said: “We want everyone who deals with JBS to know the truth about their climate impacts. This is rating inflation of the most blatant variety. »
JBS was born in Brazil and has grown globally with the support of the national development bank. Nearly half of its revenue now comes from the United States, where it sells well-known brands such as Pilgrim's Pride, Moy Park, Seara and Primo. It also has a significant presence in Australia and strong sales in Europe and China. The company's website boasts, "We feed the world the best."
The company has a rapidly growing carbon footprint that is now nearly the size from the United Kingdom. Last year, a study by the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy advocacy group estimated that the São Paulo-based company processed 26.8 million cattle, 46.7 million pigs and 4.9 billion chickens, resulting in a more than 50% increase in emissions over the previous five years. years at 421.6 million metric tons. This calculation was based on a model developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that included so-called scope 3 emissions, which include animals in the company's global supply chain.
JBS criticized this assessment is inaccurate, but the company has not released its own assessment of its scope 3 emissions.
This was not a requirement for the CDP's ranking, which relies more on voluntary disclosure of information and bases its scores on company plans and strategies - such as JBS's commitment to reduce emissions to net zero by 2040 and achieve zero deforestation in its global supply chain by 2035 - rather than independently verified data.
The note was celebrated by JBS, who posted the news on the front of the company's website, captioned: "The world's largest and most respected environmental information platform has raised the score of JBS on Climate Change 2022 at A-, above the industry average. The story below noted that an A score signifies "the company implements the best market practices in the area being rated" and observed that the food and beverage industry average is C.
This will influence business results and social acceptance. The CDP is considered the benchmark for environmental classification. Its ratings are used by financial institutions, governments and supermarket chains. On its website, the CDP boasts of “supporting thousands of businesses, cities, states and regions to measure and manage their risks and opportunities on climate change, water security and deforestation. We do so at the request of their investors, buyers and city stakeholders”. The result, he said, was a “system that has resulted in unprecedented engagement on environmental issues around the world. The CDP was also recognized...
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