COP27: 14 meals firms current plan to finish deforestation

The commitment, which involves Brazilian companies, has the challenge of also reaching the supply chain of these large organizations

A commitment made at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the COP26which took place in Scotland, takes on new contours this year 2022. During the COP27underway in Egypt from 6 to 18 November, 14 major food companies around the world presented a shared “roadmap” on how they will work to reduce emissions from the change in land use in its operations.

The document is the result of the meeting of the CEOs of these global companies held last year. christened “Agricultural Sector Roadmap 1.5°C”, the roadmap brings three pillars to reduce emissions from land use change:

1. Accelerate supply chain action to reduce emissions from land use change: it is the responsibility of the signatory companies to structure transparent action plans to end forest loss and convert suppliers, annually reporting their progress in this direction publicly;
2. Drive commodity transformation: companies will invest in initiatives to transform land use practices, encouraging their use in a sustainable way;
3. Support a positive transformation of the forest sector: Through dialogues and collaboration with governments and other actors in the value chain and financial sector, companies will integrate best practices and align responsibilities to deliver positive impacts in relation to forests.

Even more practically, the roadmap establishes fractional goals. In November 2022, at COP 27, a commitment was made to establish science-based targets for reducing emissions, including changes in land use. For COP28, in 2023, companies have committed to reporting their progress in this regard and the objective is that, by December 2025, the deforestation targets have been achieved in relation to cattle ranching and palm and soy crops.

sustainable livestock

The transition to sustainable livestock and reducing deforestation require a transformation of the domestic and export markets, says the roadmap, something that can be achieved through strengthened corporate actions aligned with supportive government policies.

The livestock sector companies participating in the “1.5°C Agricultural Sector Roadmap” say they support the need to move as quickly as possible to end deforestation in all Brazilian biomes.

In this sense, and to accelerate the end of all deforestation in their production chains, in 2023, companies in the livestock sector involved in the “1.5°C Agricultural Sector Roadmap” will prioritize efforts in partnership with the public and private sectors. to develop incentives and technical support for livestock producers and improve monitoring systems.

One of the pillars foresees how the sector will involve the federal and state governments to strengthen an environment conducive to sustainable planning for the environment, including small producers. Work with state governments will include the integration of traceability systems and, with the federal government, command and control mechanisms.

As a result, the goals set are as follows:

• For Amazon: 2023 deadline for the end of legal and illegal deforestation for direct suppliers and 2025 for indirect suppliers;
• Thick: 2025 deadline to end illegal deforestation by direct and indirect suppliers;
• Other biomes in Brazil: target dates are yet to be defined, depending on the development of the necessary monitoring systems.

Palm oil cultivation

Among the companies that are signatories of the “Agricultural Sector Roadmap 1.5°C” that work with palm oil production, forest loss within their concessions is practically zero, guarantees the document. However, chain transformation still needs to happen, and industry leaders play a critical role in working with small producers, autonomous mills and smaller companies.

In Malaysia, for example, since 2020 more than 96% of the largest palm oil plantations have already been certified, while in smallholder independent properties the rate drops to just under 40%.

In this sense, the large companies involved are committed to establishing important goals for their supply chains. The goal is to make progress by 2025.

soy cultivation

The “1.5°C Agricultural Sector Roadmap” establishes a framework for dealing with deforestation caused by the sector and sets as a goal the end of this practice by 2025 for soy production in the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco, also protecting ecosystems not forestry in accordance with relevant local legislation.
To get an idea of ​​the size of the challenge, between 2013 and 2021, based on data from Agrosatélite, a total of 114 million tons of CO2 were emitted by the deforestation of native vegetation in the Cerrado biome due to soy cultivation. The implementation of the proposed roadmap has the potential to avoid 75% of these emissions.

Over the past year, the Tropical Forest Alliance (FTA), with support from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, has helped the world’s major agricultural trading and processing companies to develop the “Agricultural Sector Roadmap 1.5°C ”. The following companies are committed to the roadmap: ADM, Amaggi, Bunge, Cargill, COFCO International, Golden Agri-Resources, JBSLouis Dreyfus Company, Marfrig, Musim Mas, Olam International, Olam Food Ingredients (OFI), Viterra and Wilmar International.

Source: Exam