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 specialized 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 regularization as well as environmental regularization 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 regularized. 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.
