COFCO partnership traces and screens all direct soy supplies in Brazil’s Matopiba
COFCO International has reached traceability and completed social and environmental screening of all its directly sourced soy from current suppliers in the Matopiba region, by December 2021, an important stepping-stone towards establishing a sustainable soy supply chain in the environmentally sensitive region.
Twelve of the world’s biggest global agricultural trading and processing companies have issued a joint statement committing to a sectoral roadmap by COP27 for enhanced supply chain action consistent with a 1.5°C pathway.
The companies – ADM, Amaggi, Bunge, Cargill, COFCO International, Golden Agri-Resources, JBS, Louis Dreyfus Company, Olam, Wilmar, Marfig and Viterra – manage large global trade volumes in key agricultural commodities, including more than half of both Brazilian soy exports and global palm oil trade.
The statement, announced at the World Leaders’ Summit on Forests and Land Use at COP26, signals a commitment to take urgent collective action to include other key stakeholders in their supply chains. The goal is to identify solutions at scale to further progress on eliminating commodity-driven deforestation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that 23% of global GHG emissions are associated with land use, including11% of global GHG emissions from deforestation and the conversion of natural ecosystems. The commitment from these companies builds on the existing initiatives to define a pathway to meet the 1.5°C targets, working with other supply chain actors and governments. This collaboration will focus on how to scale up support and incentives for smallholders and farmers, increase traceability to indirect suppliers, and better track scope 3 emissions.
The joint statement comes following a roundtable meeting in October convened by US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and UK Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Kwasi Kwarteng, supported by the Tropical Forest Alliance hosted by the World Economic Forum and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Ongoing collaboration continuing to COP27 will be supported by these actors.
Alongside the announcement from these ten companies, a joint statement from 28 governments will be announced at COP26 via the Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue Roadmap for Action. This joint statement calls for governments to increase sustainable Agri-commodity trade while protecting forests and other critical ecosystems.
Recent evidence shows that there is no pathway to the 1.5°C targets set out in the Paris Agreement without halting forest loss and improving the livelihoods of producers. The joint statement signals a recognition of the critical role played by businesses working in agricultural commodities.
Special Envoy for Climate Change Secretary John Kerry, US Government said: “Eliminating deforestation from global agricultural supply chains is critical to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This joint statement from leading agricultural trading companies is a terrific example of the power of markets to end deforestation and drive climate action. We look forward to the hard but necessary work to help deliver a concrete roadmap for achieving the companies’ ambitious goal by COP27.”
UK Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “Agricultural companies are already playing an important role in driving innovation to feed more people across the world while using less land. It’s vital that businesses continue working with governments and farmers to identify practical solutions to protecting our planet. With the UN COP26 summit in Glasgow underway, it’s fantastic to see some of the world’s largest agricultural trading companies working together to cut their emissions right across the supply chain, helping to ensure we keep the 1.5 degrees target in reach.”
Borge Brende, President, World Economic Forum said: “This joint statement demonstrates the ambition of these companies to make a sprint to COP27, and to step up the contribution from the agricultural and land use sector towards a 1.5°C trajectory.”
Diane Holdorf, Executive Vice President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development said: “Agricultural commodity companies recognize the critical role they play in achieving a net zero, nature positive, equitable food system. This joint statement, building on shared commitments to halt forest loss, demonstrates momentum in the sector to deliver a sector roadmap for action consistent with a 1.5 C pathway. WBCSD applauds this leadership and fully supports these companies to deliver further progress by COP27.”
Source: World Economic Forum
