The Company reached the milestone of R$ 5 billion in global sustainability investments in 2020;
New policies and commitments related to this strategy are also announced
JBS released in July the tenth edition of its Sustainability Report, which discloses the Company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives and performance in 2020. JBS reached the historical volume of R$ 5 billion invested globally in sustainability actions, of which R$2.1 billion were invested in the health and safety of team members with the emphasis on preventing COVID-19. JBS also demonstrated its social responsibility commitment by announcing R$700 million in donations, in Brazil and North America, to fight COVID-19 pandemic.
The Company also announced new sustainability policies and goals in its annual report, which include commitments to be fulfilled until 2030:
More recently, JBS announced its commitment to be Net Zero by 2040. In order to achieve this ambitious target, the Company is going to invest US$1 billion over the next ten years in initiatives, of which US$100 million will go to scientific research in the search for new solutions. With a focus on the circular economy, in 2020, the company used 45% renewable energy, encompassing mobile and stationary sources of electricity, and invested R$29.5 million in energy efficiency projects worldwide.
As part of its efforts to fight illegal deforestation in Brazil, in 2020, JBS launched the Transparent Livestock Farming Platform, a blockchain technology tool, to extend the socioenvironmental monitoring by satellite that already exists today to 100% of the suppliers to their suppliers as well, with an aggressive deadline: until 2025. The company has gone beyond its production chain by launching the JBS Fund for the Amazon, dedicated to supporting and financing initiatives in the sustainable development of the Amazon biome. The company committed to invest at least R$250 million in the fund over five years, with the target of reaching a total of R$1 billion with contributions from partners. Six projects have already been approved.
JBS works to ensure an ethical and fair environment in all its processes. In this context, in 2020, the Global Anticorruption Policy was launched and the Code of Conduct and Ethics was reviewed, with more than 146,000 team members trained during the year. The JBS’ Compliance Program was evaluated by an independent external audit, and the results showed 97% of adherence to the best practices.
The report was prepared following the guidelines proposed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards. The accounting results follow the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and audited by Grant Thornton Auditores Independentes.
Click here to see the full report.