Non-profit group Global Canopy’s new ‘Floresta 250 – Cattle’ report has found that 80% of large companies and financial institutions involved in Brazilian cattle supply chains are ignoring links to deforestation. The 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, including three of the world’s largest meatpacking companies – JBS, Marfrig and Minerva. Of the assessed companies, 83% are yet to publish deforestation commitments for at least one of the cattle commodities relevant to them, as is the case for 80% of financial institutions. More than nine in 10 (91%) companies had not publicly disclosed any of their leather volumes as being deforestation and/or conversion free, while 88% had not done so for beef. Meanwhile, just three of the 175 companies have a publicly available commitment for the most critical human rights issues in commodity supply chains. “Deforestation is likely to be in the public eye for COP30 in 2025,” said Global Canopy. “By then, as an absolute minimum, [we] call 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.” Earlier this year, a separate Global Canopy report stressed the key role of regulation in addressing human rights risks linked to deforestation. NGO Mighty Earth’s ‘Soy & Cattle Deforestation Tracker’ last week found that over the past two years, ten soy traders and meatpackers alone were responsible for more than 300,000 hectares of deforestation and land degradation, equivalent to twice the size of London. The research found JBS to be the worst offender.
