2024-05-23 00:00:00 | JBS fined USD 33 million in Brazil for paying bribes to the tax auditor responsible for inspecting the slaughterhouse

JBS S/A was fined R$170 million for paying bribes to someone responsible for inspecting a meat processing plant in Mozarlândia,  in the northwest region of Goiás. According to the Federal Comptroller General (CGU), JBS paid more than R$380 thousand to a federal tax auditor from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA). According to the CGU, the payment of the bribe was discovered during Operation Risky Conduct, by the Federal Police (PF). The investigation managed to break the auditor's banking secrecy and identified monthly deposits from the company and its employees into the public servant's account.

In a note, the JBS stated that the payments made are related to overtime and occurred in accordance with article 102, item 18 of Decree 30691/1952, which was in force until 2017.

2024-05-14 00:00:00 | Brazil's JBS earns nearly $320 mln in Q1, beating analysts expectations

Brazil's JBS SA reported a net profit of 1.64 billion reais ($319.74 million) for the first quarter 2024, which beat analysts' expectations by a wide margin, according to an earnings statement. After a strong quarter for its U.S. pork business and its beef and processed foods divisions in Brazil, JBS said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, a measure of operating income known as EBITDA, was 6.4 billion reais in the period. 

Overall, JBS reported a 2.8% rise in net revenue globally to 89.1 billion reais in the quarter, partly reflecting more beef demand in Brazil, its home market. JBS, which derives most of its sales from the U.S., said the first quarter of 2024 was also marked by growth in the average price for wholesale pork cuts in that country, a reflection of stronger demand for that p protein type resulting from the shift in consumption from beef to pork.

2024-04-30 00:00:00 | JBS: cattle rancher fined for deforestation with 'Agent Orange'

Livestock farmer and JBS supplier, Claudecy Oliveira Lemes, was the target of an operation by the Civil Police of Mato Grosso for the illegal deforestation of 81.2 thousand hectares on eleven properties in the municipality of Barão de Melgaço (MT) in the early April. The devastation was carried out with the aerial spraying of 25 types of pesticides and is described by state authorities as the greatest environmental damage ever recorded in Mato Grosso. This drone footage of the area shows the scope of the damage. Lemes is also the owner of Fazenda Monique Vale, located in Pedra Preta (MT), 232 km from where chemical deforestation was recorded. Over the last year, the property sent cattle to be slaughtered at JBS units in Barra do Garças and Pedra Preta (MT).

The rancher’s plan was to grow grass to raise more cattle on the land. However, a court has imposed a fine of 2.8 billion reals (more than US$500 million) and another 2.4 billion reals (US$385 million) in costs for restoring the damage. It has ordered the seizure of the rancher’s cattle and other assets to help cover the costs. 

According to the official response provided by the JBS, the six farms registered in the name of the cattle farmer in question are blocked for purchase by JBS.

The full story was covered by Reporter Brasil.

2024-04-26 00:00:00 | Failure to Act: The most recent investigations into JBS deforestation by Mighty Earth and Aid Environment

New analysis by Mighty Earth and AidEnvironment Failure to Act shows the failure of Brazilian meat giant JBS to act on 68 cases of deforestation on cattle farms in the Amazon and Cerrado, sent to the company over a year ago, has resulted in a further 18,458 hectares of preventable destruction of crucial rainforest and natural ecosystems, some close to the ancestral lands of Indigenous peoples. The new research, released ahead of JBS’ AGM in Brazil today finds that, in total, JBS has failed to investigate or verifiably act on 105 deforestation alerts – covering over 185,000 hectares of deforestation – in the two threatened biomes.

2024-04-26 00:00:00 | JBS reappoints the Batista brothers to the board seven-and-a-half years after they were imprisoned in Brazil for their involvement in a notorious bribery case.

During its AGM on April 26, JBS has reinstated the Batista brothers to its board, seven-and-a-half years after they were imprisoned in Brazil for their involvement in a wide-ranging corruption case. The brothers – former JBS chair Joesley Batista and ex-JBS CEO Wesley Batista, stepped down from their respective roles in 2017 after pleading guilty to corruption charges in Brazil, before both spending several months in prison. They were released from custody in 2018.

However, a majority of shares not cast by the Batistas either rejected or did not support their election. Ban the Batistas advocacy group pointed to that the brothers’ own J&F Investimentos investment vehicle is the controlling shareholder of JBS. J&F vehicle represented 1.08 billion shares out of the 1.24 billion share majority that voted in favour of their return to the JBS board. Almost 250 million shares rejected their return, with 500,000 abstaining.

2024-03-07 00:00:00 | JBS net zero “commitment removed” by the SBTi

JBS has not received validation from the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). JBS is listed as "Commitment Removed" on the SBTi website, indicating that it has been removed from the SBTi register. In the past, BankTrack together with other organisations have been advocating against the validation of JBS's net-zero target. The SBTi is a global organisation that aims to help businesses set emissions reduction targets in line with science. SBTi evaluates the Net Zero plans of numerous companies globally to determine if they are credible and ambitious enough to contribute to combating climate change. As JBS has consistently failed to present substantive plans to support its assertions of achieving Net Zero by 2040, SBTi has taken decisive action to revoke its approval. Mighty Earth says that SBTi’s decision not to validate JBS is a further blow to the meat giant’s plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

2024-02-28 00:00:00 | NY attorney general is suing JBS for greenwashing

On February 28, 2024, Letitia James, the New York attorney general, filed a lawsuit against JBS USA, the American division of the world's largest meatpacker, for making deceptive claims regarding its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This legal action represents a significant setback for JBS, headquartered in Brazil, as it aims to list on the New York Stock Exchange despite a history of criminal activities including bribery, deforestation, human rights abuses, and land grabs against Indigenous peoples. JBS's pursuit of a U.S. listing has been ongoing for over a decade, but it faces mounting challenges, including resistance from the UK lawmakers and bipartisan concerns in the U.S. regarding its criminal and environmental record. The proposed NYSE listing would provide JBS access to additional capital for expansion. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) holds the power to prevent JBS from listing on the NYSE. On January 11th 2024, Mighty Earth has sent a lettter to the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) urging it to investigate JBS and halt the proposed IPO. 

2023-06-20 00:00:00 | JBS should discontinue its "net zero" claims

In June 2023, the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appellate body for the U.S. system of advertising industry self-regulation, recommended JBS USA to stop using misleading claims regarding its goal of achieving "net zero" emissions by 2040. This followed an earlier deision by the National Advertising Division (NAD) that found no evidence of a concrete plan to achieve “net zero by 2040” and advised JB to stop using the misleading claims. JBS appealed NAD’s recommendations. The NARB panel confirmed that the challenged claims indeed conveyed misleading messages, as JBS does not currently have a formulated and vetted plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. The NARB panel recommended that JBS discontinue the “net zero” claims, such as:

• “JBS is committing to be net zero by 2040”;
• “Global Commitment to Achieve Net-Zero Greenhouse Emissions by 2040”;
• “Bacon, chicken wings and steak with net zero emissions. It’s possible”;
• “Leading change across the food industry and achieving our goal of net zero by 2040 will be a challenge.  Anything less is not an option”; and
• “The SBTi recognized the net zero commitment of JBS.”

JBS expressed disagreement with the NARB's interpretation but agreed to comply with its recommendation in future advertising.

2023-01-18 00:00:00 | Mighty Earth files complaint with US Securities and Exchange Commission against JBS ‘green bonds’

Senior executives at Mighty Earth have filed a whistleblower complaint to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), calling for a full investigation into alleged misleading and fraudulent “green bonds” issued by the Brazilian meat giant JBS. Evidence presented to the SEC details how JBS, the world’s largest meat processor with operations in over 20 countries, issued $3.2 billion in four separate debt issuances or “green bonds” in 2021, referring to them as Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) tied to its stated goal to cut its emissions and achieve “Net Zero by 2040.” The heart of the complaint centers on the fact that JBS based the bond offerings on its commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 – but that its emissions have in fact increased in recent years and it excluded ‘Scope 3’ supply chain emissions that comprise upwards of 97% of its climate footprint. It also omitted key information from investors about the actual number of animals it slaughters each year, denying US investors vital information to make fully informed decisions about JBS’s net zero and climate-related claims as they decided whether to purchase these SLBs. 

2022-12-15 00:00:00 | Brazil audit finds 17% of cattle bought by JBS came from 'irregular' ranches

Nearly 17% of the cattle bought by JBS SA in Brazil's Para state in the Amazon rainforest allegedly came from ranches with "irregularities" such as illegal deforestation, according to an audit by federal prosecutors. The audit, which examined cattle purchases between July 2019 and June 2020, said that the world's largest meatpacker allegedly bought some 93,734 head from irregular ranchers.

2022-04-21 00:00:00 | JBS increased greenhouse gas emissions by 51% over the last five years

JBS has increased its greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 51% over the last five years and is now responsible for greater emissions than Italy's annual climate footprint, new research finds. Using an UN-approved methodology, new research contained in a media brief by IATP, Feedback and investigative website DeSmog, found that JBS – which processed 26.8 million cattle, 46.7 million pigs and 4.9 billion chickens last year – increased its annual GHG emissions by 51% in five years from 280 million metric tonnes (mmts) in 2016 to around 421.6 mmts in 2021. This is more than the annual climate footprint of Italy or Spain and close to that of France (at 443 mmt) and the UK (at 453 mmt). It is approximately equivalent to fossil fuel giant Total’s 2020 emissions.