Written by Iain Hoey
Brazilian company JBS ha revealed the impact of the $368 million USD it invested in global sustainability initiatives in 2019.
JBS, which owns Pilgrim’s Pride, which, in turn, acquired UK pork processor Tulip last year, invested in processes that encourage the sustainable production of raw materials (cattle, poultry, pork and lamb) in order minimise climate change risk and reach ambitious carbon emissions targets.
Key achievements for the year included:
- JBS Brazil reused 121,000 metric tons of waste to generate energy, which is 9% more than the previous year.
- Over 1 million tonnes of waste generated by the Company were also reused, accounting for approximately 50% of all waste generated.
- Over 3.3 billion litres of water were reused in Company operations around the world. This amount of water is equal to 1,320 Olympic-size swimming pools.
- Globally, R$ 698.82 million (USD$135.5m) was invested in environmental stewardship at JBS factories.
In 2019, JBS Brasil brand Friboi entered into a partnership with the Araguaia League whose members include 60 livestock producers in the Médio Vale do Araguaia region, located in the state of Mato Grosso. Their goal is to use sustainable livestock production to not only reduce greenhouse gases in the livestock chain but to contribute to environmental and biodiversity conservation. Together, these livestock producers help to preserve an area of 54,000 hectares of legal reserve and permanent preservation areas.
In 2019 JBS Couros in Brazil launched the Kind Leather project for sustainable leather production. This means that parts of the hide which are not as frequently used are removed at the start of the process, since it can still be used as raw material in pharmaceuticals and other food products. Since the launch, water consumption in the tanning stage has been reduced by 46% and carbon emissions lowered by 65%
And JBS Biodiesel qualified as the first biodiesel company authorized to take part in a new Brazilian policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Marcio Nappo, JBS’ Director of Sustainability commented: “JBS is committed to investing in projects and solutions that can improve existing models used across the industry. Sustainability is a crucial part of our global business. As our Annual Sustainability Report 2019 shows, JBS’ business units have much to celebrate. We are also proud of the industry acknowledgements received and partnerships gained over the past year.
“As a sustainability leader in the field, we have worked to make sure that all 240,000 global employees of JBS are aware of and engaged in our sustainability initiatives. We also expect the same standards of our supply chain.
“In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 has looked like a very different year with challenges of a different scale and new priorities brought to the forefront. We continue to make investments to reach our sustainability targets, protect our workforce and the environment, all of which are more important than ever in the evolving global landscape.”
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