Stung by domestic and international criticism, JBS S.A., a multinational meat packer, has committed to ensuring that all purchased cattle are acquired from farms that have not engaged in illegal clearing of the Amazon rainforest. The company intends using blockchain for all cattle purchases but only by 2025. To date, JBS has selectively monitored the final point of purchase of cattle in an extended and complicated supply chain typical in Brazil. This has been characterized as a deliberate “don’t look-don’t find” policy.
Gilberto Thomazoni, CEO of JBS S.A., stated, “Currently the company does not monitor indirect suppliers and no company does so. We plan to close this gap using technology to monitor 50,000 direct suppliers in addition to indirect suppliers who will be incorporated into the system in 2021 with special reference to the state of Mato Grosso.”
A pension fund in Norway, with $80 billion under management, will observe the results of the JBS S.A. announcement stating, “If this move by JBS can contribute to responsible and traceable supply chains, it is a positive step but we have to see the detailed evidence in practice.” The fund is among a number of active global investors threatening to divest from Brazil unless deforestation is suppressed by the Federal government.