Davos, 25 May 2022 – The CEO of JBS Gilberto Tomazoni and the CEO of IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative Daan Wensing announced today, during the World Economic Forum, that they will broaden their partnership for the sustainable production of calves in Brazil. Their goal is to register 1 million animals by 2025, ensuring the traceability of calves from breeder farms.
Since 2019, JBS has supported the State of Mato Grosso Produce, Conserve and Include (PCI) Strategy, one of the largest subnational projects globally, aiming to mitigate climate change. A jurisdictional initiative for sustainable development based on land use efficiency, PCI is an instrument for Mato Grosso to reach its Net Zero commitment by 2035, with emission reductions of 236 Gt of CO2. It also supports the goals of Barra do Garças PCI Compact, where the company operates a beef processing unit. The partnership will now also be extended to Pará State.
JBS will provide specialised technical assistance through its Green Offices network. On the ground teams will work with breeders to encourage them to declare their animals on the Protocol for Sustainable Production of Calves platform. This will ensure greater transparency and enable land title regularisation as well as environmental regularisation under the Brazilian Forestry Code.
The JBS investment in technical assistance to support breeders to adhere to the Protocol will also support PCI’s goals to recover 100,000 hectares of low productivity pasture in Barra do Garças and 2.5 million hectares throughout the state of Mato Grosso.
The partnership builds on the success of IDH’s sustainable territorial development strategy – which balances the production of commodities with the protection of natural resources and the inclusion of family farming and traditional communities – implemented in 13 countries worldwide. Over the past five years, IDH has invested approx. 9 million euros in Mato Grosso, dedicated to the PCI Strategy, Institute and Regional Compacts. Funds were also allocated to promote private sector co-funding of projects to encourage producer inclusion.
“This is a crucial moment for forests and for farmers in the landscapes we are working in as part of our sustainable production of calves program,” said IDH CEO Daan Wensing. “JBS shares our vision of reducing social and environmental risk in these areas, and with their partnership, we can make the improvements sorely needed in the beef supply chain, and drive transformation of global food systems.”
“Our ‘Green Offices’ have carried out a remarkable work of inclusion. Over the past year, more than 2,400 farms have already become environmentally regularised. Through this partnership with IDH, we will advance into more layers, enabling the traceability and sustainability of calves from the breeder farm – an essential compliance link in the production chain.” added Tomazoni, CEO of JBS. The Company has 15 ‘Green Offices’ in Brazil spread across MT, PA, RO, GO and MS.
About JBS
JBS is a global leader in protein-based food production. With a diversified platform by product type (poultry, pork, beef, and lamb, in addition to plant-based), the Company has more than 250,000 employees, in production units and offices spread over all continents, in countries like Brazil, the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and China, among others. JBS is the largest employer in Brazil, with more than 145,000 employees.
Worldwide, JBS offers a broad portfolio of brands recognized for their excellence and innovation: Seara, Swift, Pilgrim’s Pride, Moy Park, Primo, Just Bare, among many others, which reach the tables of consumers in 190 countries every day. The company also invests in related businesses, such as leather, biodiesel, collagen, personal hygiene and cleaning products, natural wraps, solid waste management solutions, recycling, and transportation, with a focus on the circular economy. JBS conducts its operations by giving priority to high quality and food safety and adopts best practices in sustainability and animal welfare throughout its value chain, and in March 2021, it made a commitment to become Net Zero by 2040.
This means that JBS will zero out the net balance of their greenhouse gas emissions, thereby reducing the intensity of direct and indirect emissions and offsetting any residual emission. JBS was the first global company in the protein industry to undertake such a commitment, with the purpose of feeding people around the globe ever more sustainably.
About IDH
The Sustainable Trade Initiative strives for thriving markets to promote better jobs, better incomes, and a better environment. When IDH is successful, companies rebalance the relationships between the people they employ, the customers they serve, and the planet that serves us all. IDH’s efforts are made possible through the funding and trust of several European governments and private foundations from several European governments and private foundations.